Georgie dropped his hand to lean over and kiss the spot where he had been feeling. “I love you, Noah!”
Aidan smiled when tears sparkled in Emma’s emerald eyes. He was getting used to her hormonal waterworks at the drop of a hat.
Georgie, however, peered up at her in surprise. “Why are you crying, Aunt Emma?”
“Because you’re such a sweet boy,” she replied, drawing him into her arms. She kissed the crown of Georgie’s head as she hugged him. It didn’t escape by Aidan how Georgie had called Emma ‘aunt’, and she hadn’t protested.
“I gotta go pee-pee,” Georgie said, squirming away from Emma and hopping off the bed.
As he swept by Aidan, Emma’s gaze honed in on the bag at his side. “What’s that?”
“Oh, um…” He rubbed his jaw and shifted on his feet. He didn’t know why he was nervous about giving her the gift. It was just a stupid onesie. “It’s something for Noah.”
Emma’s green eyes instantly lit up. “Really?”
“It’s nothing much. I just saw it in the store and thought of him…and you.”
With a grin like a kid on Christmas morning, she snatched the bag from his hands. Her fingers dug inside to pull out the onesie. She unfolded it and peered at the writing. “I’m cute, Mommy’s cute, and Daddy’s…” She tore her gaze up to meet his.
“Daddy’s lucky,” he finished for her.
“Oh Aidan,” she murmured. Tears once again welled in her eyes, but a pleased smile curved on her full lips as she ran her fingers over the onesie. She tilted her head up at him. “Thank you. This is too adorable and sweet. And I love that the first article of clothing anyone has gotten for him is from his father.”
“Besides his christening gown,” Aidan reminded her.
“Oh, you’re right. But still.”
“If I knew you were going to get that sentimental about it, I would have bought him something nicer,” he mused.
“It’s not just the onesie, Aidan. It’s what it says,” she said softly. Her eyes met his, and his heart leapt at the love he could see burning in hers. If he could only bottle moments like these, he could then give them back to her whenever she tried to doubt her love for him.
“Aunt Emma?” Georgie asked, squirming back up on the bed.
“What honey?”
“I was just wonderin’ how did Noah get in your belly?”
“Um, well…”
“Mommy says he’s Uncle Aidan’s baby, so did he put it there?”
Emma’s eyes bulged as she stared up at Aidan. “Uh, well…”
John and Percy then appeared in the doorway. “You know, I’m a little fuzzy on that one too, so maybe you can explain it to us all,” John said, with an amused smirk.
Aidan turned to scowl at John. “Georgie,” he began, “where babies come from is really something you need to ask your mom and dad about.”
Georgie’s blonde brows furrowed. “Why? Is it a secret?”
“No, it’s just, um, well…” Aidan rubbed the back of his neck while trying to come up with an answer. Finally, he remembered what his own mother had told him when he was just a kid and his sister Angie was pregnant. “It’s like this. When a man and woman love each other very much, the love grows inside the woman and makes a baby.”
Rubbing his chin, John asked, “So I guess that means you love Emma, huh?”
Aidan shot him a death glare before turning his gaze back to Georgie. Wonderment flickered on his face at the explanation. “That’s so cool that I grew as my Mommy and Daddy’s love,” he murmured.
When Aidan dared to look at Emma, she stared wide-eyed, open-mouthed back at him. Although he insinuated it every day, he still hadn’t managed to actually say the words. Maybe now was the perfect time to say it and seal the deal between them.
“Hey guys, there’s some homemade brownies from Emma’s Grammy in the kitchen if you want some.”
Georgie scrambled off the bed while John and Percy hightailed it down the hall. Once they were alone, he smiled at Emma. “How was my explanation?”
She sucked in a breath. “Good…and sweet. And he totally bought it.”
“But did you?”
“What do you mean?” she whispered.
His heartbeat pounded in his ears. This was it. It was now or never. He took a tentative step forward and opened his mouth.
“Aidan Fitzgerald, what are you doing giving my sons chocolate before dinner?” Becky demanded from the doorway with a hand on her hip.
Fuck! His moment had been totally ruined. He whirled around to glare at Becky. She gave him a funny look. “Between John and Percy, I’m not sure if you have any brownies left for Emma.”
He raked a hand though his hair and sighed resignedly. “I’m sorry, Sis. They helped me lug in the groceries, so I thought they could use a snack.”
She grinned. “I guess you’re forgiven then.” Becky then turned her attention to Emma. “Everything go okay while I was gone?”
Emma nodded. “They were the best baby-sitters I’ve had so far.”
Becky laughed. “I believe they’ve been your only ones besides my little brother here.”
With a teasing smile at Aidan, Emma said, “Oh, he’s so much more than just a baby-sitter.”
He arched his brows at her. “Oh, really?”
“Mmm, hmm. You’re a cook, a house-keeper, and an entertainer.”
Aidan shook his head but laughed in spite of himself. “Yes, I am all those things.”
“Well, I guess I better round up the boys and head out,” Becky said. She came over to the bed and gave Emma a kiss. “Take care of your self, Mama.”
“I will…and Aidan will.”
At the loving expression on Emma’s face, Aidan couldn’t help smiling. “Of course I will.”
“Work him hard then,” Becky said. She gave Aidan a playful nudge before kissing his cheek.
“You can bet she will,” he mused.
“Bye then,” Becky called with a wave.
Aidan stared at Emma for a moment. Should he go ahead and say it now or wait until a more opportune moment? Emma’s phone going off confirmed that he might as well wait.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
The next few days rolled along in a monotonous rhythm. Before long, Emma had completed her first week of bed-rest. She read, she watched TV and movies, and she visited with Casey and Connor as well as Aidan’s sisters. True to her word, Grammy came down for a day, and neither Emma nor Aidan could keep her from cooking them a huge meal along with a dessert. Emma especially enjoyed when Patrick came by. She was so glad to see him looking healthy and a complete opposite from when she had seen him last. They were both on the road to recovery, and she was so grateful.