Just not with him.
Okay, so that wasn’t entirely true, Melanie admitted to herself. It was just that she was fat, bloated, and…
She just…
She just couldn’t do it.
She couldn’t sleep with a man that she barely knew.
Okay, so clearly she could, Melanie thought, biting back a wince as she glanced down at her large belly, but that had been with the help of a lot of unidentifiable alcohol and a knee jerk reaction to finding out something that she really should have seen coming. Caitlyn wasn’t happy unless she got what she wanted. She’d been that way since they were kids.
If she saw something that she wanted, she’d do whatever it took to get it and unfortunately for everyone around her, Caitlyn usually wanted what someone else had. When they were little, that meant having to deal with tantrums, shouting, crying, and waiting until Caitlyn finally passed out when she held her breath until she got what she wanted. As she got older, she’d figured out how to get what she wanted without having to resort to tantrums. She’d learned how to get what she wanted with coy smiles, false flattery, and-
Melanie never thought that Caitlyn would do something like this to her. She should have known better, she thought with a sigh only to frown when she suddenly found herself looking down at the man helping her with her shoes.
“Umm, what are you doing?” Melanie couldn’t help but wonder.
“I considered waxing, but that just seemed like a lot of work,” Aidan said, instead of answering her.
“Umm, waxing?” Melanie asked as he finished tying her laces before standing up and helping her to her feet.
“Shaving seemed easier,” Aidan said absently as he took her hand in his and led her to the door.
“I’m sorry. I’m a little confused. Why are you telling me this?” Melanie asked as he handed her bag to her.
There was a heavy sigh and then, “It’s my next five things, woman. I’m really gonna need you to try to keep up here.”
Biting back a smile, Melanie asked, “And is there a reason why you shaved your legs?”
“My brothers are assholes,” he asked, opening the door for her.
“That’s what I heard,” she murmured, nodding solemnly as he led her to his car and helped her inside before closing the door.
“They convinced me that I had a better chance to get on the football team if I shaved my legs because it would make me faster,” Aidan explained as soon as he opened his door and climbed in.
“And did it help?” Melanie asked as she buckled in.
Chuckling, he said, “Not even a little bit.”
*-*-*-*
“I demand to see the rule book,” Melanie said, crossing her arms over her chest as she narrowed her beautiful blue eyes on him as he finished his burger.
“We discussed this,” Aidan lied, mostly because he felt that it would be in his best interest if they moved away from this subject.
“We really didn’t,” she said with a sad shake of her head as she plucked a dessert menu off the table.
“We really did, though,” he said as he followed suit and grabbed a menu, hoping to change the subject but the beautiful woman across from him refused to let it go.
“Can you really start telling me something and then stop? Doesn’t that go against the rules?” she asked, throwing him a teasing smile that he liked a little too much.
“I changed my mind.”
“Can you really do that though?” Melanie asked, looking thoughtful.
“It’s in the rule book,” Aidan said, admittedly pleased that she was smiling and seemed comfortable with him again.
For a moment there, he’d been worried that they were going to have to start over and they didn’t have time for that, not with a baby on the way. He had less than two months to figure out how to make this work and he couldn’t afford any delays. He might not have planned on having a family, but he had one now and he was going to do everything within his power to make this work.
He wanted to be part of his son’s life and he didn’t want to have to go through the courts to make that happen. He wanted to be able to see his son whenever he wanted, wanted to be there for birthdays, holidays, and everything in between. He didn’t want to have to settle for seeing his son every other weekend, alternate holidays, and argue over who was going to have him in the summer. He wanted to be there for his son, making sure that he was taken care of and knew that he was loved, and he wanted to do this with Melanie.
They were in this together.
When Trevor’s dad stopped coming around, Aidan had only been four years old, but he remembered the look on his cousin’s face whenever his father was mentioned. He remembered those times when Trevor’s father actually showed up to family events, the screaming over visitation and child support, the crying, and the way that it had destroyed his Aunt Sarah.
She’d struggled to raise Trevor on her own, worked two jobs to keep food on the table, and had bent over backwards to do everything to make it work for Trevor. She’d pleaded with Trevor’s father to show up and held Trevor when he didn’t. They’d struggled and Aidan didn’t want that for his son. He didn’t want his son to hate him or cry when he wasn’t there, wondering what he did wrong, and he sure as hell didn’t want to be the reason Melanie cried.
“Can you produce this rule book?” Melanie asked, propping her chin on her fist as she considered her options for dessert.
“I’m afraid that you’re going to have to trust me,” he said, debating between the chocolate cake and pumpkin pie.
“Then I’m afraid that you’re going to have to tell me why you had a Jonas Brothers poster on your bedroom wall when you were fifteen,” she said with a sad shake of her head and a heartfelt sigh.
“What if I just bought you one of every dessert instead?” Aidan said, hoping to use her love of carbs against her.
Without missing a beat, Melanie said, “Make it two,” letting him know that they were going to get along just fine.
Chapter 19
A Week Later…
“Veto,” Melanie said with a heavy sigh, wondering when he was going to start taking this seriously.
“What’s wrong with Gage?” Aidan asked as he settled back against the side of the tub as he shifted his attention to the stack of patient files next to him.
“Pet Semetary,” she said as she settled back in the tub, enjoying the hot water as it slowly worked its magic on her sore muscles and swollen feet.
“Are you going to keep vetoing names based on movies and television?”
“Yes, yes, I am,” Melanie said, feeling her lips twitch when he released another long-suffering sigh.
“You’re high maintenance, woman.”
“I have been told that,” Melanie admitted as she closed her eyes and felt herself relax.
“What do you think of Chris?” Aidan asked.
“As in Chris Hemsworth?” she asked only to sigh wistfully when she thought of the incredibly hot actor that-
“Veto,” Aidan bit out, making her frown.
“Wait. You’re vetoing your own suggestion?” she asked, opening her eyes to find him staring down at the file in his lap.
“Yes,” he murmured absently as he picked up another file.
“What if I vetoed your veto?” she couldn’t help but wonder.
“I’d veto that,” Aidan said, making her chuckle.
“What about Drew?” Melanie asked as she reached for the apple juice he got for her and took a sip.