Chapter Twenty-Eight

The day of the fundraiser finally arrived, and Aiden was fit to sleep for a week. Both due to last-minute organization and the fact that Finn made it his single-handed mission to make sure that Aiden got as little sleep as possible.

Not that Aiden could bring himself to mind one bit.

Earlier than anyone had any right to be awake, Aiden sprang into action. Depositing a kiss to Finn’s brow and a whispered promise to see him later that was undoubtedly missed, Aiden had a quick shower and hightailed it down to the beach.

With help from Adie, who had taken the day off for the very occasion and waited outside in her car, leaving Tam to the school run.

“Ready?” she asked, coffee in one hand and steering wheel in the other.

“Born ready.”

“I have tea here for you.” Adie nodded toward the cupholder between them, which Aiden gasped at upon sight. “So what’s on the agenda?”

“We’re meeting Dot first,” said Aiden, taking his first sip. “To go over the layout before anyone else starts to arrive.”

“I love Dot,” said Adie, setting off toward the beach with a skip to her step.

As it turned out, Aiden also loved Dot—someone he’d only spoken to on the phone, but he knew her to be the person to go to about anything and everything beach related. With her son serving as a volunteer lifeguard for the day and a truck full of food to grill up, she’d told them she was glad that something was finally being done about Emily and Noah’s boat.

It was the first time Aiden had heard the names of Finn’s parents, and he could draw the close link between Millie’s name and her grandmother’s.

Getting choked up at 7 a.m. on a busy Friday morning was not conducive to the plans.

By the time the school run was over and Finn came to join them, Aiden and a small group of volunteers were in the thick of setting up a series of stalls at the top of the beach—the wind working heavily against them.

“Watch it,” Finn huffed on arrival, grasping onto a wayward tarp mere seconds away from soaring into the ocean.

“Thanks,” wheezed Aiden, hair sticking up and sweat dripping down his brow.

“Tired?”

“Exhausted,” Aiden said, because if he didn’t say so he may have screamed. There were so many things to do and so little time to do them. Kickoff was in a few hours, and they still had to set up the stage.

“Tell me what I need to do,” said Finn. And as much as Aiden wished he could tell Finn to sit back and relax, that the hard part was over, he really did need another pair of hands.

“Y’know where Hank’s Tackle Shop is?”

“Like I haven’t lived here my entire life.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Aiden rolled his eyes, a hand braced on his hip. “Could you pick up the donation buckets from him and make sure they don’t smell like fish?”

“What do I do if they smell like fish?” said Finn, somewhat apprehensively.

Aiden beamed. “Make them not smell like fish. And no complaining—you asked for this.”

“Here.” Finn deposited the tarp into Aiden’s empty hands with a shake of his head. “Clearly I won’t do that again.”

Aiden knew that was a complete lie, waving to Finn as he set off back toward his car.

“Somebody’s smitten,” Adie sang on her way by, a hefty cooler in her hands. Aiden hadn’t been able to wipe that lovesick smile from his face for hours now.

“Shoo.” Aiden motioned for her to keep going. “Tam should be down with the drinks soon.”

With the morning passing as a blur, it was difficult for Aiden to keep track of who was coming and going. Tam made multiple trips to and from the shop, Finn supplied lifting power when it came to setting up the stage, and Aiden flitted back and forth between everything to make sure nothing went wrong or was set on fire.

It was a scorcher of a day, and this close to water with a hefty amount of electrical equipment made Aiden more than a little cautious about the possibility of disaster.

“Where do you need me?”

Aiden had heard that question so many times this morning that he didn’t startle at the new voice, turning toward the sound with a frantic expression that soon melted into a soft smile when he saw Marlee.

“The guest of honor should be chilling the champagne,” he joked, sidestepping as Adie passed by with a set of deck chairs.

“Bullshit,” scoffed Marlee, hands placed delicately on her hips. “I heard Joe out in his truck this morning.”

“Oh?” Aiden replied distractedly as he peered to the steadily inflating jumpy castle—wondering if he had to be concerned about it flying off into the sea.

“Didn’t realize you brought him on board with his megaphone.”

Aiden stiffened, turning back to Marlee. “I didn’t.”

Did he?

“Maybe I did. Shit. What is he saying?”

Marlee fought off a knowing grin. “It’s not worth repeating.”

