Chapter SEVEN
Around three in the morning, Emma’s full bladder woke her up. As she swung her legs out of the bed, she froze. Warmth spread through her chest at the sight of Aidan fast asleep in the chair. Sometime during the night he had come back so she wouldn’t have to stay by herself. Her heartbeat accelerated at how much he truly cared for her. Any thoughts of Pesh vanished from her mind as she sat on the bedside staring at Aidan.
His neck hung forward at a precarious angle, and she knew he would have a terrible crick in it. She stood up on her wobbly legs and leaned over him. “Aidan,” she murmured, bringing her hand to his cheek.
“Hmm?”
“Wake-up.”
His eyes snapped open, and he sprung up so fast he almost lunged into her. “What’s wrong? Are you okay?”
She smiled. “I’m fine. I just needed to go to the bathroom, and you were about to break your neck sleeping that way.”
Wincing, he rolled his shoulders. “You should get a nurse to do a bed pan and stay off your feet.”
She snorted. “I’m not that helpless, thank you very much.”
Amusement twinkled in his eyes. “Want me to carry you?”
“Absolutely not! The last thing I need is my soon-to-be caregiver to get a hernia from trying to lift me.”
“Em, you would not give me a hernia,” he replied.
“Whatever,” she murmured before padding into the bathroom. After she finished and washed her hands, she came out to find Aidan already asleep again and snoring slightly.
Shaking her head, she slipped back into bed. She felt like she had barely closed her eyes when she felt someone’s breath warming her cheek. “Em, wake-up sweetheart.”
Fluttering her eye-lids, she saw Aidan hovering over her. “What time is it?”
“Six. I wanted to let you know I was going upstairs to be with Pop before his surgery.”
“Okay. Tell him I love him, and I’m praying for him.”
“I will.” He hesitated a moment before leaning over to kiss the crown of her head. “I hate to leave you.”
“No, you need to be with your dad.”
“I’ll be back just as soon as I can.”
Emma nodded. When he turned for the door, she said, “Aidan, wait.”
He whirled around with his eyebrows cocked, waiting for her response. “I just wanted to say thank you for staying with me last night. It really means a lot that you didn’t leave me alone.”
He smiled. “Although you don’t need to say thanks, you’re more than welcome.”
When he closed the door behind him, Emma laid her head back against the pillows. In no time she was asleep again until the morning breakfast trays came rumbling around on their carts. Along with the morning meal came another nurse to check her vital signs. Emma was forcing down some of the hospital’s rubbery bacon and overcooked eggs when her hospital room door swung open. “Morning sunshine!” Casey said, sweeping inside.
“Good morning.”
“I brought you something comfortable to go home in…well, I guess I should have said something to go to the douchenozzle’s place.”
Emma rolled her eyes. “How did it go last night?”
“Fine. I managed not to maim him or draw blood.”
“I’m glad to hear you didn’t cause any more physical harm. Did you spare him emotionally as well?”
Casey grunted as she plopped down in the chair. “I probably said five words to him tops.” Gazing around the room, she asked, “Speaking of, where is the douchecanoe this morning?”
Emma grunted in frustration before replying, “He’s with his sisters waiting to see how Patrick’s surgery goes.”
“Ah, I see.”
She had just opened her mouth to tell Casey about Aidan staying the night when Pesh entered the room. “Morning. I just wanted to check in to see how you were feeling before I started my shift.”
Emma bit down on her lip to keep from laughing at Casey’s expression. Open-mouthed and wide-eyed, Casey drank in Pesh’s appearance from his head down to his toes. When he glanced at her, he thrust out his hand. “I’m Dr. Alpesh Nadeen.”
“C-Casey Turner,” she replied.
“She’s my best friend,” Emma informed him as Casey kept staring.
“It’s very nice to meet you.” Side-stepping Casey, he came to Emma’s side. “I’m hoping you won’t think it was completely inappropriate, but I snuck a little peek at your chart this morning.”
“You’re a total stalker,” she teased.
Pesh grinned, causing dimples to appear in his cheeks. “Well, with that said, everything looks good. I think once you take it easy these next fourteen days, you’ll be fine for the rest of your pregnancy.”
“I hope so.”
“Have faith. It’s all going to be just fine.” Once again his pager interrupted them. He glanced down at it and scowled. “Guess I better get downstairs.”
“Thank you so much for coming by.”
He nodded. “I’ll talk to you tomorrow, and we’ll iron out our dinner plans.”
