Authors: Lilly Wilde
The announcement to board was being repeated so we didn’t have a chance to sit. Instead we hopped in line and headed down the air bridge. Funny how I had finally decided to stop running, yet here I was again … running away. At least this time I was running toward something instead of away from it. We were seated on the plane awaiting the quick ascend into the friendly skies. I looked at the picture in my hand as I placed my hand over my stomach.
I looked over at Kellan who quickly donned a reassuring smile. Despite the enormity of sadness, I was grateful to share this journey with him. He reached for my hand, soothing my nerves with a gentle squeeze. He leaned in to kiss me softly on the cheek. A single tear escaped as I gazed into his eyes. He reached up to wipe it away as I leaned back and closed my eyes, ready to embrace this new chapter of my life.
My only concerns were three loose ends: April, Bianca and Lia. If Aiden spoke to either of them, I knew he would be able to get all of the information he wanted. I’d asked Aiden to let me go and to not look for me and although he’d agreed, it was not without very persuasive tactics on my part. I knew I had hurt him and it killed me to look into his eyes and lie to him but I could no longer afford to be in his complicated world.
*****
I’d settled quite comfortably in Belize. I’d become accustomed to having someone there, even if only via FaceTime or Skype. But that wasn’t enough; I was lonely. I’d met a few of the locals and Kellan came to visit as much as he could. He was making arrangements to move here permanently and I couldn’t wait to have him with us every day. I had come to rely on him and although our relationship wasn’t ideal, he was fine with that. I wondered how long he would be though. He had arrived last night and was at a meeting with one of the local firms.
April would be coming over with Blaine next week. I was so happy that they’d worked things out. She and I had also worked out the kinks in our friendship. It would never be the friendship it once was; I never wanted that dysfunction again. We no longer shared a friendship based on need. It was a friendship based on the desire to remain best friends … to remain family.
I missed Boston. I missed RPH and most of all, I missed Aiden. I’d considered the possibility of moving back to Boston after a few years. I actually didn’t know where I would end up because I hadn’t planned that far ahead.
I opened my laptop and accessed my email account to start a new message. Once I finished, I read it and desperately wanted to hit
send
but something inside me just wouldn’t allow me to do that. Instead, I read it over and over.
My Dearest Aiden,
I don’t regret you. I thought that I would; I knew that I would … but I don’t. Loving you made me realize that I can have a life outside of my fears
–
that I don’t have to omit part of life. For that, I thank you. And even now, after having said good-bye, my heart is overflowing with love for you. I’m pretty sure that I’ll always love you but I felt that I had to let you go. I couldn’t stand in the way of you and your family. I couldn’t force you to choose and I didn’t want to be the person who destroyed your family.
Family once meant so much to me and I had forgotten that. I pushed it aside because of the hurt of my childhood that I now know was not torn apart because of a lack of love but because there was so much of it. You have a responsibility to your family and thousands of others. Yes, I know that you have just as much of a responsibility to yourself and when you come to terms with that, I know you will find me.
All my love…
Now and forever,
Aria
I read it again. And again. And again. I couldn’t send it but I couldn’t delete it. I printed the email and saved it in my drafts and turned off my computer. I read the printed copy once more and folded it. I went to the box that held my memories and placed it on the top of the others. My eyes fell upon the crumbled note that Aiden had given me. That seemed like a life time ago. I’d never read it. I placed the box on the floor and grabbed the note.
Aria,
Please accept these flowers as an apology for my behavior. You make me crazy and I don’t seem to know the right thing to do when it comes to you. I simply react. Let’s talk. I miss you.
-A.
I placed the letter over my heart and held it there. I closed my eyes; recalling the day in my office when Aiden had forced his mouth on mine.
I didn’t want to cry. Don’t cry. Don’t cry. Don’t cry. I repeated it over and over until I’d placed the note in the box and moved it out of sight.
I walked around the house looking for something to do but there was nothing. I was restless and decided to go for a walk along the beach. I tapped a short text asking Kellan to meet us there at the conclusion of his business meeting.
