On some level she knew he was right, recognized that he’d been grappling with an emotional minefield, but she wasn’t ready to be reasonable. She needed time to think this through, to remember that this was Aidan, not Josh, and that just as Aidan had said, the circumstances were entirely different. “Please go.”
“You want me to leave without giving me a chance to explain?” he asked, his expression at first incredulous, then angry once more. “How is judging me without knowing all the facts fair?” He gave her a disappointed look. “Maybe I’m not the one at fault here.”
Her temper kicked in. “What is that supposed to mean?”
“You told me yourself you were oblivious to your husband’s cheating. I’m starting to wonder if you just shut him down when he tried to solve whatever problems you had. Did you, Liz? Did you set up barriers that forced him to turn to someone else?”
The accusation, which hit far too close to the truth, stung. She lashed out instinctively. “How dare you say something like that? You weren’t there. You don’t know anything about it.”
“I know what you told me,” he countered. “And I see exactly what you’re doing to me. You claim you care for me. You know I have very strong feelings for you that I believe can lead to something great between us. But you’d rather seize on what you think I’ve done wrong and send me away than give me even a minute to explain.” He shook his head wearily. “Fine. If that’s the way you want it, I’m out of here. I have more than enough on my plate right now without adding this.”
Trembling with a mix of outrage and pain, Liz watched him go. It was just like that night with Josh. She’d sent Aidan away. At least it wasn’t pouring rain tonight and Aidan was walking, not driving, but it felt the same, as if disaster loomed right around the bend, as if her life would never be quite the same again. In a split second past and present had gotten all twisted together.
She could tell herself from now till eternity that the fault was Aidan’s, that he’d kept the secret even knowing how she felt about being left in the dark, but when she was all alone in her bed tonight, was that self-righteous indignation going to be any comfort at all? One thing for certain, she was going to have a whole lot of time to hear his harsh accusations ringing in her ears. He might have lashed out in anger, but he’d hit on some truths about her marriage that she’d hoped never to have to acknowledge.
* * *
Aidan didn’t know what made him angrier—Liz’s refusal to give him a chance to explain or the fact that the news, or part of it anyway, had somehow leaked out despite Thomas’s assurances that he wouldn’t say a word to anybody before morning. It was obvious Liz hadn’t known the whole story, of course. She’d known just enough to lump him in with the man who’d betrayed her.
He was crossing the town green when he spotted Bree. She stood up and headed his way, then fell into step beside him. To his surprise, though, she didn’t say a word.
He glanced over at her. “In case you were wondering, it didn’t go well.”
“I figured, since you weren’t gone that long.”
“What were you doing sitting out there at this hour? I know it’s a safe town, but it’s late, Bree. Shouldn’t you be home with your husband?”
“Jake knows where I am. I thought you might want to talk, and in my family we try to be there for our own.”
Aidan regarded her with surprise. “You know?”
She nodded. “Once Liz charged out of Luke’s pub, my dad and Uncle Jeff saw no reason to keep quiet, despite their promise to Thomas. By the time I got back there, everyone knew.”
“So, what’s the general consensus? That I’m a deceitful, untrustworthy human being?”
Bree regarded him with shock. “Is that what Liz said?”
“Pretty much.” He closed his eyes and sighed. “And I get where she’s coming from. I really do. I’ve known all along how she feels about lies, but what could I do? I couldn’t share something with her until Thomas was satisfied I wasn’t lying and we could decide how we wanted to go forward. He has a wife, a son to consider.” He looked to Bree for support. “I’m not the one in the wrong here, am I?”
“Not in a perfectly rational world, but that’s not what you’re dealing with, is it? Liz has some history that none of us, except you, know about. You obviously stirred up all those old feelings.”
“That’s exactly what happened, but I honestly don’t see what I could have done differently. I came to town knowing the truth, but even I didn’t know if I would ever share it with Thomas, much less anyone else. I just wanted to see my dad, maybe have a chance to find out why he and my mom weren’t together.”
“And now that you know him, know that you have this huge, crazy family, how are you feeling?”
“Overwhelmed, to be honest with you. Add in everything that’s going on with Liz and it’s been quite a day.”
“I’ll talk to Liz tomorrow when she’s had a chance to calm down,” Bree offered. “She loves you, Aidan. I can see it in her eyes, hear it in her voice. She may not want to—she may be terrified of all those big, messy feelings she has—but she does love you. Otherwise this wouldn’t matter to her so much.”
“Is that the Irish second sight I’ve heard so much about?” he asked, his smile wry.
“Nope, just the insight of a