“Dinner?”
He cocked his dark eyebrows at her. “You didn’t think I would just come check your vitals and run out the door, now did you?”
Emma felt her cheeks warming at the insinuation. “Well no, but—”
He held up a hand and smiled. “We’ll talk about it later.” He turned to Casey. “Nice meeting you.”
“Yes, nice meeting you too,” she replied, her gaze honing in on his ass as he walked out the door. Once they were alone, she whirled back to Emma. “Holy shit, Em! You have precisely five seconds to fill me in on who the hell Dr. McDreamy Bollywood is!”
Emma laughed and then she proceeded to tell Casey everything. Once she was finished, Casey shook her head slowly back and forth. “Wow…I mean…just wow.”
With a dreamy sigh, Emma said, “Tell me about it.”
“So are you going to give him a chance?”
Emma shrugged. “Maybe.”
“I think a man like that warrants a little more than a ‘maybe’.” Casey gazed longingly at the door Pesh had only moments ago exited. “I mean, incredibly good looks aside, the man is compassionate and caring…and completely the opposite of the commitment-phobic dirt-bag.”
“I’m already too stressed, Case. I can’t throw in a potential new man to the mix right now.” When Casey started to protest, Emma shook her head. “Besides, I’m still not sure I’m ready to move on from Aidan.”
Casey rolled her eyes. “Seriously? You’re going to let your feelings for the douchenozzle screw up a potentially amazing soul-mate?”
“Aidan is the father of my child. I’ll always love him for that fact alone, but there’s still so much between us.” At Casey’s tight lipped expression, Emma said, “There’s no easy black and white here, Case. It’s all grey. Besides what I still feel about him, his actions in the last twenty-four hours are very endearing. He’s risking his job to take care of me. He came back last night so I wouldn’t be alone. He’s begging and pleading for my forgiveness. I can’t just ignore that.”
Casey’s shoulders drooped in defeat. “I just don’t want to see you get hurt.”
“I know you don’t. And trust me, neither do I. But I have to at least let him try and see this thing through, or I’ll always regret it.”
Casey started to protest but was interrupted by Emma’s phone buzzing. She glanced down at it. “Aidan’s on his way up.”
Casey wrinkled her nose. “I better get a move on, or I’ll be late to work.”
“Hold down the fort for me while I’m gone.”
She grinned. “Will do. You just make sure to take extra good care of yourself and Mr. Noah, so you can get back as soon as you can.”
Emma smiled. “I sure will try.”
Casey leaned over and gave Emma a quick hug and a kiss. “I’ll be over to see you soon.”
“Good.”
As Casey started out the door, Aidan breezed in. He flinched and pushed himself as far away from her and her pocketbook as he could. “Easy Big Papa, your boys are safe this morning.”
He sighed in relief. “I’m glad to hear it. They’re still a bit traumatized from last night.”
Throwing a glance over her shoulder, Casey winked at Emma. “Bye.”
Emma waved before turning her attention to Aidan. “How’s Patrick?”
“Good,” Aidan replied.
Emma sighed in relief. “Thank God.”
“You’ll be happy to know the first thing he did when he got back to his room was ask about you.”
Tears welled in Emma’s eyes. “Really?”
Aidan nodded. “He said to give you and Noah his love, and he would be over to see you just as soon as he got sprung out.”
Emma laughed and wiped her eyes. “That’s so sweet.”
“Yes, sweetness runs in the Fitzgerald DNA, especially with the males,” Aidan mused.
She shot him an exasperated look. “Isn’t it a little early for you to be this cocky?”
Aidan chuckled as a nurse came into the room with Emma’s discharge papers. Once she had signed everything, Aidan said, “Guess that means we get to hit the road, huh?”
Emma nodded and started to get out of the bed. “As soon as I change clothes and run a brush through my hair.”
Aidan’s brows furrowed. “Don’t stand too long while you’re changing. Sit on the edge of the tub or the toilet seat.”
Emma huffed out an exasperated breath. “Are you going to be this overprotective when we get to your house?”
He bobbed his head. “Yep, at least until I know you and Noah are out of the woods.”
Her frustration evaporated a little at his sincerity. “Okay, okay, I’ll sit down while I get dressed.”
After she padded into the bathroom, she happily tore off the hospital gown and then threw on the yoga pants and long sleeve shirt Casey had brought. She then slid her somewhat swollen feet into the size bigger tennis shoes she recently had to purchase. She pulled her long hair back into a ponytail.
