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 a*shole that you even have to ask?”
“I’m an a*shole because you’re getting pissed I’m watching some old interview of Davis’?”
“Aren’t you perceptive?” Megan snapped sarcastically.
“I thought you were over him,” Sean countered.
Megan didn’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 didn’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 doesn’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 don’t have to be watching it in my presence!”
At her outburst, Sean held up his hands in defeat. “Sorry. I didn’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 aren’t you dressed yet?”
Closing her eyes, Megan counted to ten so she wouldn’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.”
“Would you like me to get Mason dressed?”
“I’ve already taken care of him. It’s just me that needs to get her act together.” Without another word, she brushed past her mother and went into the kitchen. Wearing his best suit and tie, her father stood at the bar, putting on his cufflinks.
At his expectant look, she held up her hand. “I know we leave in half an hour. I’ll be ready. I swear.” She then threw open the basement door. Pounding down the steps, she tried calming down. She didn’t know what it was about her parents’ seemingly good intentions that grated on her last nerve. Of course, they hadn’t bothered her as much when she had lived alone. Now that she was back under their roof, they seemed to forget she was twenty-five, a mother, and not their little girl to boss around anymore.
With clinicals looming to enable her to finish her nursing degree, she’d known she wouldn’t be able to work fulltime. Although she loved the freedom and independence of having her own apartment, there was no way she could afford it and daycare for Mason. So, she’d packed up, tucked her tail between her legs, and moved back home to her parents’ finished basement.
It wasn’t all bad. She had her own kitchen and bathroom, not to mention she and Mason still had their own rooms. With her father recently retired, she had a great male role model on site for Mason.
She found him exactly as she had left him, lounging on the couch watching his favorite movie, Despicable Me. She smiled at the sight of him in his khaki pants, black, button down dress shirt, and red clip-on tie. He looked just like a little man sitting there, even though he had just turned seventeen months the day before. Usually, he would be tearing around the living room, playing with his toys. But just one look at a minion sent him practically catatonic. That had been Megan’s plan when she got him dressed earlier. He’d seen the movie almost by mistake, considering he was a little young for the PG cartoon, but with older cousins, along with her brothers, Mason was often exposed to things that were older. She liked to think being surrounded by adults and older kids was one reason why he was a such a good talker for his age.
“Aren’t you being a good boy?” she said.
Mason barely acknowledged her. Instead, his baby blues remained focused on the television. Since the movie was almost over, Megan knew she better slip into the bedroom and finish getting ready.
Each time she looked into Mason’s face, she was grateful that he looked nothing like his father. His platinum blond hair and blue eyes were completely hers. It was only his build that he was taking after his father. Where Megan was a diminutive 5’3”, Davis was 6’1” and two hundred pounds. Mason was already registering off the charts in height and weight according to his pediatrician.
Davis had seen Mason only twice in his lifetime—the day he had been born and the day he came home from the hospital. After that, he hadn’t been interested in any of the pictures and emails Megan sent. With his professional football career on the rise, Davis hadn’t wanted to be shackled with the responsibilities of a baby. Instead, he wanted to spend his time off the field partying until all hours of the night. He only paid child support when Megan threatened to have his wages garnished. She dreaded the day when Mason was old enough to ask about his father. She never wanted anything in the world to hurt him, and she knew that being rejected by his father would.
With a sigh, she stepped into the dress and slid it over her hips. Wrestling around to get the zipper all the way up caused her to huff and puff. Standing back from the mirror, she turned to and fro to take in her appearance. She’d always loved how the dress made her feel sexy, but at the same time was very respectable. While it boasted a sweetheart neckline, the hemline fell just below her knees. She put on her pearls—a high school graduation gift from her Uncle Aidan, or “Ankle”, as she often called him.
Aidan was her mother’s baby brother and only son of the family. When she was born, he was only eight and a half. As the first grandchild, Megan spent a lot of time with her grandparents, and that in turn, meant she spent a lot of time with Aidan. He had devoted hours to holding her and spoiling her rotten. When it came time for her to talk, she just couldn’t seem to get “Uncle Aidan” out. Instead, she called him “Ankle.” It was a nickname that had stuck with him even now that he was thirty-four and married.
