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afterwards , we 're going to have a big party . '' |
`` i 'll make sure to clear my schedule . '' |
`` wonderful . '' |
pesh leaned over to kiss noah 's cheek . |
`` goodbye my godson . |
be good for your mother . '' |
he pulled emma to him and hugged her . |
`` goodbye to you as well . '' |
she squeezed him tight . |
`` thank you again . |
you ca n't imagine how happy you 've made me . |
and aidan . '' |
he imagined that emma 's elation was far greater than aidan 's , but he kept that to himself . |
instead , he walked to her the door . |
just as he went for the doorknob , emma shocked him with her next statement . |
`` oh , if you 're seeing someone , please feel free to bring her with you . '' |
pesh could n't help the burst of nervous laughter that escaped his lips . |
`` that was n't obvious at all . '' |
emma frowned . |
`` but i thought ... at least i hoped you would be dating someone by now . '' |
`` well , i 'm not . '' |
shifting noah to her other hip , emma shook her head . |
`` how is that possible ? |
do you walk around with a bag over your head ? |
live as a hermit ? '' |
`` no to the bag , and i guess yes to a hermit . '' |
he glanced around . |
`` i 'm always here . '' |
emma 's gaze left his and took in some of the nurses passing by them . |
he could imagine from the looks they were giving him , and more particularly the envious daggers they were shooting emma , that she knew what was on their minds . |
`` do you have any idea what effect you have on women ? '' |
he crossed his arms over his chest . |
`` no , but i suppose you 're going to remind me again . '' |
emma sighed . |
`` i just want you to be happy , and i know that deep down you are n't . '' |
`` please , just let it go for now , okay ? '' |
although she nodded , pesh could tell she was far from agreeing . |
somewhere within that pretty head of hers the wheels of matchmaking were turning hard and fast . |
`` see you soon , '' she said , before starting down the hall . |
as he watched emma and noah walk through the mechanized double doors into the waiting room , a pang of sadness reverberated through him as he wondered what his child might have been like . |
in the months before her death , his late wife , jade , had been on fertility medication . |
she 'd miscarried once , but she had great hopes that their latest baby making attempts would be successful . |
she died never knowing if she was pregnant or not . |
when the autopsy had come back , pesh refused to read whether she had been . |
it would have been too difficult to bear . |
shaking off his morbid thoughts once again , he went into the room where a patient needed him . |
chapter two `` where the hell is my dress ? '' |
megan mckenzie demanded , as she rifled through her closet . |
the one formal and demure dress she owned had been dropped off at the cleaners earlier in the week to prepare for her godson , noah 's , baptism . |
as the godmother , she wanted to look mature and responsible . |
most of the dresses in her closet were from her former life-in other words , her life before her son was born . |
that meant they were too short , too tight , and too revealing . |
she cut her eyes over to the couch to check on mason . |
sitting stock still , he was enraptured by the cartoon on the tv . |
`` be right back , sweetie . '' |
`` awight , mommy . '' |
she pounded up the basement stairs and into her parent 's kitchen . |
she hoped she would find the dress hanging in the hall closet . |
if not , she was totally screwed . |
as she started into the living room , the mere sound of a voice on the television caused her to freeze . |
her stomach churned , and her heart raced . |
she knew that voice all too well . |
it belonged to the man who had shredded her heart , crushed her spirit , and left her broken almost beyond repair . |
her nineteen-year-old-brother , sean , lounged on the couch , watching espn . |
on the screen , her ex-boyfriend , davis durello , gave an interview outfitted in his falcons jersey and pads . |
becoming enraged that he was invading her home , megan stalked across the room and snatched the remote out of sean 's hand . |
she flicked off the television and tossed the remote at him , smacking him in the chest . |
he glowered at her . |
`` what the hell , meg ? |
i was watching that . '' |
`` are you that big of an insensitive ass**le that you even have to ask ? '' |
`` i 'm an ass**le because you 're getting pissed i 'm watching some old interview of davis ' ? '' |
`` are n't you perceptive ? '' |
megan snapped sarcastically . |
`` i thought you were over him , '' sean countered . |
megan did n't even bother trying to explain to sean that even after two years , it was hard getting over the man who left you knocked up and refused to have anything to do with his son besides signing a check . |
as a teenage male , sean just did n't have that much emotional depth to understand that a wound like that may look like it has healed , but it was always festering just below the surface . |
`` i am , '' she lied . |
`` but that does n't mean i want to see him . |
most people get to leave their ex-boyfriends behind , but i have to have mine thrust into my face during football season . |
but even when that 's over , he still seems to be creeping around . '' |
crossing her arms over her chest , she shot a death glare at sean . |
`` it would be nice if you cared enough about me not to want to watch him . '' |
`` can i help that your douchebag ex happens to play for the falcons , and espn is doing an interview ? '' |
`` you do n't have to be watching it in my presence ! '' |
at her outburst , sean held up his hands in defeat . |
`` sorry . |
i did n't know it got to you that bad . |
i 'll turn the channel next time , okay ? '' |
`` fine , '' she muttered . |
feeling slightly psychotic after her outburst , she kept her head down as she headed for the hall closet . |
thankfully , her navy blue dress hung on the rack still in the plastic from the dry cleaners . |
when she turned around , she found her mother outfitted in her finest pale pink suit . |
she eyed megan 's robe-clad form disdainfully . |
`` megan , we leave in half an hour . |
why are n't you dressed yet ? '' |
closing her eyes , megan counted to ten so she would n't bite her mother 's head off . |
`` i left my dress up here after i picked it up at the dry cleaners . |
i 'll be ready on time . |
i promise . '' |
Subsets and Splits