Total pages in book: 77
Estimated words: 77398 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 387(@200wpm)___ 310(@250wpm)___ 258(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 77398 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 387(@200wpm)___ 310(@250wpm)___ 258(@300wpm)
“Agreed.”
“And your parents?”
“What about Sean?”
You’d think I’d be used to him ignoring my questions, but nope. He had no problem blowing them off. I was glutton for punishment, asking them in hopes he’d answer anyway.
You see, just because I was inclined to respond to him, it didn’t mean it was a two-way street. It was the exact opposite for him actually. He never answered anything.
“Sean was… Sean.”
“Meaning?”
“He didn’t know how to take care of anyone besides himself.”
“I see.”
“I mean, he hated that I wanted to go to nursing school. It’s why it took me so long to follow through with it. I wanted his support on my dreams, but it never came. In his mind, he was already giving me everything I ever wanted. When, in reality, he was giving me what he wanted.”
“He didn’t want to lose you, and I can see why.”
I smirked, taking another bite. “He did try to pay off my student loans when I started working for you, but I threw him out of my apartment with his money. God knows where he came up with the cash, and I couldn’t live with myself knowing it was probably blood money.”
“Does he have a record?”
“No. Sean’s too smart for that.”
“He lost you, didn’t he? That doesn’t sound like a smart man to me.”
Motherfucking swoon….
“He’s street smart. The worst kind. Sean’s a two-bit hustler who has his hands in everything from drugs, to guns, to who knows what else.”
“Do you have any proof of that?”
“No. But all it would take is to follow him around for a few days. He’d lead you right to his dirty deeds. His biggest weakness is that he’s too cocky. He thinks he’s untouchable.”
“And what role did you play in that life?”
I mocked, “His queen.”
“I see.”
“You say that a lot.”
“Do I now?”
“You do that a lot too. Answer a question with a question. What are you hiding, Dr. Pierce?”
He eyed me up and down. “From you?”
“Mmm hmm…”
“What am I not.”
“What does that—”
“Have you spoken to him?”
“No. I haven’t even heard from him which is odd.”
Ignoring my statement, he asked, “Did Sean ever hurt you?”
I took a deep breath, it was such a loaded question. “Not physically, but sometimes I wonder if that would have hurt less than the emotional damage he caused. He ran around on me every chance he had. I was never enough. Ever. It didn’t matter what I wore, how I treated him, what I did for him… I—” pointing to myself “—was never good enough.”
Aiden’s eyes glazed over as he stared deep into my eyes, contemplating what he was going to say.
I never expected him to follow up with, “I was right. He’s a very stupid man because I guarantee you, Cami, you were always enough. And you still are, for any man.”
My heart burst.
No one had ever talked to me like this.
No one.
He didn’t stop there. “You’re the most selfless person I’ve ever met. You don’t ask for anything in return, yet you give everyone your all.”
“I thought I was just a babysitter who did a shitty fuckin’ job at cleaning your house and cooking your food.”
“If that were true, you wouldn’t be here.”
“Is this your way of saying you’re sorry?”
“No.” With a stern expression, he confided, “My way of apologizing has been by taking care of you. No one has appreciated what they’ve had in front of them, and I have a huge fuckin’ problem with that.”
“Oh…”
His eyes followed the movement of my mouth.
“Is that why you’ve done all this for me? Because you felt bad for treating me like shit?”
“Amongst other things.”
“What things?”
Journey chose that moment to wake up, calling out, “Ma!” in the monitor.
Which was another thing that changed in our dynamic. Journey thinking I was her mother didn’t faze him anymore.
“For the record,” I made clear, standing to go tend to Little Miss, “a simple apology would have sufficed.”
He leaned over the cheesecake, getting close to my face. The scent of his cologne assaulted my senses and I stopped breathing when he huskily groaned, “For the record, it wouldn’t have.”
<>Aiden<>
“You’ve been spending less time at the hospital, Dr. Pierce,” Renee, my RN, pointed out.
“I’m making up for lost time with my kids.”
“And the nanny?”
What is it with everyone and the nanny questions lately?
If it wasn’t Noah, it was Skyler riding my fucking ass.
Was I that obvious?
Feeling irritated and annoyed, I snapped, “I don’t have time for your bullshit today, Renee. My surgery board is full, and I need to be home early tonight. So say what you want or go do your job.”
She put her hands out in front of her in a surrendering gesture. “I was just saying…”
“I know what you’re saying.”
“Aiden, not sure if you remember because you are getting up there in age, but I was the one who ordered Camila’s cheesecake for you to pick up last week.”