Chapter Twenty
Now that he and Megan were an official couple who had said the “L” word, Pesh no longer had days off where he had to wonder how to pass the time. He wanted to spend every waking minute with her and with Mason, and she always made sure that they had time together. Today found him at Patrick’s house, wedged on the couch between some of Megan’s male family members. Just like at his parents, the women were all stationed in the kitchen, putting the finishing touches on Sunday lunch.
As soon as Becky came in the living room and announced it was time to sit down, there was a stampede to the dining room. He followed slowly behind the others, searching for Megan who he felt like was his lifeline in the crowd.
“Where’s Aidan and Emma? They’re never late,” Angie remarked, as she sat a giant platter on the table.
Liz shrugged. “They haven’t called. We could go ahead and get started, and then they can start when they get here.”
John pulled out a chair. “Good. I’m starving.”
Becky rolled her eyes. “You’re always starving. Between you and Percy, we’re going to be eaten out of house and home.”
Pesh hung back as the others started taking their seats at the massive mahogany table. Regardless of how welcoming the Fitzgerald’s had been, he still couldn’t help feeling like an outsider. Megan came in carrying a plate of ham. After she deposited it on the table, her gaze searched the room for him. When she spotted him, she gave him the smile that always warmed his heart before crooking her finger at him.
As he started to join her, Mason came running in. “Get me, Esh,” he urged, holding his hands up. Pesh grinned as he stooped over to pick Mason up.
“Are you hungry?” Pesh asked.
“Uh, huh.”
“Are you going to sit with me or Pesh?” Megan asked.
“Esh,” he replied.
“Is that okay with you?” Megan asked.
“We’ll be fine.”
She motioned for him to have a seat. Just as they sat down, Aidan appeared in the doorway of the dining room with Noah in his arms. “Sorry we’re late.”
“Where’s Emma?” Megan asked, as she took Noah from Aidan.
With a grimace, Aidan said, “She isn’t feeling well. It seems that with this pregnancy she’s having third trimester morning sickness. I told her I would stay home with her, but she insisted I come get a good meal.”
“Poor thing. We’ll fix her a plate for you to take home to her later on,” Megan said.
Aidan smiled. “Thanks. If she can eat it, I know she’ll be grateful.”
Patrick clicked his fork against his water goblet. “Is everyone here that’s supposed to be here?”
A chorus of, “Yes,” rang around the room.
“Good. Let’s return thanks.”
Pesh obediently bowed his head along with the others. When Patrick finished, the dishes were passed around and food was served. It was certainly a lot different than how his family did it, but he still enjoyed being with Megan’s family. While Mason ate off his plate, Megan gave Aidan a break by feeding Noah, or more appropriately letting him drape her in food while he fed himself.
“You’re a mess,” Megan said, into Noah’s carrot-and-corn crusted face. His response was to grin at her. “I’m sorry, mister, but that cute little grin isn’t going to work for me.”
“He’s so stubborn,” Aidan said.
“A stubborn Fitzgerald? I’ve never heard of such,” Becky joked across the table.
Aidan shook his head. “I’m serious. He refuses to let me or Em feed him, and then he ends up wearing more than he eats.”
“Sounds like his father,” Angie mused. When Aidan gave her an exasperated look, she said, “You were the exact same way. I don’t think you ate a meal until you were two that mother didn’t have to hose you off after you finished.”
Aidan grunted. “Don’t tell Em that story. She already blames me enough for Noah’s stubbornness.”
Megan smiled. “Let’s hope that this next baby has Emma’s temperament.”
“Like she isn’t stubborn,” Aidan countered.
“Much less than you are,” Megan replied.
Pursing his lips, he appeared to be surveying her words. “You might have a point,” he said, with a grin.
After everyone finished eating, the adults lounged around the table talking and laughing while the kids went into the living room. Both Mason and Noah wanted to go with the bigger kids. “Will you keep an eye on them?” Megan asked Percy.
“Sure,” he replied.
“I owe you, Perce,” Aidan said, as Percy took the boys by the hand.
As he sat with his arm draped over the back of Megan’s chair, Pesh enjoyed listening to the lively conversation around him. Occasionally one of Aidan’s sisters would ask him a question or his opinion. He had always been naturally quiet, and when he got in the midst of such a lively bunch, he tended to be even quieter. He realized if he was going to truly fit in, he was going to have to speak up more.
Their conversation was interrupted by a shriek that came from the living room followed by a loud wail. Aidan was out of his chair in a flash while Megan was close on his heels. Mason came running into the dining room. “What happened?” Pesh asked.
“Noah got hurted.”
Aidan reappeared in the dining room with Noah in his arms. “He’s fine. He just fell down.” Taking Noah’s hand, Aidan said, “Here Daddy will kiss the booboos away, okay?”
Noah sniffled and bobbed his head. Once Aidan finish with his hand, Noah stuck out his leg. Aidan smiled. “Okay.” Once he bent down to Noah’s leg and kissed it, he asked, “Are you Daddy’s boy?”