When she was done, she came out to find a nurse waiting with a wheelchair. She eased down in it while Aidan grabbed the bag Casey had brought along with her purse. The nurse then wheeled her down the hallway to the elevator. “Make sure you read your discharge papers about what to do and not to do. It also indicates when you need to go back to see your doctor.”
Before Emma could respond, Aidan replied, “I’ll make sure she does.”
The nurse gave Aidan a big smile. “I bet you’re going to take very good care of her.”
“Yes, ma’am. I’ll be giving her lots of TLC.”
When Emma cocked her head at him, he winked. Once they got to the lobby downstairs, the nurse said, “We’ll wait here while your husband goes and gets the car.”
Emma made a slight strangled noise while Aidan skidded to a stop. “Um, okay,” she finally squeaked.
Aidan cut his eyes over to her before jogging out to the parking lot. It didn’t take him long to return with the car. “Good luck,” the nurse said before she closed the car door.
“Thanks,” Emma replied. She quickly buckled her seat belt and turned to Aidan. “Okay then.”
As they pulled out of the parking lot, Aidan said, “There’s someone else who is very anxious to see you.”
“Oh?”
He took his gaze off the road and grinned at her. “Beau.”
Emma laughed. “I hope you brought him home last night.”
“I thought his home was your house?”
“His original home.”
“Ah, then yes, I did. Of course, he kept circling through the rooms looking for you.”
“Poor baby.”
“I’m sure he’ll be more than ready to share your bed and your leftovers when you get there.”
She grinned. “I hate sleeping alone, so I’ll be thrilled to have him as my bed buddy again.”
Aidan opened his mouth to say something but then closed it.
“What?” she asked.
“Nothing.”
Since she sensed his comment dealt with offering his services as her bed buddy, she decided to drop it. When they turned on Aidan’s street, Emma’s chest clenched as she was enveloped by a mixture of both happy and painful memories. As he pulled into the driveway, she couldn’t help but flashback to the night she had found both his car and another’s.
When he killed the engine, he glanced over at her. “Why don’t you sit tight while I go unlock the door, so you don’t have to wait?”
She shot him a look. “Aidan, I think I can stand for two seconds while you open the door.”
“Fine,” he grumbled.
She couldn’t believe how extreme he was taking her bed rest. One minute it was infuriating and the next it was endearing. She just hoped her hormones would allow her to appreciate him rather than verbally berate him.
The next thing she knew Aidan had moved like lightning from the car and through the garage, so by the time her slow-moving form reached the door, he had it unlocked and opened. “Nice footwork, Speedy,” she remarked.
“You’re welcome.”
Beau came yipping into the kitchen. “Hey boy, did you miss me?” He whined and then nudged her belly. “Aw, we’re both okay. I just have to take it easy,” she informed him.
“Speaking of taking it easy, let’s get you on to bed.”
“You’re so bossy,” she replied as she padded down the hallway.
When she entered Aidan’s bedroom, she gasped. The quilt Grammy had made her when she was a little girl was draped over the bed while the antique silver framed pictures of her parents sat on the nightstand. Her glider and ottoman rested to the right side of the bed. She turned back to him, unable to hide her surprise. “Did Casey suggest this?”
“No,” he murmured.
Her heartbeat broke into a wild sprint. “You mean, you did this? For me?”
“Yeah, I did.” Aidan rubbed his neck furiously when she continued staring at him. “Casey got your essentials and all, but I thought you needed some things to make you feel more at home here. Even if you say you aren’t staying long.”
She couldn’t breathe, let alone speak. Oh God, why did he have to be so amazing? Every time he did something caring and compassionate, it almost broke her heart, instead of warming it. It was like throwing it in her face once again that besides the one glaring mistake he had made, at his very core, he was a good man—one who deserved to earn her forgiveness.
Emma took a few tentative steps over to him. Standing before him, she stared into his questioning blue eyes. She leaned in and gave him a hug. “Thank you, Aidan. This means so much to me.”
He quickly wrapped his arms around her. She closed her eyes and let the feeling of comfort and even love wash over her. His warm breath tickled the skin on her earlobe. “I’m glad you like it. I want to do anything and everything I can to make you happy.”
“Well, this was a wonderfully amazing start.”
“You’re welcome.” She could hear the pleasure vibrating in his voice. “So do you want to rest for awhile? Or I could fix you an early lunch.”
