Page 68 of Her Big Fat Dreamy Billionaire Ex

Aiden sucked in a breath. “What? You flew Lia in?”

She blinked, the memories from that day coming back and choking her. Shaming her. But she had to push through and tell him. “And I bought a dress.”

Aiden stared at her, his mouth hanging open. “A dress?” he said, his voice sounding a little strangled.

Thinking about the mermaid cut dress with the lacy overlay made it hard for her to breathe. It was perfect. And it had cost her almost a thousand dollars. She didn’t want to admit it, but she still had it hanging in her closet. She stuffed it in the back so she wouldn’t get emotional every time she opened the door. “Yes,” she said, the word barely audible.

Guilt flashed across Aiden’s features and his shoulders slumped. “Oh, no.”

Felicity tried to get herself under control, but seeing Aiden look so pained made her get choked up even more, and her vision blurred. She blinked and a tear ran down her cheek.

Aiden reached out and wiped it with the pad of his thumb, his warm fingers wrapping around to the back of her neck. “I’m so sorry, Felicity.”

She involuntarily snuggled into the palm of his hand, the familiar touch sending cascades of energy through her. He moved closer to her, wrapping his arms around her. She melted into him.

“Don’t cry. Please. You’re ripping my heart out.” He pressed his lips to her forehead and her heart began beating an erratic rhythm.

She breathed in the smell of his freshly laundered shirt mixed with the scent that only belonged to Aiden, and all the old feelings surged in her. This was what had made her feel complete. And this is what she’d lost all those years ago.

“I thought it was no big deal,” he whispered, his breath hot on her forehead. “Meet at the courthouse and fill out paperwork. We’d been engaged for a year and were no closer to planning a wedding. It just seemed like the best idea. I’m so sorry I...”

His voice cracked and Felicity closed her eyes. Aiden pressed his cheek to hers and she felt his tears mix with her own. “I didn’t mean to leave you like that. Waiting for me. In a wedding dress.”

She pulled away and placed her hands on his cheeks. “I know.”

He stared at her, an expression on his face she couldn’t quite identify. “If I had known—”

She put a finger to his lips to silence him. “It happened. We can’t change it. But we can learn from it.”

He swallowed and she let her hands fall, his gaze intense. “You’re right.”

She squirmed under his scrutiny and finally pulled away from him. She stretched out on her back and laid down on top of the sleeping bag. She set her phone on the floor beside her. “I’ll tell Grams tomorrow that we talked. Really talked. I think she’ll finally be appeased.”

Aiden followed her lead and laid back as well. He turned to her and rested his head on his hand, his elbow on the floor. “Why did it take you so long to tell me about that?”

She looked up at the rafters above them. “I was hurt. And I didn’t want you to explain it all away. I finally saw our relationship for what it was.”

He paused before saying, “And what’s that?”

She swallowed, unsure if she wanted to say it out loud. She didn’t want to hurt Aiden, but she had to be honest. “Poisonous,” she whispered.

Aiden flinched and retreated from her. “That’s what you think of me?” Hurt laced his words.

She quickly corrected him. “No. Not you. Just the you and me together part.” Ouch. Like that sounded any better. What was wrong with her words today? How could she tell him in a way that he would understand? Maybe blaming herself was best. “I think I’m too needy.”

The air between them became heavy and she could feel him pulling emotionally away from her. He laid backward and joined her in looking up at the rafters. “Was everything so terrible?”

“No,” she hurried to say. “We had some amazing times together. It’s just...” She turned to look at him. “I need someone who can give himself to me completely.”

Aiden didn’t say anything, and Felicity listened to her heart beating while she watched him stare up, not moving. She began to wonder if she had upset him, which hadn’t been her goal. “I guess what I mean to say is I’ve always felt this invisible wall between us. I ignored it at first. Tried to convince myself it wasn’t there, but that day at the courthouse I finally saw it.”

The words were hard to say and she closed her eyes, gathering up the courage to finish. “You were never going to fully let me in.”

Silence pressed down on them as the seconds ticked by, Aiden laying perfectly still. She waited to see what he would say, but when seconds turned into minutes, she thought maybe he was too upset to speak. She turned and flicked off the flashlight, feeling terrible for what she’d said to him, but not wanting to apologize either.

“My mother isn’t dead.”

Felicity wasn’t sure she heard him right. “What?”

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