Page 94 of Bringing Emma Home

“Maybe the best answer is for you to go to my place and talk to her. Just give me fair warning you’re coming so I can be out before you get there.”

“I could give that a try. Would you be willing to give her a message?”

Lucas scanned the ceiling before answering. “I’ll put in a good word for you, but you need to make the effort. I’m headed to the office and then out of town on the McLellan project. It’s all up to you, buddy. Good luck.”

Relief flowed through Aidan like a warm summer breeze. “I’ll try anything.”

“By the way, if Grace is willing to go away with you, be sure to turn off your work cell. Nothing kills a romantic moment faster than a call from work.” He tapped his chest. “I found out the hard way a couple weeks ago. I’ve never seen Maria more upset.”

“And if I disappear for a couple of days, that will mean more work for you,” Aidan said.

“All for a good cause. I need you to focus more on work, and Grace needs you back. Not to mention what Emma needs in all this.” Lucas put his cup in the sink and slapped Aidan on the back before heading to the door. “Try not to blow it, Aidan.”

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

GRACE SAT ALONE in her brother’s condo, trying to sort out her feelings. She’d hardly slept since her talk with Lucas. His words, his serious tone, had filled her with dread.

More than anything that had happened so far, Lucas had made her aware of how fragile her marriage was, how little it would take to end it. She’d never truly considered that she and Aidan might not be able to resolve their differences. Yes, she’d had moments of frustration when they seemed miles apart. But underlying that frustration had been the deeper confidence that they would fix their relationship. They’d always been able to talk over any problems in their marriage, but this time was different. What had happened five years ago was tearing them apart.

Deep down she knew she’d been hiding out at her brother’s place, taking solace in knitting and watching TV. But she needed to do something to move on with her life, to figure out what she should do with her marriage.

She wanted to deny that she’d been unable to accept what had happened to her and Aidan in the past few weeks. Lucas couldn’t possibly understand how painful it was to face up to the fact that Aidan had a child with another woman. And how could Lucas possibly believe that what Aidan had done to her was acceptable in a marriage based on love and trust? She’d come up with all kinds of reasons Lucas had to be wrong, but none of them made sense in the darkness of her room each night.

Was she simply unwilling to accept what Aidan said? That he’d made a mistake a long time ago, and it had nothing to do with his love for her?

And what about Emma? She couldn’t help but love the little girl. Yet if she wasn’t an equal partner in raising Emma and making decisions involving her, the rest of their relationship would suffer the consequences.

Still and all, she missed Aidan so much, found herself thinking about him all the time. What was he doing? What was he feeling? Was he eating, looking after himself? Between his new family responsibilities and his work, he had to be under even more pressure.

She’d been at the table with Lucas and Maria several times over the past days and heard how busy Lucas was, which meant that Aidan had even more work responsibilities than she’d been aware of. She wanted to call Aidan, to let him know she was here if he needed her. But she wasn’t going to do that. Not without some resolution about her role in Emma’s life.

She glanced at the phone, uncertain what she should do. If she called Aidan, what would she say? How could she begin a conversation about them when she wasn’t certain where to start? And the way she was feeling right now, she was afraid that what she did say would come out as an accusation. And what was the point in that?

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