“Yes. But I haven’t seen him in a long time,” Aiden said, his expression serious. “He’s not a good man.”
Nick had blinked, two lines appearing on the bridge of his nose as though he was concentrating on something. “But you’re not bad, are you?” He glanced over at Brooke. “Aiden’s good, right, Mom?”
She nodded. “Yes, sweetheart, Aiden’s a good man. And he wants to be a good uncle, too, if you’ll let him.”
Nick had stared at her for a moment, before his solemn gaze moved to Aiden. “I’ve never had an uncle before. I don’t know what they do.”
Brooke could see Aiden trying to bite down a smile. “Lucas is like an uncle,” she said to her son. “He plays with you, he talks with you. He loves you.”
“I love Lucas, too.” He nodded slowly. “Does that mean I can call you Uncle Aiden?”
“Yeah.” Aiden’s voice was gruff. “But only if you want to.”
“I think I do.” Nick dipped his spoon into the mound of pink and white ice cream piled in his bowl, scooping it up and lifting it to his lips. “Mom, where does the sun go at night?” he asked before closing his lips around the spoon.
She glanced at Aiden who was staring straight at her. Shrugging, she brought her attention back to her son. “It doesn’t go anywhere,” she said, trying not to grin at his abrupt change in conversation. She knew her boy well enough to understand he’d had enough information about his family, at least for now. He wanted time to take it in before talking about it again. “The sun stays in the same place, it’s us who moves.”
“How did he take it?” Ember took a sip of her coffee and placed the cup down on the table.
“He was fine. He’s asked a few questions since, but nothing more. I think he’s still taking it all in.”
They both turned to look at Nick, who was drinking soda from a cup and straw, as he sat on the beach next to one of his school friends. The two of them were in deep conversation, their heads so close to each other their hair was touching.
“And what do your parents have to say about it?”
Brooke caught her friend’s eye. Ember knew the Newtons well. She’d spent enough time at Brooke’s house over the years. From birthday parties and sleepovers, to dinner dates and cocktail parties, the Newton house had been like a second home to Brooke’s friends. And though both Ally and Ember had the Lillian Newton seal of approval, they both knew Brooke’s parents weren’t always as supportive as they could be.
“They don’t know yet,” Brooke admitted.
“That you’ve told Nick?”
Brooke slowly shook her head. “I haven’t told them a thing. Not about Jamie being Nick’s dad, or Aiden being his uncle.”
“Oh.” Ember brought her hand to her mouth. “Brooke, don’t you think you should tell them? Now that Nick knows…”
Brooke nodded her head. “I know I should. But there hasn’t been a right time.”
“Maybe the wrong time will have to do.” Ember wrinkled her nose. “If I know your mom and dad, it will be a hundred times worse if the news comes from somebody else but you.”
“I know.” Brooke lowered her head into her hands. “None of this was planned. A few weeks ago I thought I had everything covered. I was going to graduate, move out with Nick, things were going to be easy.” And then Aiden came along and her world was tipped upside down. All the secrets she’d buried for so long were rising to the surface, demanding to be heard. She lifted her head and took a deep breath. “Anyway, they’re away on vacation, so there’s no way of telling them. And as soon as they’re back it’s the Charity Gala. I’ll tell them after that.”
“I’d forgotten all about the gala. I need to choose a dress.” Ember grimaced. She’d never been one for dressing up – preferring shorts and a t-shirt to an evening gown.
“On the plus side, at least you’ll get to see Lucas in a tux,” Brooke pointed out. Ember grinned at her words. “And if you can’t find anything, I have hundreds of dresses still hanging in my closet back at my parents’ house. I’m pretty sure they’d fit you perfectly.”
“How are the arrangements going?”
“Good I think. Clara has it all under control. All the tables are sold and we have some amazing auction items. Hopefully we’ll be able to raise a lot of money for the shelter.”
“It’ll be a fun night,” Ember said, though her tone wasn’t as certain as her words.
Brooke laughed. “Yeah, sure. Keep saying that and we both might believe it.”
“At least it’s for a good cause.”
“That’s why we’re going. And afterward we won’t have to think about it for another year.”
A dark shadow passed over the deck, landing on the metal table in front of them. Brooke looked up to see who it was, and felt herself blush as she recognized the man.