Page 26 of Small-Town Secrets
The thought stuck to my mind even as I followed Aaron into the dining room.
"Wait here," he said. "I'll heat something up. It won't take long."
I nodded, barely listening. This was ahugehouse for Aaron to be living in it all by himself.
Why was he all by himself, anyway? Well, aside from his dog, who was glued to his side now that he made his way into the kitchen.
Aaron was a handsome alpha in his prime. It made no sense for him to be single.
Washe single? I simply assumed...
"So you live here all by yourself?" I asked halfway through our meal. It took me that long to work up the nerve to pose the question.
Aaron looked up from his plate, seemingly caught off guard. "Huh?"
Well, at least his response was about as smooth as my question had been. I chewed on a piece of dark chicken meat and swallowed. "I mean, it's a very big house to live here on your own. Doesn't it get lonely?"
"I'm not by myself." Aaron canted his head at the tiny dog who sat next to his chair.
I didn't know how to respond to that so I simply speared another piece of chicken on my fork and shoved it in my mouth.
"You're right that it is a very big house for one person," Aaron said after a moment. "We've thought about selling it, my family and I, but we can't get ourselves to do it, you know? I guess my parents are still expecting me to raise an army of children too."
"You mean like your brother?" As far as I knew, Marvin had two kids. Not an army, but more than Aaron had. Or more than anyone knew Aaron had. Guilt clawed at my insides, but I kept my expression as neutral as I could.
I'd done what I thought was best for my children.
"Really, I always thought Marv would be living in this house with his family one day." Aaron shrugged. "But his wife demanded they build one for themselves. What can you do?"
"And you don't plan on having children?" I asked.
A beat passed without Aaron answering. Okay, the question had been a little bit intrusive. I was just about to recall it when Aaron opened his mouth. "I've kind of gotten used to the idea of being by myself."
"Oh."
"It's not that Ihatechildren, or anything," Aaron added, "I just... don't really feel the need to have any of my own, you know?"
"Oh," I said again, because my stomach had turned in on itself and I didn't know what else to say.
It looked like not telling Aaron about my pregnancy all those years ago had been the right choice after all. He didn't want kids now, and he probably wouldn't have wanted them back then either.
My babies deserved better than that.
"Did I say something wrong?" Aaron asked.
I shook my head, because words still wouldn't come. My appetite had vanished too. Putting my cutlery down, I got up from the table. "I need to get home."
"Are yousureI didn't say anything wrong?"
"You didn't do anything wrong at all." The blame was all on me. I had popped the heat inducers, made him sleep with me and risked pregnancy. Aaron didn't owe me anything. Despite that, though, I still felt incredibly sad for my children. The man they knew as their other father had lost all interest in them, and the man who had actually fathered them didn't sound like he'd be happy to have them, either.
Stupid alphas.
I put my coat and my shoes back on and left Aaron's house before he could stop me. Not that he really tried. He mostly just looked confused. I was fine with that. He could be confused all he wanted all by himself in his big-ass house.
The only thing I wanted was to collect my twins, take them home and hug them tight.
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