Aiden blanched, and Marlee chuckled, a hand on his shoulder, a motion he hoped was meant to be reassuring rather than commiserating.

“We’re all used to Joe around here. Getting yelled at to get our lazy arses down to the beach isn’t too bad.”

“Oh god,” Aiden said faintly.

“You stress too much. Come on. I predict we have another hour or two before we’re swamped.”

The real rush came after the schools were let out. Kids of all ages rampaged across the offerings that the volunteers had nearly broken their backs to set up all morning.

And despite everything Aiden had been anticipating going wrong, nothing went awry just yet.

And by the time the second swarm of people came—adults finishing up work for the day, people wandering down to see what the hullabaloo was about—they were sufficiently in the swing of things. The first band had started to play, the scent of sweet potato burgers from Dot wafted with the salt of the waves, and based on the rings of laughter, people were having fun.

“How are we getting on?” asked Aiden, wandering over to Adie as she shook a bait bucket for donations.

“We have a couple of coins,” Adie said optimistically. Aiden felt less so. A few hours in, and he would have expected a bit more than a few coins.

But he forced himself to take a breath. It was too early to tell.

“Have you seen the raffle table yet?”

“I thought Finn was manning that?” It was the last place he’d seen Finn, at least. Perched against the table, a set of raffle books and a few prizes dotted around him. The best place for him to be, Aiden had thought. In the middle of it all, ready to answer questions about the cause while selling the opportunity to win a lifetime supply of bánh mì from Tam’s Treats.

“Not anymore.” Adie grinned deviously, and instantly Aiden felt nervous. “Go on, check it out. I’m not going to crash and burn without you here.”

Something might. But Aiden bit his tongue, setting off toward the raffle table—his initial concern soon morphing into a sense of levity.

“Now this feels like fighting dirty,” he laughed on approach, hands on his hips as he took in the sight before him. Instead of Finn set up to chat to anyone that called by, Dylan and Millie sat there with expressions so sweet that butter wouldn’t melt in their mouths.

“I thought we could do with bringing in some reinforcements,” Finn replied, hands braced against his hips.

“Are you sure you two don’t want to try out the jumpy castle instead of sitting here?” Aiden asked, because the idea of the kids missing out on the fun didn’t sit well with him.

“They volunteered,” Finn said.

“Yeah,” Millie confirmed with a firm nod. “And Dad promised that we could play on it when everyone else goes home.”

Aiden turned back to Finn, arms crossed over his chest. “That so?”

“Figured I could bribe the fellas into leaving it inflated for a little while.” Finn nudged him lightly with his shoulder. “Who could say no to these little faces?”

“Aiden, are you going to buy a ticket?” Dylan asked, holding out a strip to him.

“I—”

“It’s for a really good cause,” Millie added.

“You’re right. I can’t say no,” said Aiden, rummaging around in his pocket for some cash.

“If you win the hamper,” said Millie as Aiden tucked a note into the donation bucket, “can I have the jelly beans?”

“And can I have the marshmallows?” asked Dylan.

Finn and Aiden answered at the same time.

“No, it’d be Aiden’s,” said Finn.

And “Obviously” from Aiden.

“I wouldn’t say no to the wine,” someone said from behind them.

“Hi Mum!” said Millie with an enthusiastic wave. Aiden turned, and the very woman in question raised her hand to return the motion.

And if Aiden had any doubt about who this tall, blond bombshell was, it was quickly confirmed by Finn, who tilted his head to the side with a roguish smile. “Hey, Imogen. Wasn’t sure if you’d come.”

“I couldn’t miss this.” Hands in her pockets, she sauntered over to deposit a kiss on Millie’s cheek and ruffle Dylan’s curls. “Plus, I have that conference this weekend and wanted to see my baby before Monday.” Turning back to Finn, she asked, “Are you still good to take Millie this weekend?”

Finn seemed confused as to why he wouldn’t be good to take her. Aiden had no doubt that even if Finn was on the other side of the world, he still would be back to have Millie. “Yeah, always.”

“Good.” Imogen smiled. “I wasn’t sure if you would be too busy with your new friend.”

“Aiden?” Millie piped up, drawing his attention away from the brief exchange between parents. “Is this a good thing to do for Friday magic?”

