"Luke," I cut Luke off and glare at him biting his smirk. I know that he wouldn't tell Aiden, but I just can't bear listening to more of his words, knowing how much he enjoys teasing me.
"Aiden." A soft smile touches my lips as I stare down at Aiden, my cute little Aiden in his school uniform, who is always curious about things. "You know, when there's a mommy...and daddy..."
"In love," Luke points out, his eyes filled with adoration as he watches me.
I nod. "Yes, in love..." I falter while Aiden is still staring at me with his curious, big amber eyes. "Then the baby can happen."
I curse myself at how lame my explanation is. Who would have thought that Aiden would pop this kind of question now?
Aiden huffs before returning his eyes to his plate. "That's what Tommy said to me." His sentence makes me sigh in relief, but then he snaps his head back up at Luke. "But Dad, you were saying that you still need to do your best?"
I slap my palm on my forehead—I want to scream and laugh at the same time.
Luke chuckles. "Of course, Aiden. I will do my best."
OK. Stop right there. Don't speak anymore.
"Now will you wish me luck?" With a smirk plastered on his face, Luke raises his brows at Aiden.
I look at my husband in disbelief.
Aiden gives Luke a look of determination, shooting his arm toward Luke, a fork in his hand. "Good luck, Dad."
???
"I can't believe what you did to Aiden this morning," I mutter as Luke and I cuddle to sleep.
He wraps his arms around me from behind. Goosebumps appear on my skin as he places butterfly kisses on my neck. "I couldn't help it. He's just too adorable." Luke chuckles. "Do you want it?" he whispers in my ear.
Sighing, I turn around, snuggling closer to him. We're now face to face, our noses touching. "About having another baby?"
Luke nods, a small smile curved on his lips. "Yeah."
"I've thought about it," I whisper. "I've thought about stopping the pill, but..."
Luke sighs, tucking a strand of my hair behind my ear. The look in his eyes tells me that he knows what I'm thinking about.
"You know that we missed our time with Aiden, for years," Isay, looking into Luke's eyes. "I spent seven years of my life without him. He didn't receive our love for years, and I know that it's over now, but I just can't wash away the guilt. I don't want him to feel left out once we take care of another baby. I just feel like what I've given Aiden is still not enough to make up for all the time that we've missed."
My eyes sting, tears pooling in them. Even though a year has passed since I learned about that painful truth, it still brings tears to my eyes every time I think about it.
"Aiden knows how much we love him," Luke whispers, wiping my tears. "We can’t change the past no matter how hard we want to. I learned that the hard way too. What happened to Aiden years ago wasn't your fault. In fact, you should have blamed me first before you even thought about blaming yourself."
"No." I shake my head in disagreement. "No, Luke. It wasn't your fault either." My fingers brush against his cheek.
Luke covers my hand with his, caressing it. "Then let it go," he whispers, staring at me with loving eyes. "You might want to focus solely on Aiden, but he'd be happy to have a sibling. Didn't you see how excited he was?"
A soft smile touches my lips. "Yeah. He seems to be pretty excited."
"So damn excited," Luke corrects, making me laugh, throwing my head back as I remember their conversation.
When my eyes dart to him again, my breath catches in my throat from his intense gaze.
"We still have a long journey to go, Cassie," he says. "And I'm such a lucky bastard to have you by my side every step of our journey, for every chapter of our life. Whatever it is that you want, I'd be happy to make it happen. That's why I'm asking you—do you want it?"
I stare at him in amazement. This man...
How am I so blessed to have him and Aiden in my life? Tears fill my eyes again.
