She smiled and fiddled with the wrapper in her hand. The smile seemed forced. “I don’t know if that’s a good idea.”

And there it was. The truth. Felicity would never forgive him for the past. Why did he even ask? Spending time with her was a stupid idea. What was he just telling himself moments before? He leaned away from her. “Right.”

“I mean, if it’s a big group that’s probably okay.”

Oh, brother. How was he supposed to interpret that? He couldn’t tell if she wanted to go with him or not. He wasn’t even sure how to respond. He settled on a non-committal, “It would be.”

She nodded. “All right, then.”

An awkward silence settled between them. Aiden rubbed his thumb on his palm. “Have you ever wondered what our lives would be like if you hadn’t left?”

Felicity’s gaze jerked to him, and he regretted the question. Why had he asked that? How could he have let that come out of his mouth? But he couldn’t take it back, so he waited for her answer.

She blinked and looked away. “No.”

“Sorry. I shouldn’t have asked.”

She took in a deep breath and let it out slowly. “No, it’s okay. I guess I have thought about it a little. We’d probably still be in Chicago.”

Aiden had thought about it a lot. And he was sure they’d have moved. With his money, they could live anywhere in the world, and Felicity loved nature. But he wasn’t about to say any of that to her. “Maybe.”

She looked at him. “You disagree?”

He shrugged. Now he was stuck. He wasn’t sure what to say. “I don’t know. We would have had the means to go anywhere.”

Felicity cocked her head to the side, like she was just remembering he was a billionaire. “Oh. Right.”

Aiden loved that Felicity was never into money or status. She didn’t care about those things. He picked up his glass of milk and took a sip. After he set it back down, he looked at her. The light from the fire flickered across her features. He could easily fall back in love with her.

The thought scared him, and he shifted closer to the edge of the couch. He went through so much after Felicity broke his heart. Depression weighed so heavily on him, he thought he’d never dig himself out. And now, finally, he was seeing some light. Things were good.

He couldn’t slip back into his old self and allow Felicity to break him.

She tore the corner off the package of M&M’s and poured some into her hand then extended it to him. “I’ll let you pick out all the brown ones.”

He chuckled as he picked three out. “I know you think I’m silly.”

“They taste the same as the rest.”

“They totally taste more chocolaty.”

She wrinkled her nose. “It’s psychological.”

“Are you calling me a psycho?”

“No. But come to think of it, you do kind of have that look about you. And you own a resort that is kind of like a motel.”

“Really? You’re stretching it.”

“As long as I don’t find Grams all shriveled up in a rocker, I think you’re okay.” She flashed him a smile and he couldn’t help but grin back at her.

“Grams would be highly offended by this conversation.”

Felicity laughed. “You’re right. Here, have some more.” She shoved her M&M’s at him.

He picked another brown one out of her hand.

“You’re such an M&M snob.” She poked him in the side, and he jumped.