“Actually, I’d kill for a shower. I feel pretty disgusting.”
Aidan nodded. “I picked up the seat from the medical supply store. Let me go get it ready for you.”
“Great, I’m going to feel eighty years old,” she grumbled, trailing behind him into the bathroom. She skidded to a stop at the sight of her favorite robe hung over the door and all her toiletries and makeup laid out on the counter.
Aidan put the toilet lid down and motioned for her to sit. “You don’t need to be on your feet, remember?”
With a sigh, she obliged him and sat down. It didn’t take Aidan long to get the seat set up. After he turned on the water and adjusted the temperature, he glanced over his shoulder at her. “Okay then. You’re all set.”
“Thank you.”
When Emma didn’t move, Aidan’s brows creased in worry. “You need some help?”
The very thought of him seeing her naked again sent a stinging rush of warmth across her cheeks. She shook her head back and forth furiously. “I can handle it.”
“Fine,” he replied. When the door closed behind Aidan, Emma’s fingers went to the hem of her shirt and then froze. Her gaze honed in on the shower seat. A flashback of the later days of her mother’s cancer battle assaulted her. Her mother’s ravaged form trying desperately to get in and out of the shower flashed in her mind, and she shuddered.
That vision coupled with everything she had been through in the last twenty-four hours sent her emotions careening out of control. Most of all, fear still hung heavy around her. It was like a silent specter in the room, mocking her that her perfect dream of having a child would actually come true. Just the thought of losing Noah sent a chilling shiver reverberating through her.
Burying her head in her hands, she wept unabashedly. Even though she knew she shouldn’t, she let the sobs roll through her. At the bathroom door cracking open, she froze.
“Em, are you all right?”
“I’m fine,” she replied forcefully, but her wavering voice betrayed her.
Aidan stepped inside. She tried to hide the trembling of her body as he tentatively walked across the tiled floor. Peeking up at him through her fingers, she took in his worried expression at the sight of her still sitting on the toilet. “Why aren’t you showering?”
“I, uh…”
Kneeling down in front of her, he took her chin in his fingers, raising her head to meet his gaze. “Em, you’ve got to stop crying. It isn’t good for you or Noah.”
“I’m sorry,” she whispered hoarsely.
He brought his other hand up to cup her face. “You don’t need to apologize. You’re here with me now, and everything is going to be okay.”
Furiously she shook her head. “But don’t you see? Everything is not okay!”
“I know, but—”
“It’s easy to stand there and tell me not to get upset, but you have no idea what I’m going through at the moment!” she shrieked.
He cast his blue eyes downward. “I realize that, Em.”
She swiped her cheeks with the backs of her hand. “Every minute, every second, I can’t help thinking of it all falling apart. I’m so scared something bad is going to happen to Noah. I’ve lost everyone I’ve ever loved. I can’t lose him, too.” Her chest heaved as another racking sob rolled through her.
Without hesitation, Aidan drew her into his strong embrace. She should have shrugged him away. Being close to him when she was so emotionally broken was playing with fire. But she was so very tired of being alone all the time and having to bear every burden on her own. Aidan had enough strength for the both of them, and just being held in his arms sent comfort pulsing through her.
Grabbing him around the back, she fisted his shirt in her hands, hanging on for dear life. Aidan’s lips warmed against her ear, causing her to shiver. “Shh, please, sweetheart. Don’t cry,” he crooned in her ear. “I’m here for you, and we’re going to get through this together.”
His words reassured her, and for both him and for Noah, she tried composing herself. When her cries begin to quiet, Aidan pulled away and stared intently at her. His blue eyes blazed with intensity. “Listen to me. You have every right to be scared, but I want you to believe me when I say that Noah is going to be fine. He’s blessed with some strong as hell genes.” Placing his hand on her belly, he smiled. “He’s part Fitzgerald, and for generations, the men of my family have been known for being tough, scrappy fighters with a will of iron to survive.”
“Really?” she questioned with a hiccup.
Aidan nodded. “But even more than the fighting Irish Fitzgerald blood pumping through him, he’s inherited the most amazing DNA from his mother. She’s the strongest person I’ve ever known.”
His words, coupled with the sincerity in which he spoke them, caused a burning wildfire in her chest. “Oh Aidan,” she murmured.
