Page 55 of Thanks for Coming Along

Eden couldn't help but let out a huge sigh of relief, her tense muscles finally beginning to loosen as the weight of worry lifted from her shoulders.

"Oh, good. I am so relieved," Eden said with a warm smile as she leaned over the armrest of the wooden chair to hug Sadie. The hug was surprisingly comforting, like they’d known each other forever instead of just meeting. When they parted, Eden settled back into her seat, her mind momentarily at ease.

As she glanced up, she noticed someone standing in front of them. Looking up, she found Ronan standing there, a gentle smile playing across his lips. Her heart skipped a beat at the sight of him.

Without a word, Eden rose to her feet. Ronan wasted no time, drawing her into his arms. As he held her, she felt a wave of relief wash over her, soothing the knots of worry that had been tightening in her stomach.

Ronan pressed a tender kiss to the top of her head, his lips warm against her hair. Eden instinctively leaned into him, her arms wrapping around his waist. "She's okay," he sighed softly. "Thank you for coming with me," he whispered into her hair.

Eden nuzzled into the fabric of his shirt, and she could hear his heart. With each steady beat of his heart against hers, she felt the tension further melt from her body.

"I wouldn't want to be anywhere else," she murmured softly. She took a deep breath, inhaling his comforting scent.

"So, this is the gal rocking my son's world?" a cheerful voice said behind them. Eden stepped back from Ronan and turned to see an older man, probably in his sixties, with a full head of gray hair and kind brown eyes. His warm smile was framed by crow's feet, evidence of a lifetime of laughter.

"Hi, Mr. Murphy. I’m Eden," she said, extending her hand politely. But he shook his head with a grin, waving off the gesture.

For a second, panic flickered in Eden’s chest. Had she done something wrong? Her hand dropped awkwardly to her side as her palms started to sweat.

"I know who you are! But we don’t shake hands in this family—hugs only," he said with a chuckle, the warmth in his voice easing her nerves instantly. Before she could process, he pulled her into a bear hug that nearly knocked the wind out of her. The tight embrace made it clear where Sadie got her affectionate nature.

"Call me Conor, love. I only hear 'Mr. Murphy' when I'm in trouble with the missus," he said with a smile in his voice. Eden couldn't help but laugh and return the hug, feeling the genuine warmth of this family. Conor pulled away from the hug gently, held her arms, and looked into her face.

"Come meet my Erin, she's been chomping at the bit to meet you. She's eager to meet the legend that is Eden," Conor said with a wink as he guided her down the well-lit hospital corridor. They arrived at a hospital room where a pretty, red-haired woman laid in a hospital bed, an iPad resting on her lap.

"Erin, you've got a hospital volunteer here who's dying to give you a sponge bath," Conor announced with a chuckle. Eden couldn't help but burst into laughter. Erin rolled her eyes at her husband's comment. "I'm trying to watch 'The Bachelor', Conor. I can assure you, no one's volunteering to hose down this weathered bod," she retorted, reaching for her glasses on the bedside table and perching them on her nose with a sly smile.

"Conor!" Erin scolded with mock severity as she spotted Eden standing at the edge of her bed. "Oh, dear Eden, please excuse my husband. He's convinced he's the funniest man alive."

"I am funny, you know! Conan O'Brien stole my jokes! I should have my own late-night talk show by now," Conor said, puffing out his chest with pride. "He came to watch my improv group back in 2001, and I'm sure he swiped a joke or two from me!"

"Oh please, no one is stealing your sponge bath jokes!" Erin rolled her eyes at her husband. Eden watched as they argued back and forth. She smiled at the back and forth. She could see the tenderness for each other in the jabs. Ronan had said they were high school sweethearts, and it was clear that they still loved each other after all those years.

Eden felt a pang of envy twist in her chest as she watched them laugh. It was a glimpse of the love and support they gave, and it hit her harder than she expected. Growing up, she had always craved that kind of connection—a family where you belonged without question, where conversations flowed easily, and you didn’t have to tiptoe around your words or hide how you felt.

Erin shooed Conor out of the hospital room; he shuffled out of the room slowly like a little kid getting put in time-out. Eden made her way to the stiff wooden chair beside Erin's hospital bed and took a seat. Erin looked strikingly similar to an older version of Sadie with her auburn-red hair and a smattering of freckles on her nose.

"I'm so relieved you're okay. I know we've just met, but Ronan always talks about you. It feels like I know your whole family already." Eden murmured. Erin reached out, gently taking Eden's hand in hers, a soft smile forming on her face.

"I could say the same about you," Erin said warmly. "I don’t know how you did it, but Ronan’s happier than I’ve ever seen him."

Eden’s chest filled with warmth at her words, and her smile grew wider. She felt lucky to have Ronan in her life, like she’d stumbled onto something truly special.

"I feel just as lucky," Eden said with a grin. "You’ve raised an amazing guy, to say the least." Amazing didn’t even cover it—Ronan was one of a kind.

But as the thought sank in, a flicker of doubt wormed its way in. She was meeting his entire family. How seriously did Ronan take this relationship between them? A ripple of panic pressed against her chest, and her smile faltered for a second. Everything with Ronan had escalated so quickly, sweeping her off her feet in a way she hadn’t felt in years.

And then her mind went to Liam. Things had started great with him too. Two years later, her life was in shambles, and her confidence was in the gutters. Eden pushed down the panic, determined not to let those old fears resurface, and painted a smile back on her face.

"So I have been dying to know,” Erin paused dramatically, her green eyes widening. "Tell me what it's like to be a rockstar?" Erin asked enthusiastically, tossing her iPad to the side of the hospital bed. The episode of "The Bachelor" was completely forgotten about.

"Well, take everything you know about Mick Jagger and add cramped tour buses where you can't poop onboard."

37

Ronan

After his mom was discharged with instructions to start a new blood pressure medication and schedule a follow-up with a neurologist, everyone piled into her old minivan and headed back to the house where Ronan and Sadie had grown up.

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