“What did your sister say to you?” Aidan asked as he ran his hands up her stomach so that he was cupping her breasts in his hands.
“Oh, you really thought that I would let her screw with my head? That’s so sad,” Melanie said with a pitying sigh and a sad shake of her head that ended with a moan when he gently squeezed her breasts. Caitlyn had crossed the line with her one last time, leaving her with no other choice but to do the one thing that she’d never allowed herself to do before.
She told on her.
Oh, had she tattletaled her ass off today.
She’d told her parents everything. It was something that she’d never done before because she knew that it was always better to handle Caitlyn on her own since her parents would just ground her sister, giving her a chance to make everyone’s life miserable. No, when it came to Caitlyn, Melanie either took care of her sister on her own, or she simply ignored her. Over the past couple of years, she’d ignored her sister…
Until now.
Now, Caitlyn had finally pushed her too far. So, Melanie did what any self-respecting woman her age would do, she told her parents all those things that Caitlyn didn’t want them to know and quite a few things that her sister probably thought she’d forgotten about.
“Then what are we doing here?” he asked, using his hold on her to pull her back against him.
“Because I want you,” Melanie said, unable to help but moan as he gave her breasts another squeeze before he slid one hand back down her stomach.
“You already have me,” Aidan promised her as he worked her pants open so that he could slide his hand inside her panties.
“Then it shouldn’t matter when we get married,” she said, struggling not to moan when she felt his hand slide between her legs.
“It matters.”
Chapter 42
“Open the goddamn door, Melanie!” Aidan bit out as he glared at the locked bathroom door.
“Are you going to marry me tomorrow?” came the reply after a brief pause.
“No,” he bit out, because they were doing this the right way no matter what the stubborn pain in the ass that had somehow managed to take him by surprise and locked him out of the bathroom, said.
“Then I’m afraid that I can’t do that,” Melanie said right around the time that he heard the shower turn on.
After one last glare at the locked bathroom door, Aidan checked on Cody to make sure that he was asleep before he pulled his shirt off and tossed it aside as he dropped down on the bed so that he could glare at the ceiling. He didn’t fucking care. They were getting married in a church whether she wanted to or not, and she would not ruin his fucking special day!
Now that he thought about it, this was perfect. More than perfect, because he could still make this work. Tomorrow, they’d have breakfast in bed, enjoy a long shower, take Cody out for the day, and then, he’d bring her back here for a romantic dinner, a bubble bath, and then he’d ask her to marry him, set a date, and try to figure out how he was going to pay for this fucking dream wedding without going broke.
It was going to be perfect.
Absolutely fucking perfect, Aidan decided only to curse as he reached over and grabbed the phone before it had a chance to ring again and wake up Cody.
“Hello?” Aidan said, answering the phone as he glanced at the playpen and sighed when he saw Cody watching him.
“I’m sorry to bother you, but we have a gentleman down here asking to see Miss Robinson,” the front desk clerk said, making Aidan wonder which one of his asshole relatives was here to help Melanie.
Probably his father, Aidan thought as he glanced at the bathroom door before his attention shifted to his son and-
“Tell him that I’ll be down in a few minutes,” he said, already reaching for the diaper bag.
“I will. Thank you,” the front desk clerk said before Aidan hung up so that he could make a bottle for his son, who was watching his every move.
Definitely a Bradford, Aidan thought, chuckling as he finished making a large bottle before scooping Cody up in his arms. He decided that it would probably be better if he handled his father now before the bastard drugged his food again and he fucking knew that his father was the one who’d drugged Melanie’s cup. Sneaky bastard, Aidan thought as he headed downstairs, contemplating tossing one of Cody’s dirty diapers in the back of his father’s car.
It would serve the traitorous bastard right, Aidan thought as the elevator doors opened and-
“Where’s Melanie?” the last person that he’d expected to see, demanded before Aidan had a chance to step off the elevator.
“What are you doing here, Adam?” Aidan asked as he stepped off the elevator, noting the other man’s messy hair, the panicked expression on his face, and the small black box in his hand.
“I need to talk to Melanie,” Adam said, glancing past Aidan, looking hopeful only to curse when he didn’t see Melanie.
“No, you need to talk to me and tell me why you’re here,” Aidan said, stepping in front of Adam when he moved to step on the elevator.
“I messed up,” Adam said, stepping away as he raked his fingers through his hair. “I never should have left her.”
“That doesn’t explain what you’re doing here,” Aidan said, hoping for the other man’s sake that he was talking about Caitlyn.
“Caitlyn’s parents showed up and tore into her, told her that if she wanted to marry me that she was on her own because they weren’t going to give her a dime after everything she’d put Melanie through only I didn’t know what she was doing. I had no fucking clue,” Adam said, shaking his head as he paced back and forth in front of the elevator even as he continued to send anxious glances towards the closed elevator doors.
“What does that have to do with us?” Aidan asked as he shifted Cody in his arms when his son began fidgeting.
“I’m in love with Melanie,” Adam said, gesturing helplessly towards the elevator with the hand that still held that small black box that had Aidan’s stomach turning.
