“Aidan, you’re not talking business at our wedding are you?” Kieran chastised, joining them at the table. He leaned down and kissed his bride. She gripped his hand. Hard.
“Just wanted to put my bid in before you left on your honeymoon,” he said, offering Faith a wink. “I see Johnny over there chomping at the bit. Think about it, okay?”
She nodded numbly.
“Baby? You okay?” His eyes grew concerned when he saw her weak smile. Out of the corner of her left eye, she saw him signaling for someone.
Somehow she managed to relate what Aidan had told her, though she thought she might have messed up a few of the words along the way between her mind and her mouth. She was just so tired. And maybe just a bit in the grips of shock.
“Faith?” Michael’s soothing voice registered about the same time she realized his long, warm fingers were discreetly checking her pulse. “How are you holding up, sweetheart?”
“I’m tired,” she breathed. “Really, really tired.”
Michael exchanged a glance with Kieran, who had lifted up Faith’s barely-touched drink and sniffed it suspiciously before shooting Brian a scathing glance.
“Would you like to lay down for a little bit?”
“Oh, yes, please,” she said, her voice growing dreamy. To Kieran, she offered a smile. “Your brother’s really nice.”
“Yeah, he’s a prince. Come on, baby. Put your arm around me. There you go.” Kieran lifted his bride into his arms.
“Hey, is she okay?” Maggie asked, joining them.
“I’m just tired,” Faith said sleepily. “I’m sorry.”
“Let’s get her up to Lex’s office,” Michael said quietly. “I’ll grab my bag and meet you there in five.”
*
“Well?”
“She’s fine,” Michael said confidently.
“Are you sure?” Kieran asked, looking worriedly to where Faith was sleeping soundly on the sofa in Lexi’s office, covered with Michael’s tux jacket.
“Yes,” Michael said, his eyes twinkling. “Quite sure.”
Kieran narrowed his eyes at his older brother. “Mick...”
Michael put his hand on Kieran’s shoulder. “Relax, Kier. It’s perfectly natural for Faith to experience fatigue at this stage. It should only last a couple of weeks, then she’ll get her second wind. In the meantime, plenty of sleep and some good prenatal vitamins should help.”
Kieran blinked. One minute he was standing next to Michael, the next he was on his knees, looking up at him. All of the breath left his lungs in a single whoosh. “Faith’s pregnant?”
Michael laughed. “I’d bet my license on it. Where the hell have you been the last seven years or so? Congratulations, little brother. You’re going to be a father.”
“I can’t believe I fell asleep at my own wedding,” Faith moaned later. Kieran fluffed the designer accent pillows behind her back and held the glass of orange juice to her lips.
“I can’t believe you didn’t tell me.”
“Tell you what?” she asked innocently.
Kieran might have thought she was joking, but there was nothing but confusion in her soft gray eyes. “I guess it just finally caught up to me,” she said. “Working all day, running around in the evenings, making love half the night,” she said, her face coloring a lovely pink. “Your family must think I’m a complete ingrate.”
She didn’t know. “Faith,” he said slowly. “No one thinks any such thing.”
“Yeah, right. I bet none of them fell asleep at their receptions, did they?”
“No,” he admitted, wondering how he was going to tell her. If anyone but Michael had told him, he might have his doubts, but Mick was never wrong about that sort of thing (his own firstborn notwithstanding). Faith groaned and leaned back onto the pillows.
“Faith, have you been overly tired lately?”
“Yeah,” she sighed. “But you know how busy things have been.”
He nodded. “How about your appetite? You don’t seem to be eating much.”
“Nerves. My stomach’s been full of butterflies lately, but I guess that’ll ease now that the wedding’s over. Oh, boy. I need to apologize to everyone before we leave tonight.”
“Trust me, they understand.”
“How could they possibly understand?”
Kieran took a deep breath. “Because they’ve all been through it.”
Faith looked at him doubtfully. “But you just said - ”
“Faith. You’re pregnant.”
She froze. Blinked once. Twice. “I’m pregnant?”
He nodded.
“But I can’t be pregnant. I’d certainly know, wouldn’t I? I mean, with Matt I was tired all the time, nauseous for the first three months, wildly emotional, ...” She stopped, mid-sentence, clamping her mouth shut as the truth dawned. Her eyes widened and filled with tears and she looked at Kieran, terrified. He didn’t need their special connection to figure out what she was thinking. It was all right there on her face. She was terrified of his reaction.