“Uh-huh.”
Angie chuckled. “That’s not fair to do that when Emma isn’t here.”
As the others laughed, Pesh glanced at Mason. He was staring at Aidan and Noah with a contemplative look on his face. Never in a million years could he have imagined what he would do next. Mason crawled up into his lap and patted Pesh’s chest. “Esh Mace’s daddy. Mace Daddy’s boy.”
Conversation in the dining room silenced. Without even looking up, Pesh felt his skin singing under the burn of everyone staring at him and Mason. There was no way he could deny the boy when he wore such an expression of happiness. “Yes, you’re Daddy’s boy.”
A strangled cry caused him to snap his gaze from Mason over to Megan. Wide-eyed and open mouthed, she blinked a few times as if she were trying to believe that what she was seeing was real. Then without another word, she bolted from her chair and fled the room. Pesh sat in a shocked silence for a few seconds trying to decide what to do. Bending over, he whispered into Mason’s ear, “Will you go back and play with the others? I need to check on Mommy.”
When Mason nodded, Pesh gently sat him back down on the floor. After he raced out of the dining room, Pesh finally glanced at the others. “Excuse me,” he said, before rising out of his chair. He made his way down the hallway. He didn’t have to look hard for Megan—she was in the one bedroom with the door closed. He rapped lightly on the wood. When she didn’t answer, he went ahead and opened the door.
He found her sitting on the edge of the bed with her head in her hands. He went over and sat down next to her. Tentatively, he put his hand on her back. “I’m sorry for not setting Mason straight and telling him I wasn’t his daddy. He looked so happy, and I didn’t want to hurt him.”
With her elbows braced on her knees, Megan turned her head to look at him. Tears streamed down her cheeks. “You think I’m angry at you?” He nodded his head. She hiccupped a cry. “Oh Pesh, you’re so na?ve sometimes!”
He jerked back at her words. “Excuse me?”
“Just when I think I can’t love you more, you go and do something like that.” Before he could process her words, she threw herself at him, kissing his cheeks and mouth. She straddled his lap and brought her hands around his neck. “You really love Mason, don’t you?”
“Of course I do.”
“You could see yourself really being a father to him?”
“Yes, I could. But what—”
She silenced him with a kiss. It was one that was laced with desperate emotions. He wrapped his hands around her waist and drew her closer to him. Just as he was about to deepen the kiss, she pulled away. “You love me too, don’t you?”
“You should have no doubts on that one.”
“You love me enough to be a husband to me?”
Her question caused him to suck in a harsh breath. He felt like he had been kicked in the gut. “Yes, I could—I always have.”
She tilted her head at him and smiled. “Then marry me.”
“Excuse me?”
Bringing her lips to his, she murmured against his mouth, “Marry me. Make me your wife.”
At that moment, he thanked God he was sitting down because if he hadn’t been, he was pretty sure he would’ve done something totally emasculating like fainting. He also questioned both his hearing and his sanity. Had Megan just proposed to him? Surely, he was hallucinating.
“Did you just ask me to marry you?” he questioned lamely.
Giggling, Megan nodded her head. “I wish you could see your face right now. I should be insulted.”
“I’m sorry. It’s just you surprised me.”
She cupped his face in her hands. “I’m sorry I don’t have a ring, and I didn’t get down on one knee,” she lovingly teased.
He brought his hands up to touch hers. “You’re really serious?”
“Yes, I am.”
Bowing his head, he tenderly kissed the tops of her hands. “I love you so much, Megan, and I want nothing more than to make you my wife.”
“So is that a yes?”
“I just want to make sure you know what you’re saying. One minute you’re in the dining room, laughing with your family, and then the next you’re in here weeping and then proposing to me. And let’s not forget how adamant you have been the entire time I’ve known you about being too young to get married.”
Megan’s lips turned down in a pout. “Can’t a girl change her mind?”
“Yes, of course, but I just want to make sure this is really what you want.”
Tears sparkled in her blue eyes. “You are everything I could ever want in a man. You love me, you watch out for me, you want the best for me. While that would be enough to make me want to marry you, you love my son. You watch out for him and you want the best for him. I couldn’t ever imagine loving someone more than I do you. I can’t imagine wanting to be anyone else’s wife but you.” She sniffled. “I was so stupid for so long. I couldn’t believe that someone like me could truly deserve someone like you. But you never gave up on me. If you give me the chance, I’ll spend the rest of my life trying to make you happy.”
Pesh couldn’t stop the racing of his heart. He was sure both his heart rate and blood pressure were off the charts at this moment. He cupped her cheeks. “Nothing in the world would make me happier than for us to get married.”
“So we’re engaged?”
“Yes, we are.” When a smile lit up Megan’s face, he shook his head. “But not formally yet. Not until I put a diamond on your hand.”
“But I don’t need that to know I’m promised to you and that we’re getting married.”
“Maybe you don’t, but I do.”
She rolled her eyes. “Fine, fine. I’ll let you buy me a diamond. A great big one, okay?”
He laughed. “I promise to spend a fortune.”
