Walking down the hall she noted Sandra and Mark in one of their offices, heads bent as they talked. She gratefully stepped out of the building into the sunshine and sucked in the fresh air.
As she walked back to her office, she sighed, knowing that she wanted to talk to Aiden but had hours of work that needed to be accomplished first.
15
“Hello.”
Aiden turned toward the sultry voice, eyeing the customer sitting at the bar. Makeup applied for maximum effect. Hair teased out for maximum volume. Clothes, tight and revealing, but not over the top slutty. Just the type of woman that would have caught, and held, his eye not that long ago. But no more. Moving down toward her, he nodded toward her half-empty glass, and asked, “Need a refill?”
She smiled and tapped a long, painted fingernail on the side of her glass. “My drink is fine, for now. But I was wondering about later.”
Pretending to not understand her flirtatious invitation, he replied, “Well, if you need a refill on your drink later, you just have to ask.” With a polite nod, he moved back down the bar to check on another customer.
Brogan approached and, with a low voice, asked, “Are you okay?”
Tilting his head, he looked into Brogan’s quizzical face. “Yeah.”
Brogan jerked his head in the direction of the other end of the bar, and asked, “Not interested?”
Shaking his head, he replied, “Nope.”
“Lia?”
Sighing, he grabbed the beer he had just pulled and set it in front of a customer. “I’m just not interested. Well, at least not interested in anyone other than Lia, so yeah, I guess you’re right. I’ve got to prove to her that I’m more than just what everyone thinks of me, you know?”
“Aiden, everyone thinks you’re a great guy.”
He turned and faced Brogan, his hands on his hips. “You know as fuckin’ well as I do that everyone thinks I’m just out for a good time.”
Brogan held his gaze for a long time before slowly shaking his head. “Your friends know who you really are. The man deep inside…the one who cares about everybody.”
Dropping his chin to his chest, he stared at his boots for a moment, letting Brogan’s words sink in. Looking back up, he said, “That may be, but I still need to prove to her that I’m not just out for a casual night. As far as I’m concerned, those days are over.”
Hearing the female customer call out again, saying she was ready for a new drink, he sighed. Starting to move, Brogan stopped him with his hand on his shoulder. “No worries, Aiden. I got this.”
He watched Brogan walk over and refill the woman’s drink, while she glowered at both of them. Grinning, he headed to the back toward the kitchen.
A few minutes later, he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket and he pulled it out. Seeing the call was from Lia, he answered it immediately. “Hey,” he said, finding his heart beating faster at the anticipation of hearing her voice.
“Hi,” she replied.
That one word was filled with nervousness and he rushed to reassure her. “I’m so glad you called. I’ve been hoping you would.”
“I didn’t know if this was a bad time,” she said. “I’m sure there’s a crowd at the Pub—”
“Don’t worry about it. I always have time for you.”
“Oh, okay…uh…well, I wanted to talk to you about something.”
“Can I come by your house?” She was silent for a few seconds, so he pressed, “It’s kind of loud here, but I can leave anytime. I could swing by your place and we could chat there.”
“Sure. Yeah, that’ll be fine. We’ll be home whenever you want to come.”
Pleased that she indicated Emily would be there as well, he breathed a sigh of relief. Somehow knowing that her daughter would be present made him feel better…as though she trusted him. “I just need to check on some things in the kitchen, so I can be there in about thirty minutes.”
Disconnecting after saying goodbye, he headed back to the bar to tell Brogan he would be leaving soon before returning to the kitchen with a huge grin on his face.
Lia heard her cell phone vibrate on the kitchen counter and quickly set the glasses in her hand down. Grabbing her cell, she answered, “Hello?” No one spoke. Wondering if the connection had been delayed, she repeated, “Hello?” While confused at the prank call, she was glad it was not Aiden calling to cancel. Disconnecting, she tossed her phone down at the interruption. Turning back to her preparations, she heard Emily call out.
