“I’m sure you’ll buy yourself something pretty and get over it,” he said before turning and heading down the grand staircase to the exit of the hotel.
Eleven
Aidan found himself wandering through the streets of Manhattan, unwilling to go home, and unsure of where else to turn. Instead, he’d just walked block by block until his shiny black dress shoes started to rub a blister into his toes. Stopping at a corner light, he looked up and spied the neon sign of a bar he’d heard of, but never visited before.
Crossing the street, he went inside and found it dark and fairly quiet. It wasn’t a rowdy sports bar with dozens of televisions blaring or one offering a live band making it too loud to think. It was more the kind of place people went to drown their sorrows and hide away from the world for a while. It was perfect.
The bartender was a balding man in his forties with a graying goatee and bushy matching eyebrows. He nodded in greeting to Aidan and went back to what he was doing. Aidan found a seat at the far end of the bar in a dark corner isolated from any of the other patrons. He climbed onto the bar stool, immediately tugged loose his bow tie and unbuttoned the collar of his dress shirt. That helped lessen the irritating feeling of a lump in his throat that he couldn’t swallow.
Now that he was off his feet, he was happy, but sitting still left him alone with his thoughts in a way walking through the city hadn’t. A shot or four of whisky would do the trick, he was pretty certain. That would’ve been his father’s solution. It was easy to forget your troubles in a glass until one day your troubles were caused by the glass itself. Tonight wasn’t the night for Aidan to start drinking.
“What can I get ya?” the bartender asked as he came up and placed a napkin in front of Aidan.
“Ginger ale,” he answered before he could change his mind and get something stronger.
The bartender arched a curious brow at Aidan, but didn’t say anything. He just turned and went about pouring a soda in a tall glass of ice. Delivering the drink, he said, “Holler if you need anything,” and disappeared.
He was grateful to be left alone. Bartenders had a reputation for being amateur therapists, even Aidan, although his father had a knack for it that he lacked. Most of the bartending community enjoyed that part of the job and sought out the customers who looked like they needed to chat. He probably could use someone to talk to tonight, but he wasn’t ready. Not yet.
Instead, he sipped his ginger ale and stared intently at the wood grain of the bar top. The longer he sat, the heavier the engagement ring felt in his coat pocket. Finally, he took the box out and set it down next to his drink. Opening the hinge, he lifted the ring and twirled it thoughtfully between his fingers. Even in the dim light of the bar, the diamonds sparkled brilliantly. It was beautiful, just like the woman he’d intended to give it to tonight.
He was a fool to have even thought that was a good idea. Spending that week living together had tricked him into believing they could pull a relationship off in reality. And maybe they could. But proposing to Violet? A gorgeous billionaire who could have any man she wanted? Just because she’d chosen Aidan for a one-night stand didn’t mean she would choose him for a husband. She probably wouldn’t have chosen him for her son’s father if that was a decision she’d gotten to make.
Hell, he should consider himself lucky that her parents showed up and everything went wrong before he worked up the nerve to ask. He’d probably still end up in this bar, miserable and alone, but at least he’d saved himself the embarrassment of her turning him down in front of everyone at the masquerade party.
Because she would’ve said no, right?
Of course she would’ve. What did he have to offer her? That day when they ran into Beau, she’d made a big deal about how there were more important things in a relationship than success and money. But did she really mean it? She said she loved him, too, and he didn’t know if he could take her declaration for truth, either. She was desperate to keep him from walking out on her, nothing more. He couldn’t imagine she could take her father’s side and then say something like that and mean it.
Then again, if he had truly listened to what she said with his brain and not just his ears, maybe he would’ve interpreted things differently. The argument had played in his mind a dozen times like a looping viral video. He realized now that she’d never said he wasn’t good enough or that she would choose Beau over him as her father wanted. Just that her father had a point about them being different and how it could make a relationship harder.
That was true. They were different in every way, not just where money was concerned. And yes, that meant they would face challenges as a couple. They would have to have discussions like what religion to raise Knox in or whether or not he went to a swanky private school. But he loved her. And he loved his son. He wanted them to be a real family. If she truly loved him the way she said she did, they could make their relationship work.
If he hadn’t ruined it all by throwing her love in her face and stomping off.
“Normally, I try to mind my own business, but it’s not very often that a guy in a tuxedo with a diamond ring and no girl wanders into a place like this. Especially one throwing back ginger ales like there’s no tomorrow.”
Aidan looked at the line of empty soda glasses in front of him and smiled at the bartender. “I’d have to ask, too,” he admitted. “I run a bar, myself.”
“What are you doing here, then?”
That was a good question. He’d considered going to Murphy’s. He’d even walked past it at one point. “If I went into my own bar, I’d end up working on a rare night off. Tonight I have other things on my mind.”
“Like woman troubles?”
“You could call it that.” Aidan looked at the ring, and then slipped it back into the box. “Are you married?”
“I was.”
“Divorced?”
The bartender shook his head. “I’m a widower.”
