“Grace, you —”
“No, let me,” I insisted. “You’ve been perfectly clear from the moment we met about who you are. And you were also extremely clear about the fact that Maia comes first. And so she should. I’m glad you’re making her a priority. You’re right – she deserves it. And I get it. I really do. I get it more than most that you feel guilty every day about missing out on being her dad all these years. I understand why you want to focus all your energy on her, and I’m ashamed by how selfish I was last night. We were both in that room, both making that choice. It’s not all on you.”
Relief made him sag against his desk. “Thank you. That means a lot.”
I nodded.
“I still shouldn’t have done what I did.”
“As I said, we both made that mistake.”
His eyes flashed like he was annoyed by my word choice, but he lowered his eyes to the floor, hiding the reaction.
Silence fell between us, awkward and heavy.
“I better go, then,” I said, needing fresh air.
“Friends?” Logan said.
I nodded reluctantly and forced a grin. “Although you might not see as much of me for a while because I just took on a new client. Jocelyn Carmichael called me today. Looks like I’m going to be very busy.”
“Congratulations, Grace. You deserve it.”
“Thanks.”
We looked at each other, not quite knowing how to do this. In the end I gave him a pathetic little wave and turned to leave. I was just pulling the door open when I felt his hand on my shoulder. I stopped and turned to him and was immediately pulled into his arms.
He held me tight, tucking my head against his chest, and I let a moment of weakness overtake me. I sank into his hug, breathing him in.
A lump of tears formed in my throat, and I abruptly slipped out of his embrace and hurried from the office without meeting his eyes.
I took the hot mug of tea from Aidan, feeling exhausted.
My hope was that I was all cried out.
After leaving Logan I’d immediately gone to Aidan, hoping he wasn’t in training. I was in luck. He opened his door and I burst into tears.
Once I was inside he’d managed to get the story out of me through my sobbing. He was the first person to whom I admitted that I’d fallen in love with Logan MacLeod.
Now he sat down on the sofa next to me and gave me a reassuring smile. “It hurts now, Grace, but you’ll get over it. I promise you that.”
I gave him a doubtful look. “It doesn’t feel that way now. How can you be so sure?”
He took a deep, shuddering breath, seeming almost nervous. “Because once, a long time ago, I was in love with you.”
I almost spilled my cup of tea all over myself.
I stared at him in shock, probably doing a fair impression of a codfish.
“How?” I whispered, and then cleared my throat to be heard. “When? How? What?”
Aidan leaned over to pat my knee in comfort. “Years ago. All through university.”
Pain rippled through me when I remembered the drunken night we’d slept together. We were in our third year at university. I’d just been dumped and Aidan had commiserated with me. We’d gotten smashed on cheap wine and ended up having sex. We’d decided to pretend the whole thing hadn’t happened.
“Oh God,” I breathed, just thinking about how he must have felt. Like I felt right now! “I didn’t know,” I begged him to believe me. “I didn’t… I would never have had – I didn’t mean to hurt you.”
His answer was to haul me into his arms, cuddling me close. “Grace, I know that. I knew it then too. But it all worked out. I met Juno and my feelings for you changed. I love you, but I’m not in love with you anymore. And the point is… you’ll meet someone, too, and you’ll get over Logan.”
I nodded, getting his point, but I was still reeling from his revelation. “Do Chloe and Juno know how you used to feel about me?”
“Yes.”
Juno knew? I would never have guessed. She didn’t treat me with jealousy or anger or any feeling that would be completely understandable. I huffed in disbelief. “Juno is a very special woman.”
Aidan chuckled. “Don’t I know it.” He gave me a squeeze. “Someone will come along who loves you back, Grace, the way you love them, and it will change everything. You just have to be open to loving someone new.”
I pulled back from him to stare up into his face. “How very wise you are, Dr. Aidan,” I teased. “And thanks for dropping that bombshell on top of the destruction Logan caused.”
He grinned. “I was trying to help, believe it or not.”
I sighed and nodded, feeling a little kernel of something familiar start to bloom inside of me.
Hope.
“I know. And believe it or not, I think you helped.” I slumped against the sofa and felt the ache still throbbing in my chest. “But if you don’t mind, I’m not done with the whole broken-heart bit yet.”