It could be blamed on the rush of the day, or the fact that clearly Aiden couldn’t keep up with his own bullshit, but it took a few long moments for him to realize what she was talking about. “It’s the perfect thing to do. You might even have luck to last you the next two weeks.”

Millie looked suitably excited, turning to Dylan to explain the wonders of Friday magic as Imogen set her eyes on Aiden.

“So you’re the one that started that,” she said slowly, studying him. “Thanks to you, Millie spent an entire week using her Friday luck nursing a slug back to health.”

Aiden frowned. “How do you nurse a slug?”

“Not easily.”

Skidding in the sand to stop beside Finn was Tam, grasping onto his shoulder for balance. “Hey. There’s some bloke looking for you? He’s in a suit.”

“On a beach?” Finn said, unimpressed.

“Said his name’s Bane?”

“Like…” Aiden cupped his hands around his mouth, doing his best impression of Tom Hardy in The Dark Knight Rises.

“Not bad,” Imogen appraised.

But Finn didn’t stick around too long to appreciate the uncanny likeness of Aiden’s impersonation, taking off down the length of the beach.

“Do you know what that’s about?” Aiden asked Tam, who merely shrugged in response, setting off to follow Finn.

“In case Finn is secretly Batman and there’s an impending fight,” she said over her shoulder.

Imogen made a soft humming noise, watching as Finn darted off. “There’s always some kind of chaos with those two.”

“I think I’m getting that impression.”

Imogen turned back to him, a curve to her lips as she looked him up and down. Instantly, he felt scrutinized in a way that he only associated with airport security. “But I couldn’t have planned this better myself. Kids, we’ll just be over there. Shout if you need anything.”

Aiden swallowed and felt compelled to follow.

“Millie has been telling me all about you,” Imogen said once they were safely out of earshot of the kids. “You really hit it off with her.”

“Yeah?” Aiden’s expression brightened.

“And with all of this you’ve managed to pull off, I can’t blame her for getting excited.”

Aiden relaxed a touch. Maybe this wouldn’t be so bad.

“What I can blame you and Finn for is letting Millie get excited,” Imogen said, tucking a blond curl behind her ear. Aiden tensed up once again. “For you, this is just a bit of holiday fun. A project. Right?”

Aiden didn’t say a word. How could he? He would be lying if he said that wasn’t how he’d justified getting involved with Finn in the beginning. Holiday fun, something he could do because he was a grown-ass adult and he wanted to. What he couldn’t quite put into words was what feelings developed from that—the feelings that were getting harder to ignore—and if he tried, Aiden was sure that it would all come out in a nonsensical jumble.

“But this is Millie’s life. And dammit if I want her to have some stability, not some guy swanning in to play house for a few weeks before fucking off back to god knows where.”

Aiden pursed his lips together, his gaze landing on Millie. Her head was thrown back in a laugh at something Dylan said, giggling as light as a bell. Aiden grit his teeth, that familiar swirl of guilt starting to emerge.

“Listen.” Imogen sighed. “I appreciate what you’ve done here. I think it means a lot that someone put this much effort into helping the boys out. That someone actually got Finn to agree to it. But I can’t ignore what kind of impact this is going to have on my kid, especially when she thinks that you’re going to stick around like Dylan’s mum did.”

Aiden nodded, a barely there motion—taking in everything Imogen had to say.

“There’s not much anyone can do now. If I’d known, I would have talked some sense into Finn a lot sooner. But that’s not something you have to worry about.” Imogen offered him a tight-lipped smile without any mirth. “The moment you step on that plane, this will all just be a happy memory. Something for you to post about on Instagram and show off to your friends. While Finn and I will be left trying to explain why you won’t be coming back.”

“I’m sorry. I thought I was clear to Millie, that she knew…” What else could he say to that? Aiden hadn’t once considered looking at things that way, hadn’t even thought about how all of this could come across to Millie, how monumental it may seem to her. He’d been candid the entire time, that he wouldn’t be here permanently. But to an eight-year-old, were these the actions of someone who was going to leave in just a few days? “If there’s anything I can—”

“Just enjoy the day and go home.” Imogen took a few steps away from Aiden. “You’ve done enough.”

Surrounded by crowds of people, jolly music, and shrill laughter—Aiden had never once felt more alone in his entire life. That guilt in his gut grew and grew, and the high he’d been riding for the last week crashed down around his ears.