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little privacy.
    “Hey,” he said,
leaning against the wall and sliding down just enough so he could be eye level
with me.
    “God, Aidan, how
tall are you now?” I asked.
    “Six, six,” he
said.
    I took a deep
breath. “You always did have those big puppy hands and feet.”
    He smiled and
cocked his head. “Are you doin’ okay, Cass?”
    “I’m fine. Good…
yeah, good.” I swallowed and forced myself to look at him. He was almost as
gorgeous as Carter… almost. “How are you?”
    Aidan crossed
his arms and continued to study me. “I’m good, Cass.”
    “How’s Carter?”
I rasped. A darkness covered his face and I shook my head. “You don’t have to
tell me, it’s okay.”
    “He’s different,
babe. But that’s not entirely your fault,” Aidan said.
    “Right.” I
folded my lips between my teeth and blinked back tears. “I’m sorry, Aidan.”
    “You got nothin’
to apologize to me about, Cassidy. I love you like a sister, always have,
always will. I had Ace’s back because he’s my brother, but that didn’t change
how I felt about you.”
    I gave him a sad
smile. “Well, that’s sweet, Aidan. Thank you.”
    “I don’t do
sweet, Cassidy.”
    I let out a
quiet snort. “Oh, you absolutely do sweet.”
    He grinned.
“We’ll keep that between us.”
    I nodded,
crossing my arms just to have something to do with my hands.
    Aidan stood to
his normal height again and I craned my neck to look up at him. “He’ll come
around.”
    “I just want him
to be okay,” I admitted.
    “He will be.”
Aidan kissed my forehead, gave me a hug, and then led me back to Dani and
Payton.
    We headed
upstairs to where the private bedrooms were. Dani unlocked a door and led us
inside, flipping on the light and closing us in. “Make yourself comfortable,
Cass. I’ll grab some water.”
    I flopped into
an easy chair by the window and Payton handed me a box of tissues before
sitting in the chair beside me. I gave her what I’m sure was a pathetic smile
and set the Kleenex on my lap. As Dani pulled waters out of a mini fridge in
the corner, I took in the room. It looked like a pretty normal master bedroom,
with a king-sized bed and a sitting area with television. I wondered how often
they stayed here considering they had an amazing apartment overlooking the
Willamette in downtown Portland.
    “So you know Ace
and Knight,” Dani said, and handed me a bottle of water.
    I nodded. “Since
I was six.”
    “Wow,” Payton
whispered.
    “Carter…um, Ace,
was my best friend until… well, until I got pregnant.”
    “Is he Maverick’s
father?” Dani asked.
    I shook my head
and groaned as the tears flowed again. “Do you know how long it’s been since I
cried? Gah!”
    “Well, you’re
obviously due,” Payton observed.
    As I pulled
another tissue from the box, I filled these two virtual strangers in on
everything. My life before Maverick and after, leaving no detail out. It was
surprisingly cathartic, but it left me drained.
    “Do you still
dance?” Payton asked.
    “When I can, but
mostly in my living room nowadays.”
    Dani smiled.
“Why was Ace so upset about you naming Maverick, Maverick?”
    “Because in my
heart, he’s Carter’s. Carter always had this weird obsession with flying, and
could probably quote Top Gun beginning to end. He made me watch it more
than a dozen times, until I said no more.” I grimaced. “It was a given that
he’d go into the Air Force, and when I was in the hospital giving birth to this
beautiful little boy, all I could think about was how he should have been his,
you know?”
    “He kind of
looks like him,” Dani said. “Sorry.”
    I sighed. “Don’t
be. He does look like him, but that’s not a surprise. Pierre looked a lot like
Carter at the time. It’s probably why I let him manipulate me.” I groaned
again. “I don’t understand what Carter’s even doing here! Last I heard he was
in the Middle East somewhere.”
    “I think he’s
been part of the club for a