The Pairing (The Proposition #3)(83)

As Pesh rose out of the chair, Noah stirred but didn’t wake up. “Get Aidan and Emma’s keys out of my pocket.”

She nodded and reached into his pants. When she accidentally touched his penis through the fabric, he jumped. “Sorry about that,” she replied, as she pulled out the keys.

“No problem,” he muttered through gritted teeth.

They said a quick goodnight to Pesh’s parents and other relatives who remained. Then they headed out to the lobby. After giving the valet Aidan’s keys, they waited for the SUV to be brought around. When she caught her reflection in the glass doors of the hotel, she gasped.

“What’s wrong?” Pesh inquired.

“The jewelry! I can’t go loaded down with this expensive stuff to the hospital!” she cried. She snatched off the earrings and then started working on the necklace. “I’ll run go give it to your mother.”

“If you insist,” Pesh replied.

She kicked off her heels so she could run easier. The necklace and earrings weighed down her hands. She grabbed the first member of Pesh’s immediate family she saw, which unfortunately happened to be Dev. “Can you get these to your mother? I’ve got to get to the hospital.”

His dark eyes widened as he took the jewelry from her. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine. A cousin’s baby was just born. Don’t let anything happen to that, okay?”

Dev chuckled. “Yeah, I’ll be unloading this pronto. The last thing I need is for my ass to be the one to lose the family jewels.” With a wink, he added, “They’d be taking my family jewels.”

Megan laughed and then gave him a wave before running off. When she got back outside, Aidan and Emma’s SUV had just pulled around. Noah began to squirm in Pesh’s arms. “Guess where we’re going?” Pesh said, before he could start crying.

“Mama?”

Pesh smiled. “Yes, we’re taking you to your mama and daddy and new baby sister.”

Noah’s face lit up at the prospect, and he happily let them buckle him into his car seat. Following her mother’s car, they made the drive in almost a caravan of relatives. When they got to the hospital, Pesh pulled up to let her out. “I’ll go park and bring him in.”

“Okay. I’ll see you guys up there.”

When she got up to the maternity floor, there was a quite a group waiting for her, including Emma’s best friend, Connor.

“Did Casey not feel like coming tonight?” Megan asked, as she hugged him. Casey was just a few weeks shy of her own due date with a little girl.

He chuckled. “Oh, she’s here all right. She’s just in labor herself. It seems like Caroline and Olivia are going to be true best friends by being born almost the same day.”

Megan grinned. “That’s wonderful news.”

Connor wrinkled his nose. “I think Casey will be appreciating it a little more when her epidural kicks in. She wasn’t too happy the last time I went back to see her.”

“Oh yes, I remember that feeling well.”

Megan’s phone dinged, and she quickly read the text. “Aidan says we can come back now,” she said to her aunts.

The group made their way through the double doors and down the hall. When they reached Emma’s room, Angie knocked on the door. Within a few seconds, Aidan appeared. “Hey guys,” he said, with a beaming smile. “The nurse is actually checking on Em, but give me a second.” He disappeared back behind the door only to reappear within a few moments. This time he held a tiny bundle wrapped in a pink blanket. “Here she is. Miss Caroline Elizabeth Fitzgerald.”

Collective oohs and aahs went up over the group as Aidan held Caroline out for them to see. She didn’t seem too interested or impressed by them. She yawned and closed her eyes. “She’s absolutely beautiful,” Megan said.

“She’s something all right,” Aidan murmured.

“There it is! I see a tear,” Becky teased.

Aidan rolled his eyes at his sister. “Let me guess. You had some kind of bet going about whether I cried or not?”

Liz patted his back. “Something like that.”

Pesh appeared then. The moment Noah saw his father he kicked to get down. Once he got his feet on the floor, he ran to Aidan, wrapping his arms around Aidan’s leg. “Hey buddy. You want to meet your sister?”

Squatting down, Aidan held Caroline to where Noah could get a good look at her. “Mama’s tummy baby?” he questioned.

Aidan laughed. “Yeah, this is your baby sister, Caroline.”

Noah eyed his sister with a slight frown, as if he was trying to figure her out. Megan could only imagine what was going on in his head at the moment. He’d spent the last sixteen months being the center of his parents’ world, and now there was someone else to share the attention.

When Caroline scrunched up her face and whimpered, Noah patted her arm. “No cwy, baby.”

“Aw, he’s going to be a good big brother,” Angie remarked.

Aidan chuckled. “Yeah, he’ll be fine until Caroline needs Emma. Then he’s going to be ready to sell her to the gypsies.”

A nurse exited Emma’s room. “You can go in now.” As she gazed around the crowd, she shook her head. “Well, some of you can go in.”