Aidan straightened up in his seat, suddenly feeling guilty for moping around when others had bigger problems than he did. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t worry about it. It’s been ten years now. I wish I could say I’ve gotten over it, but that would be a lie. I’m just getting better at talking about it.”
“Was she sick?” For some reason, talking about the bartender’s problems was easier than worrying about his own at the moment.
“No. It was an accident. One moment we were arguing about something stupid, and the next, she was gone.”
Aidan could see the lines of regret etched into the man’s face. Even a decade later, losing his wife seemed to haunt him.
“We were always arguing about stupid stuff,” the bartender continued. “Her parents never liked me, so they were always causing trouble in our relationship by putting her in the middle. She was constantly trying to keep the peace, but I didn’t want peace, I wanted her to side with me. The stress would build up until we would just pick at each other over little things. It all seems silly now.”
After the night he’d had, Aidan could understand the issues the bartender had with his in-laws. “Why didn’t her parents like you?”
He shrugged. “Name a reason and you’d probably be right. They didn’t like anything about me. I wasn’t educated and I didn’t have a career with a future. My family wasn’t the greatest. I didn’t kiss their rear ends whenever we were together. They never seemed to care how much we loved one another or how well I treated her. She was my world. But after all these years, I’ve finally realized that basically anything I did would be wrong because no one was good enough for their only daughter.”
“I can understand how that is. My... Violet...is an only child. Her parents have very high expectations.”
The bartender nodded. “In the end, none of that mattered, but I didn’t know it. I could never see what was the most important—that she loved me. That should’ve been my
sole focus. Not all that other stuff. Instead of arguing with her, I should’ve been holding her tight. I should’ve been appreciating every precious moment I had with her, because I didn’t have that many left.”
Aidan wasn’t sure what to say, but he knew that the thought of losing Violet permanently made him ill. Or maybe it was the four ginger ales he’d gone through since he arrived. Either way his stomach ached as he thought about living his life without Violet in it. Raising Knox without her. He knew he never wanted to know what that would feel like.
And yet, he’d walked away from her tonight and threw her love back in her face like a fool. What had he been thinking?
“Listen, I don’t know what’s going on with you and your intended. But I know this much—when you find the person you love, and who loves you, you’ve got to hold on to it. It isn’t every day that you meet the person that makes you feel complete. When they come along, you’ve got to focus on what’s truly important because that other stuff is just noise. What her parents think, what society thinks...it doesn’t matter. Unfortunately, most people don’t realize that until they lose that person for good. I know I didn’t. And I regret it every single day of my life.”
Aidan already felt an unbearable amount of regret swirling in his gut. He couldn’t stand the thought of living with a lifetime of second-guessing himself. Reaching into his wallet, he pulled out enough for the soda and a hefty tip. The guy had earned it tenfold. “Thanks for the advice. I really needed that pep talk.”
“No problem. You don’t want to be like me. You’ve still got the chance to make things right with Violet. Don’t waste the opportunity you’ve been given.”
Aidan slid off the bar stool with a new sense of purpose moving his feet. He was going to get a cab back to his apartment and once he was there, he was going to figure out how to fix this mess.
He loved Violet. He just hoped she still felt the same way about him.
* * *
Violet looked at the paperwork on her desk but couldn’t get her eyes to focus on it. It had been that way for the last week, since Aidan walked out of the masquerade ball. She wasn’t able to erase the image of his face as he said his hateful words and walked away.
She’d deserved some of it, she was sure, but she never imagined he would throw her love in her face like that. Violet didn’t agree with her father; she was just trying to explain where he was coming from. Opposites did attract but in the long run, they made for a challenging relationship. She and Aidan had little in common aside from their son. She wasn’t holding that against him, it was just a fact.
It didn’t make her love him any less. It meant that maybe it wasn’t enough. Perhaps being coparents and nothing more was the right answer for them.
She only wished she could convince her heart of that.
A tap at the door interrupted her thoughts. “Yes?”
Betsy opened the door with an apologetic look on her face. “I’m sorry to disturb you, Miss Niarchos, but Mr. Rosso is here to see you.”
Her stomach sank in her belly. She’d hoped for half a moment that it was Aidan, not Beau, waiting to see her. “Tell him I’m busy. He’ll have to call and get time on my schedule.”
“I did, but he is quite insistent that he see you right now.”
Violet sighed. Beau was like a stubborn ox. He wasn’t going to leave the office until he got what he wanted. “Fine. But interrupt us in ten minutes with an urgent call.”
Betsy nodded and a moment later, Beau strolled through the door. He looked just as cocky as ever in his pinstripe suit, slicked-back dark hair and knowing smile. He strolled arrogantly across the room to her desk with his hands buried in his pants pockets.
With every step closer he took, she found it harder to believe that she’d almost married Beau. Yes, her father was right when he said that things would be easier with Beau. At least on the surface. But at the moment, the idea of dating Beau again made her feel very unsettled.
“Violet, I’m disappointed,” Beau said.
She arched her brow as she looked up at him from her office chair. “Dare I ask why?”