“And fucking her sister was really the best way to show that?” Aidan demanded.
“I messed up! I never should have listened to Caitlyn. I never should have given up on the best thing that ever happened to me, and I never should have-”
“Come here,” Aidan finished for him.
*-*-*-*
“I dropped a bedpan on my first patient,” came the announcement as soon as Melanie opened the bathroom door to find Aidan sitting on the bed, watching her.
“Umm, that’s unfortunate?” she said absently as she tried to figure out how she was going to manage to drag him down to the courthouse in the morning without throwing out her back.
Maybe she should-
“You know the Scooby-Doo theme song?”
“Sure?” Melanie said, unable to help but frown as she adjusted the towel around her as she glanced over at the playpen to find Cody asleep.
“I used to hum it while I took tests. It creeped my professors out,” Aidan admitted as he stood up.
“I can see why,” Melanie said, nodding solemnly.
“I know every Justin Bieber song by heart,” he said, leaving her with no idea how to respond to that one.
When she opened her mouth, he cut her off with, “Every. Single. One.”
“I’m in love with you, Melanie,” Aidan continued as he walked over and pulled her into his arms. “I want to spend the rest of my life wondering if you’re going to wake me up at two in the morning to get you pie.”
“I really will,” she admitted, making his lips twitch because she felt that he should understand what was expected of him upfront.
“I know,” he said, smiling as he leaned down and brushed his lips against hers before he pulled back and-
“Adam’s downstairs with an engagement ring, hoping that you’ll take him back,” he told her as Melanie stood there, struggling to make sense out of what he was saying only to realize that there was no way that they could avoid this conversation.
“I’m sorry, but I’m really going to need you to go back to this Justin Bieber thing,” Melanie said, making his eyes narrow on her.
“They’re catchy tunes,” he bit out.
“But, are they really though?” she asked with a pitying look.
“Yes,” Aidan bit out between clenched teeth.
“I see,” she murmured thoughtfully as she considered him and…
“I don’t think I can marry you,” Melanie said, wishing that she’d known about the Bieber thing before she fell in love with him.
Live and learn, Melanie thought with a sigh and a sad shake of her head.
“We’re getting married in the morning,” Aidan said evenly as he picked her up and threw her over his shoulder.
“I’m really not sure that’s going to work for me,” she said as she found herself tossed on the bed.
“We’re getting married in the morning whether you like it or not, so stop trying to wreck my special fucking day!” Aidan said, making her roll her eyes even as she couldn’t help but smile.
“What if I already have plans?”
“Cancel them,” he bit out as he yanked her towel away.
“Do I have to?” Melanie asked, making sure to pout as Aidan reached down and pulled his belt loose only to stop and…
“What about Adam?” he asked, making her frown.
“What about him?”
“He’s downstairs waiting for you,” Aidan said, making her blink.
“That’s nice,” she said slowly, not really sure why he thought that she would care about a man that had cheated on her with her sister and ended things by telling her that she wasn’t good enough for him.
“Good answer,” Aidan said as he leaned down and whispered in her ear, “I know this place that has the best apple pie that you’ve ever had…”
Epilogue
Five Wonderful Years Later…
“What did you do to my mommy?” Cody demanded with an adorable glare as he folded his small arms over his chest.
“What’s wrong with mommy?” Aidan asked his five-year-old son, who was normally his little BFF, as he carefully shifted his sleeping baby girl in his arms, careful not to wake her up as he glanced at the clock and noted that it was nearly midnight.
“Didn’t I tuck you in five hours ago?”
“We know it was you,” Tyler bit out, ignoring his question as he hugged his teddy bear tightly against his small chest before he followed that up by mouthing, “We know,” making Aidan’s lips twitch.
“Are you going to tell me what’s wrong with mommy?” Aidan asked as he carefully put Jayne back in the bassinet that he’d kept by his desk since they bought the house five years ago.
“Are you going to tell us what you did to Mommy?” Cody countered back, narrowing his green eyes on him.
“You know that you’re supposed to be my best friend, right?” he reminded his son with a mocking glare of his own.
“I’m a mama’s boy,” his son said proudly with a firm nod that was matched by his little brother, making Aidan chuckle as he shifted his attention to Lucifer, who was over here so that he could use their kitchen to test a recipe for the Fire & Brimstone since he no longer allowed gluten in his house after they’d discovered that his children also had celiac disease, as he sat there, glaring down at his phone. “Watch your godchildren for a minute.”
“Fine,” Lucifer said, making sure to sound put out as he tossed his phone aside and grabbed the Harry Potter book off the coffee table that he’d been reading to the boys, who looked torn between glaring at Aidan and finding out how Harry Potter managed to beat a dragon. When Lucifer settled back against the couch and opened the book, the boys sent him one last glare and quickly made their way to the couch and climbed onto Lucifer’s lap.