While it had been no question that she wanted him as godfather for Mason, she had been extremely honored when he and his wife, Emma, had asked her to be their son, Noah’s, godmother. She loved her newest cousin very much and planned to be the best godmother she could for him.
As she stepped out of the bedroom, she found that Mason had yet to move. “Okay buddy, time to go.”
When he started to whine, she shook her head. “We have such a fun day ahead of us. It’s Noah’s baptism, and then there’s a party at Uncle Aidan and Aunt Emma’s house.”
“Beau?” he asked.
She laughed. “Yes, you’ll get to see and play with Beau, too.” As she went to the couch and picked him up, she couldn’t help finding it amusing that out of everyone he was going to see today, he was most excited about being with Aidan and Emma’s black Lab, Beau. One day when they had their own place again, she would get him a dog. He loved them too much to be denied.
“Oomph,” she muttered, as they started up the basement stairs.
“Heawy?” he asked.
“Yes, you’re getting to be such a big, heavy boy.”
When they made it to the kitchen, Megan paused to catch her breath. She only had a second before her mother breezed in with Sean, and her youngest brother, Gavin. “Ready?” she asked.
Megan nodded. Feeling like she was once again a teenager, she filed behind her parents as they headed into the garage. “I want to drive,” Gavin said.
With a smirk, Sean replied, “Like I’m gonna let you drive my car.” He then slid into the driver’s seat as Gavin reluctantly walked around to the passenger’s side.
“We’ll see you there in just a few,” her mother called.
Sean acknowledged her with a two finger salute before cranking up and pulling down the driveway. Megan worked to get Mason into the car seat in her parents’ Land Rover. Once he was safely strapped and buckled in, she hopped in beside him.
Her parents rattled along to each other as they made their way through the tree-lined suburbs where Megan had grown up. While some might look on her as having a mark against her character being an unwed mother, she had lived a relatively non-rebellious life. Even though she’d been a cheerleader and ran with the popular crowd in school, she rarely partied to excess. Instead, she had focused on getting good grades. At that time, she had her heart set on going to medical school and becoming a doctor. From the time she was a little girl, she had wanted nothing more than to help people. She was always mending birds with broken wings or trying to resuscitate squirrels who had been hit by cars. She ditched playing princess for playing “hospital.” Her desire to become a doctor was why she needed the best scores and best activities and why she generally shunned any temptations to lead her off the right path.
She had even managed to bypass the usual freshman craziness when she went off to the University of Georgia. It wasn’t until she fell in love for the first time in her life that she threw everything away. Sadly, she couldn’t say that her first love was Davis, Mason’s father. Instead, it was another football player, this time a running back at UGA, who captured and later broke her heart a year later. Carsyn ran with the fast crowd, and when she was with him, she partied and drank too much. He was controlling and possessive, and he wanted all of her time. When she was with him, she had little time for studying. With her grades already in the toilet, she was unprepared for the emotional breakdown she experienced when Carsyn broke up with her. Devastated, she stopped going to class and ended up flunking the semester.
By the time she got back on track with her grades, she had abandoned any hope of medical school. Instead, she decided that she would become a nurse, which would fulfill her need to care for sick people. Of course, her relationship with Davis ended up derailing shortly before graduation when she got pregnant unexpectedly. She had to take several semesters off after Mason was born. She was a few years off from when she had originally planned on graduating, but she was excited after everything had that had happened, she was finally finishing.
Her mother’s voice brought Megan out of her thoughts. “Here we are,” she said pleasantly.
Leaning forward in her seat, Megan eyed the clock on the dashboard. She wasn’t surprised to see they had arrived half an hour before the baptism started. One thing her mother prided herself on was being on time and lending a hand. As they started into the church, her mother reached for Mason. “We’ll take him so you can go see if Emma needs any help.”
Megan bent over to kiss Mason’s cheek. “See you in a little while, sweetie.”
He grinned and then happily dodged her mother’s arms for her father’s instead, which made Megan smile. He was such a man’s man already. He loved sitting between her brothers on the couch and watching TV. While it was good that he had so many male role models, she only hoped he hadn’t inherited too much of his father’s personality.
After Megan watched them disappear in the crowd of family and friends waiting in the church alcove, she bypassed everyone by turning right and heading down the hallway. At the last door on the right, she knocked. “It’s me, Megan.”
