Save the Date (Modern Arrangements, #1)

"Ah, even so, not all men would sit up at night as you do." She patted my shoulder and went to check on Livy.

The days passed and soon I had to return to work. I headed to the twins room to tell Lilli and the babies good bye. As I entered, I looked around the room but didn’t find Lilli. I leaned into the crib and kissed both of the twins. As I was walking back to their door, I heard a noise in the bathroom.

I walked toward the door and knocked. "Lilli?" I could hear a buzzing noise.

"Yeah?" She called through the door. I tried the doorknob but it was locked.

"What are you doing?" I knocked lightly.

"Um…pumping." I could almost see the blush on her face as she said it.

I swallowed down the chuckle that threatened to pop through my lips. "Can you open up? I’m leaving for work."

Nothing. No response and no sound of her opening the door. "Just give me one minute, okay? I’m almost finished."

"I could care less that you are—"

"I am not opening this door until I can cover up." She cut me off with a firm tone.

I sighed. "Okay."

Two minutes later she came out of the bathroom, leaving the door halfway open. I could see the pump on the counter.

She put her arms around my shoulders and kissed me. Trying to pull away from me, I grabbed her and deepened the kiss, my hands starting to roam. My hands were just below her breasts,

"Aidan…" she mumbled against my lips. I put my hand out to the side, palms toward her. She giggled and pulled away from the kiss.

"Have a good day." She smiled and turned toward the bathroom.

"You, too. I won’t be staying late tonight, so I should be home before six." I smiled at her.

"If you need to stay then I under…"

"I have already informed everyone that I would not be staying late like I used to now that the twins have arrived." My voice and face had gone completely serious. She simply nodded and went back into the bathroom. I heard the buzzing sound of the machine begin as I left the nursery.

After grabbing some coffee, I headed toward the door.

I was surprised to see Loreley standing in our foyer, Jay taking her coat.





Chapter Seven


How Do I Mend a Broken Heart?

Lilli

Once Aidan had gone, I heard Kimberly enter the room while I was finishing up in the bathroom.

"Good morning." I whispered to Kimberly, trying to not wake the twins. She smiled warmly and I exited the room. I was halfway down the stairs when I heard Loreley's voice.

"Loreley." I smiled and walked toward her.

"Lilli." She smiled back and placed her hands on my biceps, kissing each cheek. She stood back and appraised me. "You look fantastic!"

"Thank you, but I'll definitely feel better when I can start to work off some of this extra weight." I huffed out. I motioned for her to follow me toward the dining room.

"Non-sense, dear, you look amazing." She followed along behind me.

We sat down around the table as Jay brought the food out to us. I smiled my thanks to Jay before turning back to Loreley.

"Loreley, I really want to thank you again for telling us about—"

"It was honestly my pleasure." She smiled warmly.

I furrowed my brow. The reason I had called Loreley to come over was simple. I was wondering why she had helped us by providing the information. I knew that the Iverson's were not exactly friends of her family.

"What is it?" She asked curiously, mirroring my furrowed brow.

"Um, I don't mean to sound ungrateful, but why did you help Aidan and me? Why would you provide that information to us? I know that your family—"

"I know that our families are not exactly friendly and I am also well aware of what people say about me; the cold, callus, manipulating bitch. However, and I am being honest, I had that information for almost a week before I finally called Aidan." She laughed a little at her admission. "But, I just couldn't, as a woman, keep that from you. You hadn't done anything other than marrying into this family. Hell, to me, you were simply just another woman until we spoke at the charity ball." I raised my brow at her.

"Yes, it was only for a short moment, but you didn't shy away from the conversation with me as most people do. Especially, the Iverson's and those that are associated with them." A small smiled played on her lips.

"A week?"

She nodded. "I'm far from perfect, dear."

I nodded with a small smile and we continued small conversation during breakfast. Though I had been a little concerned with her admission of holding information, I appreciated her honesty.

Slowly, over the next few months, Loreley and I became frequent associates, having brunches and lunches together. It had been a great way for me to get out of the house for a little bit, aside from when I met up with Phoebe, Celia or Viola.

Viola was very up front in warning me about Loreley.

"Lilli, dear, you have to be very careful. I know that she may seem friendly but I assure you that, given the chance, she would push you down an elevator shaft if it suited her." Viola put her water glass to her lips.

"How very 'soap opera' of you to say." I giggled out.

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