He brushed her hair out of her face. “You just have to keep being strong, Em. That fire that burns so deep within you—the one that’s seen you through the darkest times—you’ve got to stoke it to burn a little brighter.”
“I’ll try.”
“Good. I’m glad to hear it.” He rose up off the floor. “Now come on. All the hot water is going to be gone before you get cleaned up.”
When he tore his shirt over his head, she widened her eyes. “What are you doing?”
“Taking my shirt off. I don’t wanna get drenched helping you take a shower.”
Her head shook wildly from side to side. “I don’t need your help.”
“You’re exhausted, Em. Just let me help you, okay?”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
“And why not?”
Heat flooded her cheeks. “Because you’ll see me…”
A playful grin curved on his lips. “Have you forgotten that I’m well acquainted with every beautiful inch of your body?”
She stared down at her hands in her lap. “No, but it was different then. We were different then.”
The feel of his intense stare made her finally look up. “And it’s different now because I’m not going to devour you when I see you naked. I’m going to take care of you. There are more levels of intimacy than just sex, Emma.”
“I know,” she whispered.
“So let me help you.”
She exhaled a defeated breath and nodded. “Will you turn the chair around, so I’m not facing you?”
An amused glint twinkled in his eyes. “Yes, Miss Modest, I can.”
“For your information, there’s more of me than the last time you saw me,” she argued as he adjusted the seat.
He turned around and shrugged. “I doubt that. Besides, you’re still just as beautiful as the first time I saw you.”
“Always the flirt, aren’t you?” she replied with a grin.
“Just stating facts, ma’am.” Aidan’s hands then reached for the hem of her shirt. Instead of protesting, she let him pull it over her head. His gaze hovered over her cleavage a little longer than it should have before he tossed her shirt onto the wicker hamper. “Stand up,” he instructed.
“You’re so bossy.”
“And you’re so damn stubborn,” he countered as he pulled her pants down.
Left in only her underwear, she shivered. As if to even the playing field, Aidan’s fingers went to his fly and took his pants off as well. His eyes met hers as she brought her arms around her back and unfastened her bra. After it slid to the floor, she wrapped her arms around her breasts.
“Oh Em, seriously? Quit acting like I’m some pervert getting off at this.”
That little flicker of hellfire sparked within her at his exasperation. Her hands then went to the waistband of her underwear, and she ripped the panties down her thighs as best she could with her belly getting in the way. Meeting his surprised gaze she strode over to the shower and sat down on the chair. “I’d like my vanilla body wash please and the pink sponge. Thank you.”
His chuckle echoed off the bathroom walls. Sticking his hand in the shower, he gave her the body wash. “I already put your shampoo in there.” He closed the shower door behind him. Emma didn’t dare glance back to see if he’d dropped his boxers or not. “Want me to wash your hair?”
“You seriously want to do that?”
“Of course. Besides it’s not like you’re going to let me wash the good parts anyway.”
A giggle escaped her lips. “I thought you were going to behave,” she protested.
“I am. That’s why I want to keep my hands busy with your hair.”
“Fine then.”
Taking the shower nozzle, he brought it to her head, soaking her hair. Once it was fully wet, he squirted the peach smelling shampoo in one hand and then worked up a lather.
She couldn’t help moaning as his fingers massaged her scalp. “Oh God, that feels so good.”
“I’m glad you like it. If I end up getting fired for taking this time off, maybe I have a future in cosmetology.”
Emma laughed. “I can’t quite see you doing hair for a living.”
“Me either.”
“You know, you washing my hair like this reminds me of Out of Africa when Robert Redford washes Meryl Streep’s hair,” Emma remarked.
“My mom loved that movie.”
“Really?”
Aidan laughed as he started rinsing her hair. “Yeah, she loved anything with Robert Redford. She used to say he reminded her of a blonde haired version of Pop.”
“Oh my God, now that I think of it, Patrick does look a little like Robert Redford!”
“I can’t believe he hasn’t already mentioned it to you. It used to give him a big head.”
“Hmm, an inflated ego? Sounds like a Fitzgerald family trait.”
“Ha, ha,” he replied. When Aidan’s fingers ran over the ridge of her scar, she tensed. “Em, what’s this?”
The sponge she had been bathing with fell from her hands and onto the tile floor. “It’s nothing. Just an old war wound.”
“It doesn’t feel like nothing.” Aidan’s hand left her head and came to rest on her shoulder. “Tell me.”