Emma’s best friend, Casey, answered the door. “Well, if it isn’t the fairy godmother,” she mused with a grin. After Megan stepped inside, Casey threw her arms around her. Megan had only met her a few times, but it was hard not liking Emma’s vivacious and outgoing friend. Casey’s long brown hair was pulled back in a lose knot, and she wore a demure black slip dress and heels.
“So how’s it going?” Megan asked, gazing from Noah’s diapered but naked form to Emma. She was feeding him a bottle while her upper body was draped in a towel. Peeking out from the covering, she saw Emma was wearing her signature color, green. As Noah sucked on his bottle, he twirled a strand of Emma’s auburn hair between his fingers. Both father and son were fans of Emma wearing her hair down.
Emma grinned. “Good, I guess. I mean, I don’t have a lot of experience with baptisms.”
Megan laughed and motioned to the towel and Noah. “It looks like you’re taking all the proper precautions—nothing like spit-up on your dress or his.”
With a nod, Emma replied, “Tell me about it. Especially since his gown is so old.” Megan eyed the lacy baptismal gown hanging on the closet door. She recognized it from pictures of Ankle’s baptism. He had worn it, and now it was being passed down to his son.
Casey snorted. “I’m sure Aidan wouldn’t appreciate you alluding to the fact his gown is an antique, thus in turn saying he’s old.”
Emma laughed. “No, I’m sure he wouldn’t. Of course, he’d probably argue that while the gown might not have held up, he still looks fabulous and much younger than his age.”
Megan smiled. “That sounds just like him.” She bent over Emma to rub one of Noah’s hands. He grabbed her thumb in his fist and held on for dear life.
“Aw, you love your godmother, don’t you Noah?” Emma asked.
Noah momentarily stopped sucking on the bottle to flash a quick smile, which warmed Megan’s heart. “He’s such a sweet boy,” she mused.
“And a charmer, just like his old man,” Casey mused.
“That too,” Megan agreed. Thinking about her position, she cocked her head at Casey. “Are you sure you’re fine with me being the godmother?”
Casey waved her hand dismissively. “Honey, the last thing I need is the responsibility. I plan on spoiling Noah rotten and corrupting him as only a good auntie can do!”
Emma rolled her eyes. “I’m very satisfied with both my choices, Megan. You don’t have to worry.”
“So who is the godfather again? I know he’s not part of the family.”
Casey gasped as her hand flew to her chest dramatically. “You mean, you’ve never met Dr. McDreamy Bollywood?”
Megan shrugged. “No, I haven’t. I mean, I’ve heard about him and how he flew Aidan home in time for Noah’s birth.” She noticed the pleading look that Emma exchanged with Casey. “Why? What should I know about him?”
Casey tapped her chin with her index finger. “Hmm, what should you know about the good godfather?” She winked at Megan. “First off, he is seriously delectable. I mean, the man is like sex on a stick. Tall, jet-black hair, dark eyes, and he’s built like a brick shithouse.”
Megan suddenly felt her interest piquing. She hadn’t imagined that the godfather would be good-looking. It had been such a long time since she had dated anyone. Scratch that—it had been a long time since she’d had sex with anyone. She’d spent the last two years completely dateless since she and Davis broke up. She could practically join one of the local parishes as a nun with how long she had abstained. “Really?”
“Mmm, hmm. He reminds me of that Bollywood actor John Abraham,” Casey said.
Emma snorted. “Since when do you watch Bollywood movies?”
“Since one of Nate’s friends asked us to an Indian film festival.” Casey grinned at Megan. “Besides the fact that he’s a serious looker, he’s also kind, compassionate, and caring—an overall wonderful man.”
“Really now?” Megan questioned.
“And he’s loaded because he’s a doctor.”
This man was sounding better and better by the minute. “Is he single?”
Emma made a strangled noise before Casey replied, “Oh, yeah, he’s single. He’s a widower actually.”
Megan pursed her lips at the prospect. Widowers usually fell into two categories—those who were still devastated by their wives’ deaths or those who were ready to have fun and live a little. She certainly hoped this Pesh guy fell into the second category. More than anything, she wanted to have a little fun herself.
