Chapter 177

Saturday dawned shittily for Cole. She hadn’t slept well, and she’d done exactly zero preparation for the phenomenally posh birthday party she would have to attend, whether she went with Aiden or not.

Urgh. Aiden. What had she done?

She mean, maybe he was right. Maybe she was asking for the impossible. He’d told her about Nathaniel. He’d trusted her with his nightmare. It wasn’t her job to fix his relationship with Ellery. It wasn’t even her business.

Back in Kinlochbervie, he’d promised to try, and she’d promised to be patient. And only one of them, really, could be said to have kept their side of the bargain.

Clue: it wasn’t her.

She’d been greedy, and pushy, and demanding. And not very kind. And Aiden had stuck with her, supported her, done so much for her, both practically and emotionally. And, in return, she’d made him feel like a failure. Like he couldn’t make her happy.

When he did. He so did.

Obviously, what they had