She hugged her arms around her chest. “It’s a reminder of a very painful time in my life when I did something very stupid.” When Aidan’s hand remained frozen on her shoulder, she sighed. “After my mother died, I was so alone. My grief for Travis was still very fresh. There was no husband, no father, no mother...I couldn’t see through the dark clouds that I still had Grammy and Granddaddy.”
A tremble ran through her body as she let the skeletons of her past dance precariously around her. “One night when I was in the mountains, I got up in the middle of the night and got into the car. I started flying over those curvy roads, hoping another car would come along, and I could end it all.”
“Oh God,” Aidan muttered, his hands squeezed her shoulders tight.
She glanced back at him. “I slammed into a tree instead. And even though it totaled the car and gave me that horrific scar, I walked away.”
“Was that the only time you tried to…” She could tell he couldn’t bear to say the words.
Emma gave a quick nod. “After that night, I knew it was meant for me to stay alive—to try to live a happy life for my parents and for Travis. I found a really good therapist, and she, along with my family and my faith, helped me through it.”
“Thank you for sharing that with me.” He leaned over and planted a kiss on the crown of her wet head. “You’re the most amazing woman I’ve ever met.”
“I don’t know about that.”
“You really are.”
“What I did was really stupid and selfish and —”
Aidan shook his head. “I’m not going to judge you, Em. I’ve never had to go through the hell that you have. I’m just glad you’re here.”
“Thank you.”
He turned off the water. Glancing back at her, he asked, “All clean?”
She laughed. “Yes, all clean.”
He opened the shower door and went over to get her a towel and her robe. She was glad to see he still had on his underwear. Although with it soaked through, she had a very fine view of the imprint of his ass.
Rolling her eyes at her out-of-control hormones, she turned her gaze back to the tile. When he handed her the towel, she started drying off her arms and legs. He pulled her hair up and wrapped another towel around her head.
“Are you getting hungry?”
“Umm, hmm,” she murmured as she slid into her robe.
“What sounds good?”
She arched her brows in surprise. “You’ll fix anything I want?”
“Yep. Or go out and pick it up.”
“How about some of your shrimp scampi?”
Aidan nodded. “While you’re drying your hair, I’ll fix it and bring it to you.”
“Are you going to bring it on a silver tray with a rose bud in a crystal vase?” she asked, with a grin.
“Always that mouth,” he muttered as he headed out of the bathroom.
Emma giggled as she got out her hair dryer. She eased down on the toilet seat before Aidan could order her to do it. Once her hair was dry, she slid into a pair of pajamas and got into the bed. Beau happily climbed up beside her.
She eyed a stack of books on the nightstand before reading through the titles. They were predominantly nonfiction, self-help books. She picked up one of her favorites, Tuesdays with Morrie, and began rereading.
Aidan appeared a little while later with a tray with two plates and two drinks but sans the crystal vase and rose. She sniffed appreciatively. “Oh God, that smells so good!”
“Thank you.”
She eased up in bed and took the tray. As Aidan grabbed his plate, she motioned to the nightstand. “What’s up with the reading material?” she asked.
Pink tinged his cheeks. “Oh, um, well, those were recommended by my therapist.”
Emma choked on the bite of scampi she had taken. Once she recovered, she asked, “You’re in therapy?”
He nodded, turning his head from her intense gaze as he sat down in the glider. “How long have you been seeing a therapist?”
Staring at his plate, he nudged a piece of shrimp around with his fork. “Do you even have to ask?”
“Yes,” she whispered.
He snapped his gaze up to meet hers. “I made an appointment the morning after I epically screwed up my life and yours.”
“I see.”
“I really like Dr. Leighton. She’s really helping me work on a lot of things.”
“How often do you go?”
“Three times a week.”
Emma gulped. “That often.” Even when she was dealing with her immense grief, she only went twice a week.
He gave her a sheepish grin. “I asked for the most intense program because I wanted to fix myself as fast as I could…for you and for Noah.”
She couldn’t still the rapid beating of her heart. He wanted to be a better man for her—to right all the wrongs he had done, and most of all be everything she wanted and needed him to be. Part of her wanted to reach over and hug him tight—to tell him that her heart still belonged to him and always would. But she couldn’t. She was too gun-shy.
“Wanna watch a movie?” he suddenly asked. When she gave him a skeptical look, he grinned. “Your pick, I promise.”
Her mind whirled with the possibilities. “The Sound of Music.”
Aidan winced. “Christ, do we really have to watch a musical?”