“Mama! I see him. It’s Mr. Aiden. Can I open the door?” Emily ran back from the living room to the kitchen and looked up at her.
Taking a pan from the oven, she smiled at her daughter. “Yes. You may open the door for him.”
Emily turned and ran back toward the front, throwing open the door before the doorbell rang. “Hi, Mr. Aiden!”
She placed the hot dish onto the trivet and pulled off the oven mitts, tossing them to the counter. Walking down the hall, she saw Aiden smiling as he squatted in front of Emily.
“Hey, darlin’,” he greeted. “Did your mom say it was okay for you to open the door by yourself?”
A warm feeling slid through her as she heard the concern for her daughter in his voice. Before she had a chance to speak, Emily was telling him that she had seen him from the window and had been given permission to open the door.
Stepping into the room, she watched as his gaze slid beyond Emily to her, his smile widening. Standing, he allowed Emily to escort him into the room. As he reached her, he leaned forward and placed his hand on her waist, bending to kiss her cheek. “I’m glad you called. It’s really nice to see you again. I know it’s only been a couple of days, but it feels like so much longer.”
Rolling her eyes, she said in an exaggerated voice, “I’m sure.”
He held her gaze, and said, “I’m being honest, Lia. I understand your concerns, but I really missed you.”
His blue eyes burned into hers, sending warmth throughout her entire body. Unable to speak, she stared into his handsome face, fighting the urge to lean up on her tiptoes and kiss him.
“Mama, is Mr. Aiden going to stay for dinner?”
Emily’s voice jolted through her, jerking her back to reality. She felt the heat of blush hit her face and was unable to keep the smile away. “We have plenty and were just getting ready to sit down. Would you like to join us?”
If it was possible for his smile to widen even more, it did. “I can’t think of anything I’d rather do,” he replied, “than have dinner with you two lovely ladies.”
Emily giggled and she sent her into the kitchen to set another place at the table. Before following, she leaned toward him, and said, “What I want to talk to you about has to do with Emily. But I’d rather we talk privately.”
“Absolutely. You just let me know when and I’m all ears.”
With that out of the way, she nodded and led him back to the small table in the eat-in kitchen.
As she served the homemade chicken pot pie casserole, she noted the ease with which he communicated with Emily. He did not over exaggerate his speech, nor did he speak too slowly. He made sure that he was facing her when he spoke and appeared to be careful to make sure she was understanding. And from the laughter elicited from Emily, he was communicating successfully, without making her daughter feel different.
Walking back to the kitchen counter to grab the plate of dinner rolls, it struck her. What Carl was unwilling to learn with his own daughter, Aiden was doing with ease. Setting the rolls on the table, she took her seat and smiled up at him, entering their conversation.
He ate with relish, obviously enjoying the meal. “This is really good, Lia.”
“I consider that high praise, since you own a restaurant.”
He nodded and wiped his lips with his napkin. “There are a lot of benefits to owning my own restaurant and tasting what comes out of the kitchen is one of them. But at the same time, I sometimes get tired of that. Honestly, I practically never have
a home-cooked meal unless I stop by my mom’s, or Katelyn’s, or Brogan’s house. So to me, this is a real treat.”
“Then you can eat with us every night,” Emily said. “That way you’ll always have a good dinner.”
Chuckling, he nodded. “I wouldn’t mind that at all, darlin’. But I’m not sure your mom’s up to having company every night.”
The idea that he might not be talking just about dinner rushed through her mind, sending tingles throughout her body. Forcing her mind back onto the topic, she said, “Anytime you’re hungry, you’re welcome to dinner. Although sometimes, it might just be take-out pizza.”
Before he had a chance to respond, Emily asked if she could watch TV before going to bed. She agreed and watched as her daughter skipped out of the room.
“I’ll help you clean up,” Aiden said, but halted when her hand snaked out and grabbed his arm.
