Page 106 of Bringing Emma Home

He softened his tone as he moved to the bench beside her. “For now, you’re someone she likes and can play with. I didn’t take it any further than that because I didn’t want to disappoint her.”

“Why didn’t you ask me if I wanted her to know that I lived here?” Grace demanded, aware of how unreasonable she sounded but not able to stem the accusation.

“Because we aren’t together anymore, Grace. We’re trying to figure things out, and I really believe we will. But if you weren’t coming back, then what would be the point in telling Emma who you really were? If I told her, only to have you decide not to return home, how would Emma cope with that? It’s clear she likes you, but if she lost you, too…”

His words hung in the air between them.

Her heart pounding in dread, she said, “Aidan, if only we’d waited and worked out the details of taking her into our lives… All of this would have turned out so differently.”

“Yeah…” He looked into her eyes, his face solemn and sad. “If I could turn back the clock…” He sighed as he reached for her hand. “What do we do now? What do we tell her? Whatever we tell her now won’t be easily changed without making her upset.”

As she looked at her husband, she had to admit that she was to blame here, as well. She and Aidan had to fight for their marriage. They’d never had to before this, but now everything hinged on both of them seeing what they were about to lose. “There’s no point in rehashing the past where Emma is concerned. We both should have found a way to talk to each other about this.”

His eyes searched her face, his gaze filled with love and longing. “All I’ve ever wanted is you, Grace. I can’t help believing that, if we work on it, we can be happy again.” He eased closer, the scent of his skin intoxicating. “We can be a family.”

CHAPTER NINETEEN

AIDAN COULDN’T STOP himself from putting his arm around Grace’s shoulders. He needed to touch her, to feel her close to him while he waited for her to speak. What would she say? Would she feel pressured by Emma’s needs to answer him before she was ready? But she’d come here to see him, and that had to mean she wanted to work things out.

Or maybe her only reason for being here was to get her quilting fabric. They’d talked a little when she first came to the house, but she hadn’t committed to anything other than that they needed to talk. Something they’d both agreed they needed to do long before she arrived at the door.

“Grace, please believe me when I tell you I’ve changed. This does not have to be resolved right this minute. You came over here to get your parcel. I’m the one who assumed that you might be willing to be here for Emma. I dragged you into my problem of finding someone to replace Lisa. That wasn’t fair.”

“With Emma in our lives, it’s crucial that we face what is going on between us. I accept that you made your decision about me and my role here so as not to confuse her, but if we don’t decide what we’re doing, how we’re going to live, we will confuse her even more.”

His heart sank to his stomach. Was she saying that they couldn’t fix their differences over Emma? Each time he saw Grace with Emma he was more and more certain that she was falling in love with their child. “Then what do we tell Emma when she asks who you are? Do we say you’re a friend? If we aren’t getting back together, will you still want to be part of Emma’s life? You have to help me here, Grace. I’m lost and afraid that it’s all over between us.”

She stood before him, her face turned to his, a sad smile hovering on her lips. “I love you, Aidan. I came here not only for my fabric, but also to work on how to solve our issues. I was so afraid to come here.”

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