married to Sandra when I met Anna.
I hope that the man that raised you did right by you, more than I ever could.
I am deeply, deeply sorry. I hope you and Anna both know that.
Here are some stocks I bought to cover the cost of your education. You should receive an inheritance from my estate — talk to whoever is managing the family trust for that. I’ve also included the ring I bought for your mother, when it looked like my wife Sandra was going to give me my freedom.
Your brother Carter doesn’t know about you, but I hope you’ll come to love each other. Is that too much to ask?
Perhaps so.
With affection,
Your father Thom
Aiden drops the letter, sighing. I glance anxiously at his face, but come up against that same kind of mask as before. Whatever he feels, he’s not showing it to me.
“Hey,” I whisper, pulling on his shirt. When Aiden glances at me, I lick my lips. “I can’t read your face. Tell me what’s going on.”
He shrugs but when he speaks his voice sounds strained. “I don’t know. I mean… on one hand, I guess it’s nice to know that he knew who I was. Or maybe it isn’t nice, because he could’ve reached out at any time… but he didn't.”
I just want to burrow against him, to take away the pain I hear in his voice. Nodding, I settle for hugging him a little tighter. He blows out a breath.
“God, my parents fucking sucked.” He shakes his head. “Anyway, it’s even more complicated than I thought, this mess between my mom and him. And… it just blows that this was all dropped in my lap like this. ‘Here, have this ring that I meant to give your mom.’ I mean… what is that, really?”
After waiting to see if he has any more complaints, I rise up on my tiptoes and kiss him on the lips. “I’m sorry, Aiden. I’m sorry that this is your legacy. It isn’t fair.”
His lips turn up at the corners, but his smile lacks warmth. “As the man who raised me used to say, tough shit. Life is unfair.”
I take his hand, lacing his fingers with mine. “We should go back to your apartment. We’ll put on a record and drink some of that whiskey.” I kiss the back of his hand. “Okay?”
He nods wordlessly, his attention on the box. “What should I do with Carter’s envelope?”
Shaking my head, I make a face. “That I don’t know. I mean, probably give it to him. But not until you’re ready to tell him everything.”
Aiden’s dark eyes come to rest on my face, somber. “You know what’s funny? I hadn’t actually considered telling Carter anything, even though I just read my father’s instructions.”
My heart hurts for him. He looks so disappointed in everything.
“Come on.” I tug his hand. “Bring the whole box. You can wait to decide what you are going to do with the contents.”
Dumping the contents back inside the box, he does exactly that. As he follows me out of the library, I wish I could lift some of the burden from him. I’d do anything to make it easier.
Who knew that out of the two of us, he’d be the one with a more screwed up life?
Chapter Thirty-Three
Aiden
For the next week, I eat, sleep, and breathe Olivia. It took a while to persuade her of my innocence… but eventually, with a lot of growling, I manage to do it. I may have promised Olivia some things, like for instance that I would go down on her until she came ten times.
It isn’t really any punishment, because she tastes sweet and she likes to be fucked right after she comes against my mouth. She is pretty exacting though. She makes me be completely still while she explores my cock with her lips, which is its own kind of torture.
We agree to keep working a few hours a day, but aside from that she is all I think about. All I see. And the few hours that I’m working, she’s on my mind.
What it’s like to kiss her. To hear her breathy moans. What it’s like to be so damn deep inside her that for a moment, I can barely tell where I end and she begins. I keep expecting to hit that wall, to have had enough of her. But the second I start thinking about that, she does something magical.
Like sit by my record player, completely fucking naked, and put