“I thought maybe we could talk now, since Emily’s out of the room.”
“Sure,” he responded, his brow lowered in concern. “What’s going on?”
She sucked in a deep breath, exhaling slowly. “It’s just that…and I’ve done a little research, so I know it can be done…but I just don’t know quite how it works…and I’m not even sure it would be a good idea—”
“Jesus, Lia,” he said, leaning forward to cover her hands with his own. “You’re making me nervous here. Just tell me what you’re thinking.”
“Emily wants to learn how to play baseball with your team,” she blurted.
He blinked. Slowly. Twice.
Watching him, she scrunched her forehead, and said, “Is that bad? Would it work? She’s never wanted to play a sport before and, quite frankly, I’m not athletic either, so it never bothered me that she didn’t want to participate. But, now she wants to, and I just thought that maybe you could…I don’t know… uh…help her somehow.” After having rebuffed him at the end of their date, she worried that asking him to help Emily might not be the right thing to do. “It’s fine for you to say no. I probably shouldn’t have even asked—”
“Lia, I think it’s a great idea.” He squeezed her hand, bringing her gaze back to his. “Honest to God, I’m so honored that you asked me. This is going to be great,” he enthused, his eyes shining and his smile firmly back on his face.
“Really?” she asked, hope burning in her chest.
“Absolutely.” He leaned in closer, his hands still holding onto hers. “There are deaf baseball players…hell, deaf players in all sports. With her partial hearing and ability to read lips, coaching her in a game would just be a matter of making sure we are right in front of her. Other than that, she can easily learn signals and we can learn some basic sign language. And until she’s ready, I can give her private lessons, so she’ll learn how to throw and hit the ball.”
She felt tears sting the backs of her eyes and she tried to keep them from falling. Her voice raspy, she asked, “You’d really be willing to do that for her?”
She watched as the bright blue in his eyes dulled slightly. “You think I wouldn’t?”
Unintentionally she had insulted him with her concern, so she rushed to explain, “Oh, no! I know you’re a good person and that you would want to do that for her. I just meant, it’s a huge commitment. I didn’t know if you had the time, if it was too much to ask of you.” Inhaling deeply, still battling tears, she continued, “She really wants you to teach her. And, so do I.”
His smile returned and he lifted his left hand to gently wipe away a tear that had fallen over her cheek, continuing to cup her face after the tear had been captured. “Please believe me when I tell you that I really want to do this.”
“I owe you an apology, Aiden,” she began, wanting to make things right. “I wasn’t trying to judge you at the end of our date but, I’ve come to realize how Carl’s behavior has tainted how I look at other people. You gave me no reason to believe that you had any other interests on our date other than me or that you were unreliable or not ready for a commitment. I allowed my own insecurities, my fear that you would get tired of us and walk away, to be foisted upon you.”
Shaking his head, he said, “I accept your apology, but only if you’ll except one from me, too. I’ve gone through life since I got back from the war pretty much living the way I wanted, without giving any real consideration to how it might affect others. I certainly never gave any consideration to how it might affect a future relationship. That was a mistake I made, and unfortunately one that I can’t go back and change. But I’ve decided to take steps to look at my past behavior, figure out why I acted in certain ways, and decide how I want my future to be. So, my apology to you is for any previous behavior of mine that causes you to be embarrassed or doubt me.”
A smile slipped across her lips as she nodded. “Another fresh start…for real this time?”
“Absolutely,” he said, leaning forward to kiss her forehead. “Now, how about we go tell Emily about her new baseball lessons?”
Giving her cheeks a quick swipe to rid them of any remaining tears, she stood, feeling so much lighter than she had in a long time.
16
Aiden stepped into his parents’ house, the familiar scent of beef stew and buttered bread filling the air. With their schedules, weekly family meals were a thing of the past but his mother insisted that they still eat together at least twice a month. Their family had grown, but it only added to the fun.
