“Me and you?”
“Me and you.”
Her smile was the last thing she did before she fell asleep in my arms. I held her body against mine for a long time. I stared at her, blown away by how much I loved this woman, and amazed by her strength and patience as she brought our son into the world. I flicked my eyes to Jax and smiled when he pulled a cute face in his sleep. I lay down beside Aideen, held her tight, and sighed in utter happiness, knowing that I had my family and they had me too. I fell asleep knowing that I had the whole world in my woman and son, and I knew then that I was the luckiest son of bitch on the face of the planet.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Present day ...
“Unc?”
I looked over my shoulder when Georgie walked into my kitchen.
“Baby,” I beamed and opened my arms when she neared me. “I didn’t know you were coming over.”
She wrapped her arms around my waist and gave me a tight squeeze that I returned before she stepped back.
“I came over to talk to Jax,” she said, and lowered her head. “I fought with ‘im earlier and said somethin’ I really didn’t mean, so I’ve come to apologise.”
Ah, now Jax’s sulking around the apartment made sense. When he returned from my brother’s house earlier, I knew something had happened because when I asked if he was okay, he said he didn’t want to talk about it. I knew he was still embarrassed at being caught almost having sex by his parents and mostly likely bummed that he was grounded and had all his electronic devices taken away, but he seemed genuinely upset, and now I knew why.
“He’s in his room, George.”
Georgie hesitated. “What if he doesn’t forgive me?”
I flipped on the kettle, knowing from experience that this conversation would require a cup of tea. My niece looked concerned about the talk she needed to have with my son, and I wanted to do what I could to settle her nerves; otherwise, no amount of tea would calm her.
“Forgive what exactly?”
Georgie looked down at her feet. “He was bein’ really overbearin’ and tellin’ me parents me business when he shouldn’t have, and I just got so feckin’ mad at ‘im. He is always actin’ like he is years older than me when he isn’t. I’m the second eldest cousin; there is a few months between us, but he treats me like the youngest, and today, I just had enough of it. I ... I told ‘im that I hated ‘im, and when he asked me to take it back, I wouldn’t. Now I feel like dirt on the ground because I don’t hate ‘im. I love ‘im to death, but I don’t know if he’ll forgive me for sayin’ it. I was pretty mean to ‘im, so I wouldn’t blame ‘im if he never spoke to me again. The look on his face ... I hurt ‘im.”
Well, shit.
“Look,” I said, quickly making her tea now that the kettle had boiled. “I can see it in your pretty green eyes and hear it when you speak that you are sorry. People make mistakes and say things they don’t mean when they are angry, especially to the people they love most. Jax loves you, Georgie. You’re his number one girl. He’ll forgive you.”
I knew my son, and there was nothing he wouldn’t do for his cousins, especially Georgie. He would forgive her for upsetting him. He’d probably make her sweat a little before he did so—just to teach her a lesson—but in the end, he would accept her apology and they would move on with their lives.
“Thanks, Uncle.” She sighed, her shoulders sagging as she sat at the kitchen table. “Today has been a shitty day.”
I agreed wholeheartedly.
“Well, we’re guaranteed that today will end, so it’s up to you whether you want to drag your feelings into tomorrow or leave them in the here and now and start fresh come sunup.”
Georgie looked up at me and smiled. She was the picture of her mother, but I saw my little brother in her smile, and those dimples on her cheeks were definitely Dominic Slater to the T.
“Ye’ sound like Alec when he gets all philosophical.”
I grinned. “I make sense, though. Your uncle sounds like Yoda having a bad day when he starts rambling.”
She laughed, lifted her cup of tea, blew on it, then took a sip and hummed.
“I love that ye’ know how many sugars I take.”
“Learning how you and your aunties take their tea was wired into me years ago. I realised quickly how a cup good of tea can resolve the most hostile of situations.”
My niece giggled. “I can imagine ye’ makin’ Aideen a cup of tea just to get in ‘er good books.”