Waiting for You (22 page)

“I’d love to know what that look is for.”Aidan’s voice felt like a caress.

Karise’s eyes flew open. She knew her mortification was all over her face, but there wasn’t much she could do about that.

Aidan raised his eyebrows. “Okay, now I really want to know what
you were thinking about just then.”

Karise managed to pull it together, although the sight of him leaned
so confidently in her doorframe made her throat go dry. “Maybe, if you’re really good, I’ll tell you someday.”

“You’ve been a very difficult woman to get in touch with.” His eyes devoured her. “So I brought us some lunch; I thought maybe I could steal you away from your work for an hour.”

“I’ve been stupidly busy.” She frowned. “But I miss you like crazy,
and an hour with you sounds heavenly.”

He rewarded her with a roguish smile. “I’m sorry you’re busy, but I’m glad to hear you missed me. I was starting to wonder if I’d misread things.”

“If you’d misread things?” Karise was incredulous. She thought she’d been embarrassingly plain about her feelings for him.

“Or
maybe
you changed your mind.” Some of the earlier confidence
seemed to melt away as he shrugged his shoulders.

The words stung. As much as Karise wanted to dispute them, she’d
changed her mind about William. Aidan’s wife had changed her mind
about him. Even in the face of that logic, Karise couldn’t fathom
changing her mind about what they shared.

“I may be the worst girlfriend ever, but you certainly didn’t misread
things.” She rose from her spot to wrap her arms around his waist,
resting her head on his chest. He smelled so good. The heat radiating
from his body was so inviting. “I don’t think changing my mind about
us is even an option. It’s not possible. You’re too much a part of me
already.”

“Anything’s possible.”

“Not that,” Karise argued. She leaned back so she could look up at him. For all of his appearance of carefree charm, for all of the silly flirting, and for all of her own insecurities, he was the one struggling to let go of the past and believe their love was possible. Karise hadn’t seen that one coming. “Aidan?”

“Yes, love?”

She sensed he needed to be the most important thing in her world
at the moment. “I can clear my afternoon if you can.”

He gave her a smile that melted her heart. “I think that could be arranged.”

Karise wanted to kiss him. She also knew that if she did, there would be no clearing of the calendar in the near future. She’d forget everything but him. She settled for a kiss on his jaw before scurrying off to check in with Gary and setting her email out-of-office message. The only meeting scheduled for the afternoon was with Devon, and
she sent him a quick text to reschedule. They could finalize travel plans
just as easily later that evening.

She finished before he did, so she took the time to run through the cottage, straightening up as she went. He caught her in the bathroom,
scooping dirty laundry up to toss it in the hamper.

“I’ve been busy…” she explained sheepishly. The look in his eyes
said laundry was the farthest thing from his mind.

Aidan took her in his arms, the intensity of his kiss taking her by
surprise. He lifted her onto the counter; she instinctively wrapped her
legs around him, pulling him in to her. Their hands were everywhere
at once. One couldn’t get enough of the other. Their clothes joined the
forgotten pile on the floor.

He lifted her off the marble countertop, carrying her the short
distance to the bedroom. She didn’t care where they were; the need for him was all that mattered. In the background, the Statler Brothers
were crooning “My Only Love.” She arched into the kisses he was
trailing across her body. He gathered her even closer as the painfully sweet ballad sang the words her heart wanted to. He was so special, so real. She couldn’t believe the way she felt. This love was meant for the two of them and no other.

She wanted to laugh; she wanted to cry. Emotion rolled over her in one cascading wave after another. When they reached their peak
together, she did just that: laugh and cry. He whispered over and over
again his love for her.

The lunch he brought was forgotten. Everything fell away except the two of them. The rest of the day passed without them as they lay wrapped in each other’s arms, laughing, dozing, and talking.

“I could do this forever.” Karise traced lazy circles down his side,
across his stomach and back up the other side.

“We should.” The words were spoken so quietly she almost missed them.

Karise smiled; it was a pretty thought.

Aidan caught her hand in his, sitting up a little and looking down
at her. “I mean it – we should do this forever.”

The confusion must have been evident on her face because he tried again.

“I’m saying I think we should get married. Will you marry me, Karise? I’m sorry I’m not doing a better job of this – I should have a
ring and some big set-up. You deserve a proper proposal…” he drifted
off when Karise placed a finger on his lips.

“You’re doing a fine job of it,” she assured him. “Do you want to know what I was thinking about when you walked in today? I was
thinking about you, about being your wife and having your baby. Being
a mom to Zoe, or the closest thing I can be. I want nothing more than to be part of your family.”

He studied her face. “But?”

“I’m scared.” She held nothing back. “We’re so new. I don’t want to
hurt you; I don’t want to hurt Zoe. What if I’m more Victoria McAlister’s
daughter than I care to admit? I hurt William. I’d never forgive myself
if I did the same to you.”

“William didn’t deserve you in the first place.” Aidan’s face grew
dark. “And I might not have known Victoria McAlister, but I saw the
damage left in her wake, and I can assure you that you’re nothing like
her. I’d venture to guess there’s a lot more of your father in you than your mother.”

“Everything in me wants to say yes.”

He brushed a kiss against her temple, his breath warm on her
skin as he spoke. “The offer will still be there when there’s nothing
holding you back.”

“Thank you.”

The easygoing Aidan was back. The dark clouds passed from his
eyes, and he smiled at her. “Will you at least help me convince Zoe to
add on to the house?”

Karise brightened instantly. “I’ve been working on something. I’ve been dying to show you…”

“But you’ve been busy,” he good-naturedly finished.

