“Really?”
“Really.”
“You aren’t just saying that because you think I’ve gone off the deep end?”
“I’m not just saying it,” I confirmed. “However, I might want you to agree to some conditions.”
“Conditions?” He took a deep breath. “Honestly, I think I’d agree to almost anything right now, so give it your best shot.”
I watched his face carefully, but he seemed sincere.
“I want you to think about seeing someone,” I said.
Aiden looked confused.
“I thought…I mean, I thought we were talking about me seeing you.”
“Not that.” I shook my head. “Aiden, you need to deal with the loss of your son. You need to see someone professionally and work it out. I’ll be here for you, but I won’t be enough.”
He dropped his eyes.
“You’re talking about a shrink, right?”
“A psychologist, yes.”
He stared into my eyes, and he didn’t look pleased at the idea. Anticipating his objections, I decided to strike first.
“If your leg was broken, would you have a doctor fix it?” I asked.
He raised an eyebrow at me.
“You saying my head’s broken?”
“No, not exactly.”
He laughed.
“Yeah, it is,” he said. “At the very least, there are some dark corners I don’t care to think about on my own.”
“So what do you think?”
He scratched his head.
“Okay…yeah. If that’s what it would take to bring you back here, then yeah, I’ll do it.”
I reached up and ran the backs of my fingers over his jaw.
“Thank you,” I said. “If you can do that, I can certainly consider trying this long-distance thing. I’m not sure how well it’s going to work, but I’m willing to give it a shot.”
“Fair enough,” he replied. He turned his body on the couch to face me and took both my hands in his. “Thank you, Chloe.”
“For what?”
“For coming here,” he said. “For giving me another chance.”
“Thank you for not holding all my assumptions against me,” I replied.
“I guess they were understandable,” he said. “I wish you had just asked me.”