Aidan frowned. He didn’t like the way she said that. It felt way too ominous for his taste. “Do you want some coffee or something?” he asked to prolong the discussion. “I’ve put in a Keurig for the kitchen. Recovering alcoholics drink a lot of coffee, I’ve been told.”
“Um, sure.” She followed him through the house to the kitchen. She waited silently while he made them both a cup of coffee, and then they sat down together at the old kitchen table.
“I’ve eaten thousands of bowls of cereal sitting at this table,” he said, hoping he didn’t sound like he was nervously rambling even though he was.
Violet chuckled, warming her hands on the mug of coffee and gathering her thoughts. “This is a great old house with a lot of important history for you. I think it’s perfect for your vision for Molly’s House. I don’t know why I haven’t been by to see it sooner. I can’t wait to see how it all turns out for you.”
“Is that why you came out today? To see the house?”
“No. I’d actually gone by Murphy’s first thinking you would be there and the bartender told me you’d taken the week off to focus on the house, so I came here instead. I wanted to see you today so I could tell you that I’m sorry.”
He almost didn’t know what to say to that. He’d had every intention of apologizing to her, and yet she’d come all the way out to the Bronx to apologize to him. “What are you apologizing for? I don’t understand.”
She sighed and shook her head, her gaze never leaving her mug. “I’m sorry for not standing up to my father at the gala. I should’ve spoken to them ahead of time about finding Knox’s father. Instead I just avoided the whole situation for as long as I could and ended up putting you in the crosshairs.”
“You couldn’t have anticipated how your father would react.”
“He’s really predictable, like a stubborn old mule. You were worried that I was ashamed of you that night, but that was never the case. I was worried about my father seeing us together and sticking his nose where it didn’t belong. Of course, that’s what he did. I never should’ve let him pull you aside to bully you because it wasn’t his place to tell you anything. I should’ve protected you from him. And even if I couldn’t stop him, I needed to stand up for myself and for our relationship and tell him once and for all to stay out of my love life. But I was a coward and I ended up hurting you instead. I managed to drive you away when all I wanted in the world was for you to stay.”
Aidan was thrilled to hear her say those words, but he tried to keep his cool for now. She seemed to have a lot she wanted to say and he was going to let her get it all out. “It’s been almost a week since the gala. What prompted this revelation?”
&
nbsp; Violet looked up from her coffee. “Beau came by the foundation yesterday and I ended up getting the last piece of my lost memories back. All this time, I’d felt guilty for cheating on Beau. My parents kept insisting that he must really love me to overlook it and raise Knox as his son, but it never felt right. Now I know why. I’d come to Murphy’s that night because I came home and found him in bed with someone else. I broke up with him and ran out. I didn’t cheat on him. He cheated on me, then when I had the accident and forgot, he just continued on with our relationship as though nothing had happened.”
“Wow,” Aidan said aloud, although he wasn’t entirely surprised. Beau had an underlying sleaziness that had bothered him the moment they met outside her building. “I’m sorry he hurt you, Violet. I wish you had told me exactly what happened that night at the bar, so I could’ve told you sooner. It would’ve still been a year too late, but you would’ve known before yesterday.”
She smiled softly. “It’s okay. The timing worked out. He was trying to talk me into giving us another shot—probably at my father’s prompting—and the memories returning at that moment helped me put an end to it for good.”
It was all an interesting story and he was happy her memory had returned, but Aidan wasn’t quite sure why she was telling him all of this. Beau being gone didn’t necessarily clear the way for them to be together. He wasn’t the only obstacle. “I’m glad for you,” he said instead.
“That really isn’t the most important part, though. While I was talking to Beau, listening to him tell me about how we needed to give it another try, even before my memory came back, I realized that I didn’t want to give it another try with him. Despite everything that should make our relationship work, there were critical pieces missing. Pieces that only you have ever provided. You’re Knox’s father. Not just biologically, but you have taken on the role fully. You’re involved with him now, even when he’s tiny, so I know how wonderful you’ll be with him when he’s older. Beau would never be that for Knox. My son was always more of a...complication for Beau.”
While he was pleased to hear he was meeting her expectations in the parent department, it wasn’t what he wanted to hear right now. He wanted to know that she wanted him to be in her life for her sake, not just for Knox. “Is that it?” he asked.
“No. I’m just getting started. Of course I don’t just want a father for Knox. I’ve realized that I want you, too. No, not even that. Of course I want you. That didn’t come out right. I want to be with you, regardless of what anyone else says or thinks or wants for my life.” Violet reached out and covered his hand with her own. “I love you, Aidan. And not because you’re my son’s father. I would want you in my life even if I hadn’t gotten pregnant that first weekend.”
Aidan was stunned speechless. He wasn’t quite sure how to even respond to that. It was everything he’d hoped she’d say and yet the idea of it scared the crap out of him. Although he knew he had feelings for her, and she’d said she loved him, a part of him didn’t truly believe it could be true. Could a woman like Violet ever truly love someone like him? He was afraid to believe her.
“What about the things you said at the party? About how different we are. How things would be easier with someone like Beau? Someone that shared your culture and background. Nothing has changed in that department.”
“And I don’t expect it to. Love isn’t easy. I’ve realized that even with all those things going for Beau, loving him after everything we’ve been through would still be hard. It would be more work to forgive and trust him than any obstacle the two of us would ever face. It might be work for us to navigate, but it can also be fun and exciting for us to learn about each other. I don’t want us to be alike. I just want us to be together. And happy. Do you think you could be happy with me? And with Knox? To have our own little family?”
Aidan felt his chest tighten at the mere thought of having a real family with Violet. Childhood memories of Christmas and Easter, first days of school and Friday night cheese pizza, all came back to him. Having all of that for Knox, and sharing it with Violet, was the most amazing thing he could think of to happen in his life.
There was just one thing left to do.
* * *
Aidan had been unnervingly quiet throughout their entire discussion. He asked a few questions, but for the most part, had sat with his coffee and listened quietly while she cut open her chest and laid her heart out on the table. She had come here knowing that he might not be receptive to what she had to say. She was prepared for that, and yet, had hoped desperately for him to leap out of his chair, scoop her into his arms, declare his love for her and kiss her senseless.
When Aidan finally did move, he stood up with a stoic look on his face. “Would you excuse me for a minute?”
She nodded and watched him disappear into the living room and go up the stairs. She wasn’t sure what was upstairs that he had to go there right now, of all the times, but she did her best to sit patiently and not overreact.
Even then, she felt tears of disappointment start to well in her eyes. She asked him if he wanted to have a life with her, told him that she loved him, and he just got up from the table and walked away. That was not how she imagined this moment going.
But then Aidan returned a few minutes later with something small clutched in his fist. “I’m sorry about that. I had to go get something important. It couldn’t wait.”