“Right.” She climbed out of the bed. “Wait right here.” She slid
into a robe; people here had a habit of walking into her cottage first and
knocking later. The worst offender was in her bed, but Gavin wasn’t
much better, and she’d never live down the mortification if he walked
in on her in all her glory.

It wasn’t Gavin she found standing in her doorway, though. It was
her brother and sister, one wearing an expression of irritation, one of
a
musement
. Behind them stood their s
pouses
. Karise could hear children
playing in her front yard.

“Surprise!” Alex couldn’t contain the laughter any longer.

Karise wanted to crawl in a hole and die. Her clothes – and more
importantly, Aidan’s – were still in the bathroom. It was a tiny house.
There would be no discreetly retrieving them. She held up a finger.
“Wait right there. Give me just one minute.”

At that, she fled, scooping up their clothes and scurrying to the bedroom.

“Who’s here?” Aidan’s confusion was evident as he caught the jeans she hurled at him.

“My entire family.” She struggled not to panic as she shimmied into
her slacks. “Well, not my dad. Dear God, I hope my father isn’t here, too.”

“Seriously?” Aidan looked like he was going to be sick. “Your
brother is going to hate me.”

“He’ll get over it.” Karise scooped her hair into a clip and
straightened her blouse. “Hurry up and get out there.”

“How do you know he’ll get over it?” Aidan scowled as he tucked i
n his shirt. “How do you know Christmas won’t be awkward for the rest of our lives?”

Karise paused in the doorway and glanced back at Aidan, her face
softening as she did. “He has to get over it because I love you. We’re a package deal now, you and me.”

Aidan froze. “Does that mean what I think it does?”

Karise’s
head
bobbled
a bit before she
smiled
and whispered, “Yes.”

Aidan let out a whoop and dove for her, gathering her into his arms
with such zeal it knocked them both into the hallway. He kissed her once and then twice, the smile never leaving his face.

“Could you maybe at least put the pause button on groping my
sister now that you have an audience?” Devon was seething; his voice
dripped with it.

Aidan’s joy was undiminished as he turned to greet them. “Sorry,
but I couldn’t contain myself. She just made me the happiest man alive.”

“I don’t want to hear the dirty details. This is twice she’s blown off a meeting with me to… make you happy.”

Karise had never heard Devon sputter before. It was amusing and
a little terrifying. Having no experience in this arena, she had no idea how to respond to an overprotective big brother.

Alex, on the other hand, was skilled in that regard. She smacked
him on the arm and rolled her eyes. “You idiot. He’s not giving you
bedroom secrets. He’s trying to tell you they’re engaged.”

“Wait, what?” Devon’s scowl deepened.

“How did you know?” Karise met Alex’s eyes. Their first in-person
meeting was nothing like Karise had imagined.

“That’s
the face of a woman who just
said
yes.” Alex
stepped
forward
to hug Karise. “Congratulations. I’m so sorry for our timing.”

Jane and Daniel took that as their cue to move past a confused
Devon, being introduced and offering their congratulations at the same
time. Karise was completely and totally overwhelmed. A glance at
Aidan told her he was, too.

Karise hugged Jane tight. “It is soooo good to see you. I can’t tell you how happy I am for you.”

“I was just going to say the same to you.” The
sweet
blonde returned
the hug, her voice as gentle as its bearer. She greeted Aidan with the same warmth; he visibly eased in response.

Alex greeted him in her typical amused and slightly sassy manner.
Daniel shook his hand and pulled him closer long enough to quietly
assure Aidan he’d once been in the same shoes. Devon hung back, still
aloof, though some of the ice had melted.

Karise took the moment to steal away from the crowd to hug Devon.
“I’m sorry your surprise didn’t work out the way you planned.”

“I thought it would be a happy thing, to show up a little earlier than
planned and spend some time getting to know each other. I wanted to
make it about us, not just about taking care of her.” Disappointment laced his words. Karise couldn’t tell, but he might have even been a little embarrassed.

“It is a happy thing. It just got off to a bumpy start. We’ll laugh
about it someday.”

“I’m laughing about it today,” Alex interrupted.

Devon didn’t look amused.

“Oh come on. You can’t begrudge me enjoying this. I spent my whole life making you crazy. It’s fun to have someone to share that
responsibility with.” Alex wrapped her arms around both of them,
resting her head on Devon’s shoulder and looking up at him impishly
.

“You are such a brat.” His accusation was a loving one. “Did it
ever occur to you to
not
drive me crazy, to let me live my life in peace?”

“Not once.”

It was Karise’s turn to laugh. “I do have a lot of lost time to make up for.”

“Oh boy.” Devon chuckled, squeezing both sisters tight.

“You’re in trouble now, my friend,” Daniel warned.

“You don’t have to sound so happy about it.” This time Devon’s scowl was more playful.

An alarm sounded from Aidan’s pocket, drawing attention back his way. “Sorry. That’s my reminder to go pick up Zoe from school.”

“A reminder.” Karise face-palmed. “That’s brilliant. I totally should
have set a reminder.”

“Did you forget to pick up my daughter?” Aidan cocked his head,
regarding her with a measure of mirth.

“No.” Karise was defensive. “I mean, I might have been a couple minutes late, but I didn’t
forget.
”

Aidan’s smile reassured her he was only teasing. He waded through
the crowd of people to claim her hand, tugging her toward him for a goodbye hug. He wrapped one arm around her waist and brushed a
chaste kiss against her forehead. She closed her eyes briefly and leaned
into him, letting the knowledge wash over her that he belonged to her.

“You have a daughter?” Alex asked.

“Yes. Zoe – she’s almost five.”

“And just about the cutest kid on the planet,” Karise added with a measure of pride.

“You should all come to dinner tonight. She’d be thrilled to meet Karise’s family,” he offered.