“Do you really think you might be interested in dating Pesh?” Emma asked, as she moved Noah to her shoulder to burp him.
With a shrug, Megan replied, “Dating him or just having some fun with him. Sounds like he could use some.”
Emma grimaced as she wiped Noah’s face off. “This is exactly why I told Aidan not to try and fix you two up.”
“What do you mean?”
“Pesh needs a relationship, not a hook-up after all he’s been through. Besides his wife’s death, he hasn’t had it easy on the dating front.”
“What happened?”
When Casey snorted, Emma shot her a death glare. “Nothing. It’s just he doesn’t need to get involved with someone who isn’t interested in a long-term relationship.”
“Em, you might as well tell her,” Casey urged.
Megan glanced between the two of them. “Tell me what?”
“Fine,” Emma huffed resignedly. She handed Noah to Casey. “Make yourself useful by changing his diaper.”
As Casey got busy cleaning up Noah, Emma turned to Megan. “When Aidan and I broke up—”
“What you meant to say is, after you left Aidan when he didn’t show up for Noah’s gender ultrasound because he was cheating on you?” Casey interrupted, waving around the wet wipe in her hand.
Emma closed her eyes for a moment before shaking her head. “Yes, that’s right. Thank you so very much for bringing up that aspect of our break-up on today of all days.”
Casey gripped Noah’s ankles and hoisted up his little butt to slide on the new diaper. “You’re welcome.”
“Anyway, as you were saying,” Megan pressed.
“Right. So it was when Aidan and I were broken up that I met Pesh. I was with your Papa Fitzgerald the day of his heart attack at the VFW, and Pesh was the doctor who treated him.”
“So…you both struck up a friendship then?” Megan asked.
Emma grimaced. “Not exactly. You see, Patrick wanted to force Aidan to really fight for me, and he felt the best way to do it would be for him to have some competition.”
Megan felt her eyes widening in surprise. “Papa wanted Pesh to date you?”
“Yeah.”
“Did you?”
Emma was momentarily distracted by Casey blowing raspberries on Noah’s stomach. A smile spread across her face as Noah kicked his legs and giggled at Casey. “Want me to get him in his dress?” Casey asked, as she glanced up.
“If you don’t mind.”
Bringing her hand to her hip, Megan huffed out an exasperated breath. “Um, could you please focus for just a minute considering the bomb you just dropped on me?”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t want to tell you at all. I mean, whatever was between us is all in the past. Neither one of us really cared for each other like we thought we did.”
“Did you…” Megan said. At Emma’s confused expression, she wiggled her eyebrows suggestively.
Emma’s face flushed. “No, of course not!”
Casey eyed Emma as she took the baptism gown off the hanger. “You did make out with him though.”
“One time. And he certainly didn’t get to second base,” Emma argued.
With a wicked grin, Casey added, “Pity. Wish you could inform us on what he has going on below the waist.”
Emma rolled her eyes. “You’re impossible.” She snatched the gown away from Casey and then started wrestling Noah into the yards of fabric. “It wasn’t like we were in a relationship. We didn’t really even go out together. He came to the house once to bring me dinner and check on me when I was on bed rest, and then he took me to the opera. That was it.”
“Was there no chemistry between you two?” Megan asked.
Without responding, Emma pulled Noah up into a sitting position and started fastening the row of buttons down the back of the gown. “Em?” Megan pressed.
She gave a heavy sigh before picking Noah up. She stared into his face before she responded. “We had great chemistry together. He was an amazing kisser who got all my senses up and running in all the right ways. Besides the physical part, he is smart, kind, and intelligent—any woman’s dream.” She shook her head. “But it didn’t matter because he wasn’t Aidan. I could never, ever love another man like I do him.” Giving Noah a kiss on the cheek, she added, “Neither one of us were really in a good place—I was trying to make sure that Aidan really was the one, and after being pressured by family and friends, he was trying to date for the first time after his wife’s death.”
Megan crossed her arms over her chest. “I get that he doesn’t need to be hurt, but who is to say that having a fling is going to hurt him? Maybe it could give him the confidence he needs to go out and find the real woman of his dreams?”
Casey snorted. “How could a man that looks like that have any self-confidence issues?”
