First and Only (Callaghan Brothers #2)

“Who?”


“She’s a famous author. I have all of her books. I can’t believe I met Salienne Dulcette.”

“You know, she probably says the same thing about you. You’re kind of famous yourself.”

Lexi ran her fingers over the cover. “It’s not the same. Wow, Aidan. Look at this. I knew Kieran was talented, but this is amazing.”

“It is uncanny,” Aidan murmured, looking at the cover as well. “He’s captured you perfectly. Are you going to read it?”

Lexi bit her lip and shifted a little. She seemed to be holding her breath, then let it all out at once. “Um, no, not right now.”

“Why not?”

“Because my water just broke.”

“Son of a bitch.” Aidan was on his feet in a flash, hitting the speed dial on his iPhone. A few harried comments later and he was sprinting across the room for the bag she’d had packed and ready to go months ago.

––––––––

“Aidan,” Lexi said less than an hour later, her voice groggy from the I.V. Dressed in scrubs, he held her hand while they prepped her for the operating room. “If anything happens –“

“Nothing is going to happen, Lex. We’ve got everything covered. Piece of cake.” Aidan smiled in reassurance and tried to stay calm, but inside he was scared to death. They’d practiced this drill over and over, but nothing could have prepared him for the reality.

“But if it does -” she insisted with gritted teeth, bracing against the pain that even with meds, was enough to crush the bones in his hand, “- promise me.”

Aidan avoided her eyes. He knew exactly what she wanted, and God help him, he couldn’t do it. Lexi had a special contract drawn up the day she found out she was pregnant. One of the stipulations was that all measures be taken to save the baby, even if it meant sacrificing her own life. Another was that should she end up on life support, it was to be discontinued after thirty days if there was no sign of improvement. In the case of either event, Aidan would be free to contact Ian as he deemed necessary and appropriate.

But outside of those circumstances, he was not to say a word to anyone. It was a source of major contention between them. Aidan thought Ian should know he was going to be a father. Lexi agreed to tell him, but only after the baby was born. Aidan understood that she had her reasons, but that didn’t mean he agreed with them.

“It’s time,” the doc said as they stopped in front of the OR. The room was packed with specialists; they were prepared for any emergency. “Mr. Harrison, if you would, please.” One of the masked men gestured to Aidan. Over the past few months they’d been stockpiling his blood. He would be prepped to give more should it become necessary.

“Promise me, Aidan,” she said.

“I promise.”

She smiled drowsily. “Thank you, Aidan. Piece of cake.”

“Piece of cake. I’ll be waiting for you, Lex.”





Chapter Twenty-Three




Jake’s Irish Pub was usually crowded on a Friday night. But when St. Patrick’s Day fell on a Friday, the place was over-the-top insane. Every member of the Callaghan clan tended, taking care of their loyal customers and all of the honorary Irish who came out to have a good time. It took a while, therefore, for Ian to notice the familiar face of Aidan Harrison in the crowd.

The two men locked gazes. Ian searched the other man’s face for a clue to explain his presence, but his expression was unreadable. Aidan pulled a legal-sized manila envelope from the inside of his coat and slid it across the bar as he leaned in to speak. Despite the roar of the crowd, Ian heard his cryptic words as clearly as if the other man had spoken across an empty room.

“It’ll take about an hour for my private plane to refuel.”

Before Ian could respond, Aidan was gone, swallowed up by the crowd.

Ian picked up the envelope and took a step back from the bar. With his heart pounding in his chest, he reached in and extracted a photo of a beautiful baby boy – pink-faced and chubby, with a shock of jet black hair and piercing blue eyes. His eyes locked on the little boy’s, and he knew.

He had to lean against the back wall as his legs suddenly felt like rubber. Reaching in, he pulled the only other item from the packet: a record of birth for Patrick Brian Kattapoulos, born January 27th, weighing in at 7 pounds, 3 ounces, 21 inches long. The mother was listed as Alexis Kattapoulos. The father – Ian Patrick Callaghan.

Ian felt his eyes fill with tears; he had to lean over, bracing his hands on his knees as he fought for breath. He had a son.

“Ian, man, what’s up?” Jake asked a few seconds later as the crowd around Ian became eerily quiet, their curious attention focused on him. Ian could only shake his head, holding out the papers for Jake to see.