Bella reached for my hand and laced it with hers. I jerked my head to the side and looked at her.
She squeezed my hand and gave me that sweet smile of hers. “Stop worrying, Hunter.”
I nodded. “I’m not worrying about Willa.”
She grinned. “Of course not.” As if just realizing we were touching, she looked down at our joined hands and suddenly pulled hers away. She rubbed her hands down her jeans, looking anywhere but at me.
“How long does it take to have a baby?” Kyle asked for what felt like the hundredth time.
Brighton gave him a smug grin. “Aren’t cops supposed to know things like that?”
He shot her a dirty look. “No. Maybe a medic, but not a cop.”
The way those two argued, you’d think they were an old married couple on each other’s last nerve.
“It just depends,” Greer said, clearly attempting to stop the fight that was brewing between Brighton and her brother. “Since this is Willa’s second baby, I’d think it would go pretty fast.”
As if on cue, Aiden walked into the waiting room and everyone stood. He simply stared at us, not saying a word.
“Should someone slap him or something?” Candace asked in loud whisper.
Aiden shook his head and laughed as he ran his fingers through his hair. He met my gaze, then looked over at my folks. “Willa did…she did amazing.” Wiping tears from his face, Aiden took a deep breath and said, “We have a seven-pound, four-ounce baby girl.”
Kyle shouted, “I knew it!” while the rest of us broke into cheers.
I stood back while my folks walked up to Aiden first, followed by all of our friends. I was the last to walk over to him, frowning as I approached. “Dude, are you okay?”
Aiden slowly shook his head and looked at me. “No. I think I’m about to pass out.”
It was a damn good thing I was standing where I was because Aiden’s eyes fluttered and, true to his word, he fainted dead away.
Arabella
I slowly rocked my body back and forth, holding Ciara Megan O’Hara in my arms as I sat in Willa and Aiden’s living room. Tears pricked the back of my eyes as I tried not to think about how much I wanted a child of my own. At nearly thirty-three years old, I wasn’t sure this was a dream that would ever come true for me.
“Arabella, are you all right?”
Willa’s voice pulled me from my somber thoughts.
“She’s just so beautiful,” I said, my voice cracking. “It makes me emotional.”
I glanced up to see Willa smiling as she looked at her daughter in my arms.
“She is beautiful. I love how babies smell.” Greer leaned in and drew in a deep breath of Ciara’s hair.
Giggling, I did the same thing and nodded. “I agree. If you could bottle this up, you’d probably make a fortune.”
“How are you feeling, Willa?” Greer walked over and sat next to Willa on the sofa. “I can’t believe you left the hospital so soon.”
Willa adjusted her body some and looked at Greer. “As long as everything is okay with the mom and the baby, you don’t have to stay nearly as long anymore.”
“How’s Aiden?” I asked as I continued to sway back and forth with the sleeping princess in my arms.
Willa rolled her eyes. “He’s fine. Thank God Hunter was there to catch him.”
“I still can’t believe he fainted.” Greer chuckled and covered her mouth. “You’d think the man was tougher than that with all he’s seen as a Navy SEAL.”
Tring to hide my own laugh, I looked back down at Ciara. She was in a milk coma for sure. The corner of her mouth lifted slightly in a little smile. My heart melted once again, and I tried to ignore that maternal longing.
“You guys should have seen him during the delivery, though. He was amazing. He was so worried about both of us, but he never left my side. And when the baby was born, he kissed me like he’s never kissed me before. If I hadn’t just pushed a baby out of me, I would have wanted him right then and there.”
We all laughed.
“What’s so funny?” Aiden asked as he walked into the living room.
The three of us exchanged quick glances. “Nothing,” we replied in unison.
Aiden raised a brow. “You’re talking about me fainting again, aren’t you?”
Willa covered her mouth to hide her smile. “I’m sorry, sweetheart. We were.”
“Go ahead and laugh, I can take it,” Aiden stated, waving his hand in the air.
Greer snorted. “Have Kyle and Hunter started in on you yet?”
Aiden rolled his eyes. “Yeah, Hunter did just a few moments ago.”
I looked up at the mention of Hunter and smiled as I saw him walking into the living room, his mother Mary right beside him. The smile on his face dropped when he scanned the room and saw me. His gaze shifted between me and the baby and I felt my heart plummet to my stomach. Was he unhappy I was here? I honestly hadn’t even thought about Hunter being here. I should have, though. After all, Ciara was his niece. But when Greer said Willa asked us to come over and see the baby, I couldn’t refuse.
“Arabella Adams, you look precious holding that baby in your arms.” Mary made her way over to me. She gave me a quick kiss on the cheek, and then looked down at Ciara.
Jack, her husband, was the next person to speak as he walked into the room and stood next to Hunter. “Isn’t my granddaughter just beautiful?” He gave his son a small push with his elbow, and Hunter finally pulled his eyes off me, then ran his fingers through his hair like he was bothered by something.
Was he mad I was there? Surely not, but I couldn’t read the expression on his face.
Mary looked over her shoulder at her husband. “Isn’t that right, Jack? We need to see Arabella more often.”
Jack flashed me a bright smile. “Yes. We really would love to have you over for dinner sometime, sweetheart.”
Once again, I noticed how much Hunter looked like his father. He was basically a younger version of Jack, who was still very handsome for his age. Jack’s brown hair was sprinkled with bits of gray, but his eyes were exactly like his son’s. Crystal blue, like the afternoon sky after a rain shower comes through.
“That would be lovely,” I replied. “Mary, would you like to hold your granddaughter?”
“Oh, are you sure?”
I nodded. “Greer has already held her, and I’ve had her the last twenty minutes or so.”
Mary scooped her granddaughter out of my hands like a pro. Now that they were empty, I fidgeted with the bottom of my sweater and made my way over to sit down next to Greer on the other sofa.
Ben had come in with his grandfather, and was now demanding Hunter’s attention. I watched the two of them interact with one another, my heart physically aching. If how he treated Ben was any indication, Hunter would make a wonderful father. He put the boy up on his shoulders and bounced, while Jack—the K9 version—barked.
“Down, Jack,” Hunter commanded. Jack took in everyone in the room and made a beeline toward me.
“Hey, buddy,” I said, gently scratching along his head and neck. Seconds later, he lay at my feet—or I should say, on them.