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“I’ll be fine.”
She turns toward me, grabs my hand, and stares into my eyes.
“Do you promise? Truly?”
I swallow because she doesn’t know the depths of my hurt caused by Aiden. He’s already abandoned me once, and I’ve carried that with me all these years. Will I truly be fine at the end of this?
I really don’t know.
“I promise.” My voice lacks conviction, but if she can hear it, she lets it go, instead opting to lift a brow like a concerned mother.
“Don’t fall for him, Cass. You’ll only get your heart broken.”
Those words terrify me more than anything. I don’t want to think about the damage that Aiden Slate could do to my heart.
I stomp those thoughts down deep. The money is something I need, and the job will be easy enough. I won’t allow the past to ruin my future.
Jumping to my feet, I turn to face her. “Help me pack.”
She lifts one eyebrow. “You have like three things.”
“I have things,” I say, sticking out my tongue.
She’s not wrong. I’m wholly unprepared to play the part of Aiden’s girlfriend. For one, he doesn’t date, so when I show up on his arm, all eyes will be on me. They’ll tear me apart and dig into my past.
Shit. I didn’t think this through.
“Stop panicking. He’s well aware of what the paps are going to do, Cass. He’ll protect you if he wants to maintain his privacy.”
Her words are meant to help ease my rising anxiety, but I’m not sure they do the trick.
I’m not sure I’ve thought this through.
With a sigh, I grab the small bag next to the couch and start rummaging through it, my hand bumping into the manila envelope I carry.
I’m not sure why I’ve kept it this long. I should have burned it years ago. Looking up, I notice Emma has walked out of the room.
Before I can stop myself, I pull it out and open it.
It doesn’t take me long to find the first letter I wrote him. The picture I drew of an ice skate still mocks me all these years later, and it makes my heart lurch.
When I wrote this, I didn’t have his address yet, so there was no place to send it, but I needed the connection. I needed my friend.
Unfolding it slowly, I allow my gaze to scan the words, tears filling my eyes as I read.
Aiden,
You just left. Like literally as I write this, I’m actually watching you through my window. I’m so excited for you. You are totally going to kill it. It’s going to be epic. You’re going to be epic. Okay, well, Dad’s yelling at me. So yeah, I’ve got to go. Love you. See you soon!
My heart beats so hard. At the time, I truly believed he’d come back.
Now I know better.
How am I going to do this?
Let’s hope Emma’s right. I hope he protects our privacy because things might go horribly south if he finds out who I am.
9
