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After all the effort they’d had to put into getting pregnant, would she be a good mother to the baby she’d wished and prayed for so long? Being younger than her brother, Lucas, she’d never experienced what it felt like to care for a child. And her only babysitting jobs had been with children who were in school.
She’d read every child-rearing book she could find, haunted the library for information on childhood diseases, all in preparation for having a baby. Grace’s friends had often teased her about her obsession with being the perfect mother. Little did they or anyone else know despite all her preparation she was afraid of failing at the one part of her life that meant so much to her.
According to Lisa, Aidan was a good parent, something that surprised her a little and thrilled her a lot. Now it was up to her to follow his lead if she wanted to be part of Emma’s life.
“Grace, you and I don’t know each very well, and we got off to a rough start. If I caused you pain over what I said, I want you to know it was never intended to hurt you.”
“You were going through a difficult period, too,” Grace offered.
“I was in shock after Deidre’s death. She was my employer, but she was also my friend. She was a good mother and one of the best people I ever worked for. I miss her. She did everything she could to give Emma a good life, and that included providing for her should anything happen.” Lisa met Grace’s curious glance. “If Deidre had loved Aidan, she would have said something to me. She certainly would not have allowed him to walk out of her life.”
At Lisa’s words Grace recognized that her suspicion had come from her fear that Aidan had lied to her. Now that Lisa had told her what she knew about Deidre’s relationship with Aidan, she stopped to consider what it must have been like to have a baby and decide not to contact the father of the child.
While Grace had been preoccupied with conceiving a child to complete her family, Deidre had chosen to face being a parent alone.
Grace glanced at Aidan as he came into the kitchen carrying grocery bags, Emma following along behind him. Her husband had been hurt, as well. What had he felt when he realized that Deidre chose to keep him out of his daughter’s life? That phone call saying that he was Emma’s father had to have been very difficult in ways Grace couldn’t imagine.
How must it feel to learn that you had a child you didn’t know existed when you wanted one so badly? All the lost chances to be with your child, hold her, watch her take her first steps, be there when she went to day care, dream of her future.
“Grace!” Emma called from her perch on the edge of a chair at the table. “I need you.”
“The queen has spoken,” Aidan said, putting the last bag on the counter. “I’ve learned that resistance is futile,” he said, smiling softly at Grace.
Grace looked into his eyes as he towered over her, his closeness framing her thoughts. She wanted to touch the auburn curls along the nape of his neck, hold him close in her arms and feel his body on hers. She loved this man. She’d loved him since that day in high school. “Can we talk a little more about going away together?” she whispered.
His face brightened. His smile widened. “You mean it?”
“Yes, I do,” Grace said, leaning close to him, breathing in his scent, feeling at peace and at home in his world.
He picked her up and swung her around, holding her as they danced around the kitchen. “You have made me the happiest man on the planet. We can go anywhere you want,” he said, kissing her lips, hugging her body to his.
“No! Don’t take my daddy! No!” Emma screamed, racing to her father, pushing on Grace, pinching and crying. “Go away!”
