She knew it was time to tell him about what’d happened to her, but she’d moved so far beyond it since she’d been in Stowe that it made her ill to think of revisiting it, even briefly and even if Aidan deserved to know. The possibility he might look at her differently after he heard her story was terrifying. The last thing she wanted was anyone’s pity, especially Aidan’s. She knew she was probably selling him short, but she just couldn’t talk about all that, not now when she was standing on the precipice of a whole new life with him. I can’t. I can’t spoil this by letting that horror touch it.

She reached over to stroke his hair, and a green eye fluttered open.

He smiled.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to wake you.”

“I’m glad you did. Feel better?” He rested a hand on her forehead. “You’re still warm, but the fever might come and go for a few more days yet.”

“I feel better, but not perfect. My head is pounding and my chest still hurts.”

“We’ll take it easy today.”

“I’m keeping you from your work.”

“I have a great client right now. Not only is she very, very cute, but she’s also very understanding.”

“Who is she, and where can I find her?”

His eyes lit up with delight. “Jealous?”

“Don’t flatter yourself, O’Malley.”

He cracked up. “Whew. Things are getting back to normal. What a relief.”

“Aidan?”

He turned to look at her. “Yeah?”

“I’m sorry for what I said that day about you never being a parent. That was an awful thing to say.”

“It’s okay. You didn’t know.”

“It was awful, and I’m sorry.”

“I asked for it by criticizing you. Don’t worry about it.”

“How do you feel after talking about it last night?”

“I’m glad you know.” He reached for her hand. “It’s always a gamble to tell that story because I don’t want to be defined by what I’ve lost. I don’t know if that makes sense, but it’s one of the reasons I like being in Stowe. No one here knows, so I don’t have to suffer through the sympathetic looks I get when I’m at home in Chatham or when I see Sarah’s family in Boston. To them I’ll always be the guy who lost his wife and kid.”

“I do know what you mean, and if I ever look at you that way, I’m sorry in advance.”

He kissed her hand.

“You know, that first day we met, I saw it in your eyes,” she said. “It was so odd, but I could tell you’d had some kind of terrible loss. I never imagined how terrible, but I saw it just the same.”