“You said my pick!” she countered.
“Fine, fine,” he muttered, digging into the mammoth box of DVD’s he had brought from her house. Once he found it, he popped it into the player and then grabbed his plate. He eased in the bed beside her rather than back in the glider.
“How’s the scampi?”
“Mmm, delicious.” She grinned at him. “I sure hope you made more.”
He chuckled. “In your condition, I figured it was best to double the recipe.”
“Oh my hero,” she replied.
“Let me guess. Your hero is going to be marching his happy ass back to the kitchen in a minute to get you another plate.”
She batted her eyelashes at him. “Yes, but I’ll be sweet and at least wait until you finish eating first.”
“Angel of mercy,” he muttered through a mouthful of scampi.
Giggling, she flipped on the TV. As the opening credits began and Julie Andrews started twirling and singing on the mountaintop, Emma snuggled the blanket closer to her and sighed with contentment.
“You really dig this shit, don’t you?” Aidan asked.
She glanced over at him. “What if I were to tell you I played Maria my senior year in high school?”
Aidan swallowed hard. “You mean you wore a nun’s costume?”
“Of course I did.”
He licked his lips. “Damn, that’s hot.”
She rolled her eyes. “You’re impossible.”
Aidan chuckled. “Sorry babe, but every man has his fantasies.”
“You fantasize about me in a nun’s costume?”
“Actually you in anything…or nothing,” he replied with a wink.
“Whatever,” she mumbled as she fixated her gaze on the screen and not him.
After another plateful of scampi, her eyes grew heavy. When she glanced over at Aidan, his eyes were glassy, but she wasn’t sure if it was from exhaustion or being forced to watch a musical. She nodded off just before the Von Trapp’s escaped into Switzerland.
When she woke up, it was dark outside. Glancing over her shoulder, Aidan wasn’t beside her anymore. The sound of the shower running alerted her where he had gone. Peeking at the clock on the nightstand, it was just after six.
Yawning, she stretched her arms over her head before pushing herself into a sitting position. Shifting her body made her bladder scream for release. Nibbling her lip, she gazed at the closed bathroom door. There were two options: bust in on Aidan’s shower or be a coward and go down the hall to the half-bath in the foyer.
She shook her head at the thought of walking so far. With a heavy sigh, she hoisted herself out of bed. Beau slid off beside her. “Hang tight, boy. I’m not going far.”
He ignored her and continued by her side as she padded into the bathroom. Steam enveloped her and momentarily clouded her vision. Just as she started for the toilet, Aidan shut off the water and stepped out of the shower in all his naked glory. Her eyes met his shocked baby blues before her gazed dropped below his waist. Her pregnancy hormones kicked into overdrive at the sight, and she licked her lips.
“Are you done ogling my package?” he asked, amusement vibrating in his voice.
She reluctantly jerked her gaze up to his. “Wait, what?” she asked. Then mortification rocketed through her, and she quickly ducked her head. “I’m sorry. I needed to pee.” She sidestepped his dripping wet, naked form and headed for the toilet.
Aidan laughed at her embarrassment. He grabbed a towel, but instead of wrapping it around him, he took his time drying off his arms and chest. Emma ignored him and focused on relieving her bladder. Once she was done, she went to the sink to wash her hands. She rolled her eyes when Aidan still hadn’t covered up.
“What sounds good for dinner?” he asked.
Keeping her gaze on the vanity, she said, “Anything. I’m starving.”
“Seriously?”
She laughed. “You better get used to feeding my out of control appetite.”
“I can try,” he mused as he finally wrapped a towel around his waist. “How does pizza sound?”
“Mmm, heavenly.”
“Then I’ll order in some pizzas.”
She giggled. “Yes, you better make them large. Ooh, and get some Cinnamon Bread too!”
“Okay then, I will.”
“Can we watch more movies?”
Aidan shuddered. “More chick flicks?”
Emma poked out her bottom lip. “Pwease?”
He rolled his eyes. “I guess so.”
“Aw, thank you, thank you, thank you!” she cried, throwing her arms around his neck.
With her mouth inches from his, she quickly turned her head and kissed his cheek. He stared intently at her for a moment. “All right. Enough of that. Get back into bed and off your feet.”
“Yes Drill Sergeant,” she sighed.
As she started out of the bathroom, he popped her ass playfully. When she glanced at him over her shoulder, he shook his head. “Always you and that mouth!”