“You know I would be happy to wear your ring even if it was a little chip.”
“I know you would. But I want to spoil my beautiful future wife.”
She grinned. “Okay, I won’t argue with you.”
Pesh brought his mouth to hers. As their lips moved against each other, he couldn’t believe how lucky he was. Megan was his—she was really going to be his for the rest of his life. When she flicked her tongue against his, he groaned into her mouth. Considering they were at Patrick’s with all of her family down the hall, he knew the last thing on his mind should’ve been flipping her over onto her back and pounding into her. But he didn’t care. He wanted inside her body. He had finally made it into her heart, mind, and soul, and he once again wanted to be inside her perfection.
When Megan pushed him onto his back, Pesh raised his brows at her. “Mmm, I think my future wife is getting ahead of herself. Usually the consummating comes after the wedding, not the engagement,” he teased.
“I think we’ve consummated enough over the last few months where it doesn’t matter.”
“I suppose you’re right.”
As she ground her core against his growing erection, she said, “Looks like I’m not the only one with consummating on the mind.”
“You should know that has a mind of its own.”
She grinned down at him. “Well, right now I think we’re both of the same mind.”
As she continued to grind against him, his hands swept to her breasts. He cupped and kneaded the flesh over her top. At the sound of the door opening, Pesh tried to pull away, but he didn’t make it in time.
“Oh f*cking hell!” Aidan’s voice boomed from the doorway. Megan quickly scrambled off Pesh, and they both rose up, trying to straighten their clothes and hair.
With a pained expression, Aidan said, “Seriously? This is my old bedroom!”
Pesh chuckled. “I’m sorry, but you of all people should understand that when the mood hits, you act on it.”
Megan smacked his arm playfully. “That is not exactly what happened.”
Holding up one of his hands, Aidan said, “Frankly, I don’t really want to know what happened. I just came back here to make sure Megan was all right. Next time, I’ll make sure someone else comes, so I don’t need eye bleach to wipe that out of my memory. ”
“Ha, ha, very funny,” Megan grumbled, as she got off the bed.
“We were only celebrating,” Pesh said.
Aidan pinched his eyes shut. “I don’t think I even want to know what you were celebrating.”
“Our engagement, pervert,” Megan replied.
Aidan’s blue eyes widened. “Holy shit, you two are engaged?”
Pesh smiled as he rose off the bed and took Megan’s hand. “Yes, we are. Well, I mean, I need to go to her father and properly ask for her hand. And there’s the fact she doesn’t have a ring.”
Shaking his head in disbelief, Aidan said, “That’s…wow. I’m so happy for you two.”
“Thank you. And I do mean that. If it weren’t for you and Emma, I never would have met Megan,” Pesh said.
Aidan grinned as he clapped Pesh on the back. “You’re more than welcome, man. I’m just so glad you two finally realized how good you were for each other.” He turned back to the door before motioning them. “Come on, let’s go tell the others. I think this calls for a celebration, but just not the kind that you two were partaking in.”
Megan shook her head. “We weren’t going to tell anybody yet.”
Pesh nodded. “She doesn’t even have a ring.”
Aidan snorted. “Do you really think anyone out there is going to give two shits about whether or not you have a ring?”
“We just want to do it the right way,” Pesh replied.
Holding up his hands in surrender, Aidan said, “All right, I’m not going to argue with you anymore. But I will say that there is no right way. Hell, look at me and Em. In the end, you have to go with the flow and appreciate the moments that are bigger than you could ever imagine.”
He then turned and strode out of the bedroom. Pesh stole a glance at Megan who appeared to be processing Aidan’s words. “Come on, we better get back out there before they send someone else,” she finally said.
With a smile, he took her hand and led her down the hall. When they got back to the dining room, everyone glanced expectantly at them. Even though he knew he shouldn’t, Pesh blurted, “We’re engaged!”
He didn’t have time to worry about Megan’s anger about him blabbing because he realized she had said it at the same time he had. Cheers went up over the room, and he was hugged and kissed by Megan’s aunts. When Megan’s father, Paul, stood before him, Pesh felt like he’d been kicked in the groin. “Mr. McKenzie, I apologize. I intended to come to you and ask for Megan’s hand—to show respect to you and your wife. I’m so sorry.”
Paul shook his head and smiled. “Please don’t apologize. I’m just grateful that she’s met such a wonderful man who will be a good husband to her and a good father to Mason.”
“I swear to you that I will.” He and Paul shook hands to seal the vow.
In the absence of champagne, wine was poured to celebrate. At the head of the table, Patrick held up his glass. “To my granddaughter and the good doctor, I give you an Irish marriage blessing. ‘May God be with you and bless you. May you see your children’s children. May you be poor in misfortunes and rich in blessings. May you know nothing but happiness from this day forward.’” He smiled. “To Megan and Pesh.”
The others raised their glasses. Once Pesh tasted the rich bouquet of the wine, he leaned over and kissed Megan. He didn’t even mind the cat-calls and whistling—he was too happy to care.