Megan shrugged. “You never know. If he was married a long time before his wife died, he might find it hard to get back into the dating world. Especially if the last woman he cared about loved someone else.”
Emma shook her head. “Trust me, he isn’t the fling kind of guy. He wants a wife and children.”
Although Megan had a son, she wasn’t quite ready for marriage. Maybe in a few years but right now she just wanted to date and have fun. She’d willingly sacrificed so much to ensure that Mason could have all of her attention since he was short a father. After all, he was the greatest hurdle in her having a committed relationship. She didn’t want to open her son up to any hurt that might come from him getting attached to a man she dated only to have them disappear when they broke up.
“Ankle really wants to fix us up?” Megan questioned.
Emma nodded. “Regardless of what happened with Pesh when we were broken up, Aidan does respect and admire him. He wants Pesh to be happy.” She gave Megan a pointed look. “Most of all, he wants that for you, too.”
Megan wrinkled her nose. “But I’m really not ready for all of that yet.”
“Then think long and hard before you agree to do anything about Pesh. He is unknowingly very persuasive, and in the moment, you might forget your resolve only to have it come back later to hurt you…or him.”
Megan held up her hands in defeat. “Okay, okay, I promise.”
Emma smiled. “Nothing would make me happier than if you were to fall in love with Pesh.”
With a laugh, Megan said, “Did you just hear anything that I said? I’m anti-love.”
“So was Aidan.”
Just as Megan opened her mouth to protest, Aidan waltzed into the room. “Everything okay?”
“Fine. Just finished feeding and dressing him,” Emma replied
“Good. The natives are getting restless to see the little man of the hour before the baptism.” He strode over to them and took his son into his arms. “You ready to go work the crowd, Noah?” Noah’s response was to grunt and reach for Aidan’s tie. With a laugh, Aidan announced, “I’ll take that as a yes.” He then leaned in to kiss Emma’s cheek. “Ready Mrs. Fitzgerald?”
She smiled before linking her arm through his. “Yes, Mr. Fitzgerald, I am.”
Megan and Casey followed them out the door and down the hallway. They entered a noisy room crammed with family and friends. She left Aidan and Emma’s side to seek out her parents to check on Mason. She found her parents, but their arms were empty. In a panic, she demanded, “Where’s Mason?”
Her father smiled and pointed over to where a pile of her younger cousins were. Mason was on the lap of her Aunt Becky’s oldest son, John. Mason was mesmerized with what whatever John was doing on his phone. Megan smiled as she walked up to them. “Everything okay?”
Without taking his eyes off the screen, John replied, “We’re fine.”
“Are you sure he’s not bothering you?” What she wasn’t asking was if John was actually keeping an eye on Mason between playing on his phone.
John glanced up. “Considering I have two younger brothers, I think I can handle him. Besides, he’s really into this game.”
“Okay then,” Megan replied.
She spoke to John’s brothers, Percy and Georgie, before making her way around the room. All her relatives were interested to hear how her schooling was going and how Mason was. She had just turned away from talking to her great aunt and uncle when someone pressed up against her back.
“Don’t look now, but there’s Dr. McDreamy Bollywood now,” Casey whispered into her ear. Without hesitation, her eyes scanned the crowd. And then she saw him. Ankle was taking him around and making introductions.
Pesh was impossibly tall and wearing a tailor-made black suit. Even beneath the lines of the clothing, she could make out his large biceps and thick thighs. He obviously spent his downtime between hospital shifts working out. His wavy, jet-black hair was cut short, and his dark eyes took in all that Ankle was saying.
And while she may have been in a church about to stand up as a godmother, she couldn’t help the nipples tightening and panties moistening reaction of seeing him. He was all the way across the room, but he had the same effect as if he were standing by her side, rubbing against her.
“See what I mean?” Casey questioned.
Megan licked her lips. “Oh my,” she finally managed.
“Sure you don’t want to give him a chance?”
Fighting the urge to fan herself, Megan quickly replied, “I’d like to give him many, many chances.” Chances at ripping off my clothes, chances at kissing and licking me all over my body, chances at allowing his hands, fingers, and the promising bulge in his pants to stroke me until I orgasm…yep, many, many chances.
As if she could read Megan’s mind, Casey laughed. “Oh girl, this has trouble written all over it.”