Knowing that they were in good hands, Aidan decided to go find his wife. He checked the kitchen to see if she was there only to absently note that his brother had rearranged the kitchen, again, checked her office, the family room, and eventually found himself heading upstairs so that he could check the nursery only to chuckle when he spotted his two-year-old son passed out on his bed with one of the chocolate cupcakes that Melanie made earlier clutched firmly in one small hand. Aidan had been wondering why he hadn’t been with his brothers.
After carefully extracting the cupcake from his son’s hand, Aidan grabbed a box of baby wipes and cleaned the buttercream frosting off Benjamin’s face and hands before he tucked him back in, unable to help but smile as he leaned down and kissed his baby boy’s forehead. He was such a sweet little boy, Aidan thought as he ran his fingers through his son’s hair, pushing it out of his face before he stood up and went to find his wife.
He checked the boys’ room, the playroom and finally, checked their bedroom only to find himself drawn to the closed bathroom door. When he opened the door and found his wife sitting in the tub, hugging her knees against her chest, looking a little lost, he wasn’t surprised, and to be honest, he wasn’t exactly surprised to find the pregnancy test on the bathroom counter either.
“Did you look yet?” Aidan asked, walking over to the sink and had a look.
“No,” came the softly mumbled reply.
“Do you want another baby?” he asked as he looked back up to find his wife watching him as she admitted, “Would you be mad if I did?”
Chuckling, Aidan walked over so that he could lean over and kiss his wife as he said, “I want two more,” making her lips twitch.
“Two more girls,” Melanie said, knowing him so damn well.
“Mmmhmm,” he murmured in agreement as he reached into the water so that he could place his hand over her belly. “Looks like we only have one more to go.”
“I guess we do,” Melanie said, smiling as she reached up and cupped his face in her wet hands as she kissed him.
“What gave it away this time?” Aidan asked against her lips as he reached down and pulled his shoes off.
“I saw a carrot,” she said with a wince, making him chuckle as he made quick work of emptying his pockets.
“We should stop buying them,” Aidan said, already making a mental note to get rid of all the raw vegetables in the house, something that he’d learned to do as soon as they found out that she was pregnant to help cut down on the time she spent dealing with morning sickness.
“We really should,” his beautiful wife readily agreed as she reached for his tie.
“You know it’s your turn, right?” she said as he pulled his shirt free.
“Is it?” Aidan asked, unable to help but smile.
“It really is,” Melanie said, nodding solemnly as she pulled his tie free and dropped it to the floor seconds before his shirt joined it.
“Did I ever tell you about this one time when I fell in love with this beautiful woman that drove me out of my mind?” he asked, deciding that he’d waited long enough as he climbed into the tub when she reached for his belt.
“I don’t know, I think that might be against the rules,” Melanie said as she used her hold on his belt to pull him into her arms.
“What if I promised to get you pie?” Aidan asked, placing his hands on the back of the tub as he kissed the woman that had turned his life upside down with a smile.
Sneak Peek at…
Finally: A Neighbor from Hell Novel
Devastated: An Anger Management Novel
Tall, Dark & Furious: A Pyte Sentinel Novel
Other Novels by R.L. Mathewson
About the Author
Follow Me
Finally
A Neighbor from Hell Novel
Prologue
Well, this was unfortunate, Charlie thought as she stood there, taking in the large man standing in front of her, noting that he was soaking wet, covered in flour and what appeared to be cocoa powder, his tie was burnt, his shirt was destroyed and he had absolutely no idea who she was, which was understandable since he normally went out of his way to avoid her.
That was confirmed
seconds later when that familiar expression that she was used to by now crossed his features, the same one that told her that he was trying to figure out where he knew her from as his gaze darted down to her shirt, the one that she wore every day to work, the same one with “Bradford Creations” printed across it. Frowning, he took in her “nerd” glasses, her curly chestnut hair pulled back into a ponytail before looking down to her Harry Potter watch and-
That was apparently enough to jog his memory.
“What can I help you with, Charlie?” Devin Bradford, her boss for the past five years and the reason why she no longer left food unattended in the breakroom, murmured absently, frowning as he reached down and pulled a pink jump rope that had somehow managed to wrap itself around his legs off and tossed it aside.
“I’m not really sure,” Charlie mumbled, suddenly regretting not taking that two-bedroom apartment on Cedar Street that smelled like garbage, kitty litter, and other things when she had the chance as she glanced back down at the post-it note in her hand to make sure that she had the right address.
She did, which meant…
“You’re here for the in-law apartment,” Devin said with a pained sigh as he rubbed his hands slowly down his face.
“Maybe,” Charlie murmured, mostly because she really didn’t think that this was a good idea, not with her quitting and everything. Not that he knew that she was quitting, and since she had no plans of telling him until she was ready, she felt that it would be in her best interest if she got back in her car, drove to work, and spent the rest of the day hiding in her office with the hopes that he would forget this ever happened. Then again, maybe she was worrying over nothing, Charlie thought as she stood there, blinking up at the large man glaring down at her.
Maybe not, Charlie thought, when he said, “This isn’t fucking happening.”
“Okay,” Charlie said as she bit back a sigh of disappointment because she’d been counting on getting this apartment.
Irresistible (Neighbor from Hell Book 11) Page 21
