Emma’s own heart suddenly ached for a girl she didn’t even know. “Why did you break-up?”
“We dated through high school and tried making it work the first semester of college, but my heart just wasn’t in it anymore. More than anything, I didn’t want to be tied down. So I got the wandering eye.”
“She caught you cheating?”
Aidan rubbed his hands over his face. “Fuck, I can’t believe I’m telling you all this.”
“Please finish.”
“No, I broke it off before she found out. Then three years later, I ran into her at a friend’s wedding, and we started seeing each other again. Neither one of us were swimming competitively anymore, we had finished up college and were starting our careers. After another year together, the logical thing to do was…”
“Get engaged.”
He grimaced. “But as much as she wanted a proposal, I just couldn’t man up and do it. The thought of being tied to her the rest of my life made me physically feel choked.” His body gave a slight tremor. “And then I did something really, really shitty, so she broke up with me.”
“What did you do?” Emma questioned softly.
“She walked in on me ha**ng s*x with another woman.”
Emma’s hand flew to her mouth, and she stared at Aidan in horror. “That’s…so cruel.”
His expression darkened. “Yeah, in case you didn’t get the memo, I’m an ass**le, remember?”
“But you can be so kind and considerate. The very fact I’m not at home alone, crying into a pint of Ben and Jerry’s proves that. Instead, I’m sitting here eating the dinner you cooked and wearing your clothes. That’s true compassion.” She shook her head sadly. “Those are the reasons why it’s so hard imagining you could do something so callous to someone you loved.”
Aidan shrugged. “The past is the past I guess. At least she found someone else and has been happily married for the last eight years.”
“You’ve seen her?”
“No. My mom used to at Mass with her husband and kids” Aidan grinned sheepishly. “Mom seemed to love rubbing it in my face.”
“She was probably still mad at you for ruining such a good thing.”
“Probably.” Aidan emptied the rest of the wine bottle into his glass. “So now that you’ve heard my sad story, what about you?”
“You already know mine.”
Aidan shook his head. “I’m not talking about being in love. I’m talking about breaking someone’s heart.” He propped his elbows on the glass table. “With your face and body, it isn’t possible you haven’t broken at least one guy’s heart.”
“I never said I didn’t,” Emma protested.
“Aha! So spill,” Aidan said.
“It’s certainly not as salacious as yours.”
He smirked at her. “I would imagine not, Goody Two Shoes. I’m sure the fact you wouldn’t sleep around broke quite a few hearts.”
Emma crossed her arms over her chest. “Last time I checked, your heart is above your waist, not below it.”
Aidan laughed. “Okay, okay. I get it. So what’s the story?”
“Fine. Here’s the Sparknotes version: his name was Steve, we were eighteen, and I was in love with his best friend.”
“Ouch, that had to suck for ol’ Steve.”
“I never meant to hurt him, but from the time I turned sixteen, there was never anyone in the world for me but Travis.”
“Did you go out with him to make Travis jealous?”
“No, at first I thought Steve would make me forget him. We were all in school and church together, but Travis acted like I was nothing more than a friend. Steve was the kind of guy who brought you flowers and called you in the morning to see how you were doing. He also respected my boundaries about sex.”
“Poor Steve,” Aidan joked.
Emma laughed. “Now I didn’t say he wasn’t getting any sexual satisfaction.”
“Just not the full enchilada.”
She wrinkled her nose. “If you have to put it that way, I guess so.”
Aidan grinned. “So what happened?”
“Even though he should have been everything I could ever want in a boyfriend, I felt nothing. It wasn’t fair to him, so I broke up with him. He was so devastated he got Travis to come and talk to me.”
Emma ducked her head, fighting the dreamy smile spreading across her cheeks. “Travis came stomping in my room, red faced and furious, demanding how the hell could I break his best friend’s heart. After listening to him rant and rave for about five minutes, I finally just screamed I was in love with him.”
Aidan’s eyes widened. “Holy shit! That took balls. What did he say?”
Emma laughed. “That he was in love with me too, but he didn’t want to hurt Steve. So we waited a few months to start dating, and then we were inseparable.”
“And Steve was okay with it?”
“He wasn’t thrilled, but he found someone else.”
Aidan stared at her for a moment and then grinned. “After unloading that heavy shit, I think we need some more wine.”
“Yes, I think we do, too.”
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
When Aidan didn’t return within a few minutes, Emma went in search of him. She found the kitchen empty but heard raised voices coming from the hallway. She craned her head around the corner to see who Aidan was talking to. Three sandy haired boys stood in the foyer outfitted in swimming trunks and carrying pool gear. Their faces were downcast. The smallest one, who couldn’t have been more than five, stomped his foot and huffed, “But Uncle Aidan, you promised we could come swimming anytime!”
“I know, Georgie, but you see—”
The tallest one shook his head. “Dude, this is so not cool.”
“Look, I told you guys that you could come back tomorrow. It’s just tonight isn’t a good time,” Aidan argued.
Emma stepped out into the hall and cleared her throat. Four pairs of eyes focused on her. “What’s going on?”
“So, she’s why we can’t go swimming!” the middle boy exclaimed.
“Ooh, Uncle Aidan’s got a girlfriend!” Georgie said before dissolving in giggles.
Aidan groaned in frustration. “Emma, these are the monsters I mentioned earlier: John, Percy, and Georgie.”
Stepping forward, Emma waved and gave them a bright smile. “Hi guys.”