Coming down the hall, his father greeted him with his arms full of little Finn. He tickled his nephew’s tummy before walking over to say hello to Pops. Brogan walked out of the kitchen with a beer and handed it to him before settling in next to their grandfather. Thanking him, he headed into the dining room where Gareth was setting up the highchair. Moving to Ginny, who was setting the table, he gave her a quick kiss on the cheek.
“How are you feeling?”
She rolled her eyes, but then smiled and rubbed her stomach. “I wish everyone would stop asking that. I’m pregnant, not terminal.”
Laughing, he put his hands up in surrender and stepped into the kitchen to greet Katelyn and his mom.
Soon, with everyone seated around the table, the conversation was as lively as he had remembered it being his entire life. Laughing and talking was now interrupted with intermittent screams of delight from his nephew, vying for the attention of the crowd, but that just made him smile.
His mom passed him the plate full of bread, and asked, “So, Lia?”
His spoon halted on its way to his mouth as the table went suddenly quiet, all eyes on him. “Lia?”
“Now Aiden, don’t play dumb with me. From what I hear you were seen out with her, dining at the Sunset Restaurant, and have now spent the past week at her house every evening.”
Looking at his siblings for help, Brogan and Katelyn just stared at him, both fighting a grin. His dad leaned back in his chair, and said, “Don’t know how you thought you were going to keep a secret from your mom.”
Gareth shot him a sympathetic look, before turning his attention back to his son, and Ginny grinned widely. Finally looking toward Pops, he saw the twinkle in his grandfather’s eyes. Sighing, he laid his spoon down and turned toward his mom.
“I wasn’t really trying to keep it a secret,” he said, shrugging slightly. “We got close after the music festival, when I took her and Emily home. We spent a little time together and I really wanted to take her out, so we went to dinner.” Shooting Pops another glance, he admitted, “But I’m afraid my past, somewhat indiscreet, behavior bit me in the…uh…backend. I can’t really blame her, but that night she told me she didn’t think we should go out again and that we should just be friends.”
The expression on his mother’s face cut into him, not because she was staring at him with any censure, but because she looked like a mother who hurt for their child. Shaking his head, he said, “Don’t feel sorry for me, Mom. I never saw a reason to not enjoy myself however I wanted, so I gave no thought as to how it might look to someone that I reall
y wanted to be with.”
“I can see where that would be a tough lesson to learn,” she said. Holding his gaze, she asked, “But now? You’ve been going to her house every evening, right?”
A smile slid across his face as he nodded. “I’m not quite sure what all happened to change her mind, but she invited me to dinner and we had a good time. Then she asked me if I would work with Emily, to teach her how to play baseball. Emily wants to play, but Lia is really nervous because of Emily’s hearing impairment. I told her that lots of people with hearing impairments play sports, including baseball, and I’d be honored to work with her.”
Pops winked at him, but as he stared at the rest of his family, he was taken aback by their smiles.
His mom spoke first. “Aiden, honey, you’ve always been someone who enjoys life. That’s nothing to be ashamed of.”
“You’re my mother, you have to say that. But then,” he added, “I also know you wondered if I was ever settling down.”
Grinning, she said, “Well, now that you mention it…”
Brogan looked over, and commented, “Lia’s got a six-year-old daughter.”
He looked over at his brother, not understanding why Brogan was stating something he obviously knew, and said, “Uh, yeah. I was just talking about her.”
“You ready for that?”
“Brogan!” His mom and Ginny said at the same time.
“No, no,” he shushed them. “Brogan’s right. For the man I’ve been in the past, this absolutely would give others pause.” Facing Brogan, he explained, “I’ve been doing a lot of soul-searching, figuring out why I’ve been avoiding any type of entanglement. And the truth is, I’ve been doing this searching because of Lia. I don’t know what the future holds, but if all she’s willing to offer me right now is friendship and a chance to coach her daughter, then I’m going to take it.”
Hear My Heart Page 12