“No kiss? Not even a handshake?”
Violet put out her hand to shake it and he brought it up to his lips. She squirmed out of his grip and buried her hand beneath her desk. “What can I do for you, Beau? I’m very busy today.”
Beau unbuttoned his coat and sat down in her guest chair. He sprawled out, making himself more comfortable there than he should. “Well, I missed out on seeing you at the gala the other night. I got hung up in traffic and by the time I arrived, your parents told me you’d already left.”
“I wasn’t in the partying mood.” And that was true. After Aidan walked out, she couldn’t bear to go back into the room and face her parents. She knew she would do or say something she would regret. She hadn’t wanted to hurt Molly’s House’s chances by tainting the event with scandal, so she’d turned it over to Betsy and called it a night.
“So your parents said. They said you’d had a fuss with Knox’s father and encouraged me to come see you.”
“Why? So you could swoop in and save me?”
Beau just shrugged. “Maybe. I thought perhaps you’d had a taste of what was out there and you’d come to your senses about our engagement.”
“‘Come to my senses’?”
“Well, yeah. We’re good together, Vi. Everyone seems to know it but you.”
“I’m not so sure I agree with that sentiment.” Beau was hardly a perfect boyfriend, something her parents never seemed to understand. Perhaps their own relationship was so flawed they didn’t notice the difference.
Violet hadn’t noticed the difference either until she’d spent the last few weeks with Aidan. It wasn’t just that he was a good man and a great lover, but he was a great father. The kind of father Beau would never be. There were so many things that she and Knox would miss out on without Aidan in their life. Beau couldn’t compete as a father. He wouldn’t play sports with Knox or take him to Yankees games. He couldn’t even pick up the baby without him howling.
“I don’t think you’re in a position to be so choosy, Violet.”
“Choosy?”
“Yes. I’m being the bigger man here. Overlooking your infidelity and raising Knox as my own son is a big offering on my part. Not many men would be willing to do that. I’m willing to marry you, Violet. I’m willing to forgive your little dalliance and move our relationship forward.”
Violet narrowed her gaze at Beau and suddenly, something about his words felt familiar. Little dalliance. Dalliance. That wasn’t a common phrase and yet it seemed like she’d heard it recently.
Then, just as when Aidan had walked into her office that first day, a wave of missing memories rushed over her. All this time, she’d wondered why she’d ended up in Murphy’s Pub that night. Going out alone looking for tequila and oblivion was not her modus operandi. And yet she had. When her memories had returned about her time with Aidan, this was the one piece that had remained out of her reach.
She’d convinced herself that maybe they’d had one of their usual fights. They argued more than she was comfortable with, usually because Beau was staying out late or doing things that led her to believe he wasn’t ready to settle down. If she hadn’t gotten pregnant, she never would’ve agreed to marry him.
And if she had remembered what she knew now, she would’ve punched him in the face instead.
“You bastard,” she said in her coldest tone.
Beau’s eyes widened in surprise. “Excuse me?”
“How could you let me go all those months believing you, planning our wedding, when you knew the truth?”
“The truth about what? That you were having someone else’s baby? I didn’t know that. I thought it was mine. How was I to know you’d banged some bartender? I thought you were faithful.”
She had to admit Beau
was good. He was going to stick with his lie because he thought she still didn’t remember. “I meant the truth about you and me. Because I was faithful, Beau. When I so-called ‘banged’ that bartender, we had broken up because I caught you in bed with that sneaky little cow Carmella Davis.”
The previously suppressed image was suddenly incredibly clear in her mind. Her apartment. Her bed. Her boyfriend. Blonde and buxom Carmella completely naked and taking Beau for a ride... They’d fought, he’d argued it was just a little dalliance, nothing serious, and she ran out, wandering the streets distraught until she ended up in Murphy’s Pub.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Violet.”
She planted her hands on her desk and pushed herself up to glare at him from above. Her cheeks were flaming hot with anger. “When I lost my memory in the accident, it must’ve been a godsend for you. You’d lost your billion-dollar meal ticket through your own stupidity and got a reprieve because I forgot about the whole thing and you could just continue our relationship like nothing ever happened.”
This time Beau had the good sense to keep his mouth shut.
“You rushed to my bedside at the hospital. Held my hand. And all the time, thanking your lucky stars I didn’t remember what happened with you and Carmella. But the doctors said I would get my memory back eventually. Weren’t you worried about that?”
“Not really.” He shrugged arrogantly. “When you turned up pregnant, I figured it was mine and I was in the clear no matter what. If you hadn’t insisted on getting your pre-baby body back before we got married, I would’ve had you locked down long before your memory returned. Then that little redheaded brat popped out of you and ruined all of my plans.”
“That’s it.” She pointed one finger angrily toward the door. She was a patient person, but she was going to go full mama bear on his ass if he didn’t leave soon. “Get out of my office.”
“Violet—” he started to argue.
One Unforgettable Weekend (Millionaires 0f Manhattan Book 6) Page 13
