Page 99 of Forgotten Prejudice

It was unlike him to be this emotional, but maybe he was just having one of those days.

“How did you even get this letter?”

“Aiden gave it to me.” He sniffed. “He actually gave it to me years ago, but I tossed it away. He probably kept it until now.”

I groaned. That old bastard loved messing with other people’s lives.

“Why are you crying now, though? It’s fine that you didn’t want anything to do with me back then.” I snorted. “I didn’t want anything to do with me back then either.”

Pulling back, he looked at me. “I should have been there for you like you’ve been here for me for the last few months.” His lips pulled into a soft smile. “I’m so lucky to have you again, Kai. You’re truly amazing.”

My heart fluttered, and the room turned a bit hotter.

I coughed to clear my throat, then asked, “You really think that?”

His eyes softened before he pressed his cheek to my chest. “I do. And I feel so safe with you being around me, especially now that Aiden’s gone.” He took a deep breath. “I just know you’d never do anything to hurt me, and I’m grateful.”

My stomach flipped, and not only because his words struck me hard but because of guilt. For a moment, I considered telling him about Soren. Eventually, the only thing that would truly help Ash heal would be the closure he deserved and never got. But what if they met, and Soren managed to sweep Ash back into his arms? Where would that leave me? The idea freaked me out, and I hugged Ash harder.

“You’re damn right, Ashy. I’d never hurt you.” I tilted his head up before taking over his lips in a hot kiss. And as Ash kissed me back, his hands desperately grabbing my shirt, I realized that the reason I didn’t tell him about Soren wasn’t because I wanted to protect his heart but to protect mine. But realizing how selfish I truly was didn’t stop me from grabbing Ash’s hips and lifting him up. It also didn’t stop me from stripping him naked and then fucking him against the kitchen wall.

In fact, it didn’t bother me one bit.

Ash

Sunday marked one year since I returned home.

One year since the man I thought I’d spend the rest of my life with broke up with me. And although it still hurt, I was doing better. Or so I thought, until the name “Soren Dane” popped up in the newspaper I was reading over breakfast.

“So, have you talked with Aiden about your idea?”

“W-What?” Quickly folding the paper in two, I put it down and looked up at Mom.

“You know, about turning the old shed into a shop?”

“Oh,” I mumbled quietly, my heart beating fast with the need to know what that article was about. “I did talk to him, and he was on board.” A few weeks ago, I’d decided to open a surf shop. The idea had come to me after I noticed the number of surfers we had around and how there wasn’t a single shop in a ten-mile radius.

“Do you know how he responded?” I grabbed my phone and opened the email Aiden’s lawyer had sent me last night.

Mom took the phone from me, her eyes going wide as she read.

“He gave you the house?”

“He did.” I smiled. When it came to my uncle, his generosity didn’t cease to amaze me. Apparently, a living inheritance was a thing; some called it a gift, but in the end—the old beach house, his beach house, was now mine to do whatever I wanted with. He also gave me access to a trust fund he’d opened the day I was born and had put money into ever since. Basically, Aiden made me rich overnight.

“That’s amazing. We should call him,” Mom said, already looking for her phone when I got up.

“It’s the middle of the night in Australia.” That’s where Aiden was currently traveling. “But we’ll call him tonight.” Even though he rarely picked up. Something told me that in the past four months since leaving, Aiden wanted to isolate himself from his old life. Why? I didn’t know, although sometimes I had my suspicions. But knowing not to go look for a man who didn’t want to be found, I had no intention of bothering Aiden. After being here for us for so many years, he had every right to want time for himself.

“Want to go surfing? I don’t have work until the afternoon,” Mom offered.

Too impatient to know what the article said about Soren, I didn’t plan on staying. “Sorry, I have plans with Kai.” That was half a lie. “But we’ll catch up later, okay?”

Kissing her cheek, I quickly grabbed the newspaper from the table and returned to my car. Assuming it would be better to read it closer to my home, I put the paper on the back seat and forced myself to drive home. Only once parked in front of the house did I reach for the paper and flip to the right page.

“Young Lawyer Turns Out to be a Guardian Angel” was what the headline said. My pulse increased, and my eyes quickly moved to read more. Soren Dane, a name prosecutors should write down, does the unthinkable and saves an underage male, Camilo Gómez, from life behind bars. Skimming through the part that went into details about that kid’s crimes, I stopped to reread the last sentence. For the last few months, Dane, currently working for Williams & Dufort Attorneys At Law in their LA offices, worked on this pro bono case that no one believed had a chance.

Soren had been in LA for the last few months?