It was a beautiful day, perfect for a relaxing barefoot walk along the beach. The bright sun was warmer than it had been as of late; feeling like an invisible blanket of warmth. The feel of the warm sand between my toes was comforting. I pulled the blanket from my bag and spread it out near the edge of the water. I took a seat and removed the KTan from my shoulders, freeing Lyric from its constraints. He’d gotten so big. I gave him a kiss on his adorably chubby cheeks. He looked so much like his father, with the exception of the chubby part.
I was bouncing him on my knees, speaking to him as if he could actually understand me. He was giggling and staring at just the right parts. A shadow gradually blocked the beaming sun and I looked up from the baby prepared to ask Kellan how things went with his meeting but gasped when I saw that the person casting the shadow wasn’t Kellan. I was staring into the eyes of a man I didn’t recognize, a man whose eyes once intoxicated me, a man whose eyes were now touched with the same iciness of his mother.
THE END
Shining bright as an emerald you came forth
Awakening and renewing like the month of your birth.
Redefining everything, you staked a claim on me,
And the same, my life will never be.
Mesmerized by simply the thought of your voice or your touch,
Fills my heart to overflowing because I love you so much.
The moon holds a light with its spinning glow,
As you hold my heart forcing it to grow.
Though you came into my life out of the blue,
My days and nights are now consumed with you.
For you’ve awakened what’s been long asleep
And made me want to forever keep,
You as my friend, my love, my man
Walking this life together hand in hand.
Sharing my life, my love and yes, some tears
Falling deeper in love, despite our fears.
Crazy, strange and intense is our love … it’s true
However you’ve captured a piece of my heart that belongs only to you.
Discussion Questions
ARIA AND AIDEN’S STORY CONTINUES
IN THE UPCOMING SEQUEL TO THE UNTOUCHED TRILOGY
TOUCHED BY HIM
Coming Soon from Lilly Wilde!
Thank you for reading Touched. If you enjoyed it, please take a moment to leave a review at your favorite retailer.
Thanks!
Lilly Wilde
Touched
is also available in a print edition at most online retailers.
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Untouched
- Book One of The Untouched Trilogy
What Readers are Saying about Untouched:
“Simply Exquisite!! This book is amazing! The description of the characters is so vivid and extremely catching. I felt like I was actually living the story. I was so drawn to Aria, Aiden and April. The communication between Aiden and Aria is so touching ... I laughed throughout the book and cried at the end. Cannot wait to read more ... I love the sensuality of it all. One of the best breath taking books I have read so far. Can’t
wait for the next one. Great writer! Awesome Job Lilly! “
~Review from Amazon
“Lilly Wilde gives you the same excitement we got from 50 Shades and The Crossfire Series. Except Lilly delivered it to us in a whole new way. It was so much more realistic than the others that you not only finished it yearning for your own Aiden but you actually think it’s possible to find him. You are captured from the beginning to the end. You fall in love with this couple. This couple is so sexy and your mind takes you away to forbidden places and feelings. It’s a great story and a sexy read. You don’t want to miss out on this!!!!!” ~ Review from Amazon
~Review from Amazon
“I loved your book! Aiden was a perfect cross between Christian Grey and Jesse Ward...The perfect man.” ~ Review from Amazon
~Review from Amazon
“LILLY DEFINITELY BLEW ME AWAY WITH THIS! Aiden and Aria made me fall in love from the beginning. Their story is so similar to 50, Crossfire, Driven, This Man, but at the same time it holds some unique individuality that really makes it stand out.” ~ Review from Amazon
~Review from Amazon
“I've read a lot of books, many from this genre, 50 Shades, Crossfire Series, This Man etc... and in a word this book is AMAZING. You immediately become invested in the characters and take this emotional roller coaster ride with them. I found this book to have more real life undertones than some of the others I've read making the characters more relatable. It has been said that every story has been told, well that may be, but definitely not in this fashion. It's a must read! ~ Review from Amazon
~Review from Amazon
“What else can be said about a phenomenal writer who brought to life two amazing people in a story that is not only emotionally charged, but is realistic. Aria and Aiden will capture you from the beginning and won't let you go. I can't get enough of them. Reading this I had every emotion possible. I was happy, pissed, sad, and curious but mostly I was captivated by their story…” ~ Review from Amazon
~Review from Amazon