Modern Arrangements: Complete Trilogy (Modern Arrangements #1-3) (52 page)

"He isn’t going to let you leave
him, even if you wanted to. I’ve seen the way he looks at you and how he is
with you. He is in love with you."

"He told me that already." I
mumbled.

"And you don’t believe him?"

I shrugged.

"Fuck me." Viola exclaimed.

"Shhhh." Phoebe giggled. Some guests
turned to look at Viola, clearly surprised by her outburst.  

"Viola is right, Lilli. Aidan is so
deeply in love, I don’t think he has ever considered coming to the surface ever
again." She smiled warmly.

"Five minutes is up." Maggie
giggled, placing her head back in my lap.

"I guess we will see." I said
in a hushed tone.

By the end of the four hour long shower,
Elora still hadn’t gotten through all the gifts. It was crazy. I started to
consider hiring people to unwrap gifts at my shower if it was going to be the
way Viola claimed.

As guests started to leave, Elora took a
seat next to me.

"Hanging in there?" I asked,
giving her a half-smile.

"I am so tired." She groaned,
putting her feet up on a chair. "If I have to see one more Tiffany Blue
box I may cut my wrist with it…and I never thought I would ever say that about
Tiffany’s!"

Viola, Phoebe and I began to laugh.

"I wish Celia could have made it."
Elora sighed.

"She had to work." Phoebe
pouted, with a little shrug.

"She's always so funny and blunt. I
could’ve used her up there with Anne a few times." Elora smirked.

"Was she giving you a hard
time?" Viola asked.

Elora shrugged. "She was just being
her snobby self, commenting on proper gifts and such." She groaned and
grabbed her stomach.

"Are you okay?" Phoebe jumped
to her feet.

Elora laughed.

"Yes. The baby is just stretching
out and a foot has found a rib."

Phoebe’s face twisted and her body
shuddered.

"I felt it! Did you feel it?"
Maggie’s head shot up, looking at me excitedly. I nodded. "That was so
great! Hey babies, its Auntie Maggie." She rubbed my stomach and there was
another kick. "They know it’s me!" She smiled.

"Did you get into the
mimosas?" Viola eyed Maggie with a small grin.

Maggie rolled her eyes at her mother.
"So, one month to go." Maggie turned her attention to Elora and her
round stomach.

Elora nodded.

"Yep, thankfully it will be all
over soon."

"We should all go out to dinner before
the baby comes." Phoebe chimed in.

"Oh…can we go to the Japanese
Steakhouse?" I begged.

Elora nodded in agreement.

"That sounds so good." Elora
and I were both lost in thoughts of food before Phoebe snapped us out of it.

"If either of you starts drooling I
will slap you." She rolled her eyes, a playful smile on her lips.

True to our word, two weeks later we
were all seated around a large private table waiting on the chef to arrive and
cook our food. The smell of the food from the other tables was driving Elora
and me into a hunger craze. When the chef arrived everyone told him to start
with our food.

I’m sure I moaned out loud with almost
every bite of noodles, shrimp, vegetables and chicken. Aidan was rubbing my
thigh or wrapping his arm around my shoulder during most of the night. Once I
was finally full, Elora and I sat back, talking amongst ourselves about how we
were feeling.

"Are you okay?" Elora seemed
to be a little off, causing me some concern.

She nodded and drank her water. After
wiping her mouth she spoke.

"I’m just a little tired." She
shrugged. "I’ve had this huge burst of energy the past couple of days, I
think I wore myself out." She smiled, rubbing her shoulder.

"Maybe we should call it a night,
so you can go rest." She nodded in agreement with James’ suggestion.

Celia, Dixon, Oscar, Phoebe, Aidan and I
stayed about an hour longer talking and laughing. I, of course, ended up with
dessert in front of me. At the first sign of my own tiredness, Aidan ushered us
from the restaurant, so he could get me home.

It was roughly five in the morning when
I heard Aidan answer his phone. Burying my head in pillows and blanket, I
silently cursed the caller.

He nudged me.

"Whhhaaaaat?" I groaned.

"James took Elora to the hospital."
He whispered, wrapping his arm around me.

"Is she okay?" I was
immediately wide awake.

"Mmhmm…she went into labor a couple
of hours ago." He snuggled closer.

"Should we get dressed and—"

"Are you crazy?" His head
snapped up as he looked down at me incredulously. "Lilli, you are almost
seven months pregnant. I think you should sleep and then we will go to the
hospital after the baby is born."

"Are you sure? I feel like maybe we
should—"

"It will be fine, Lilli. Sleep."
With that final order, he pulled me closer.

After laying his head back on the pillow,
his hand found my stomach. It took me a little while but, eventually, I fell
back asleep.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Aidan

Lilli and I got up a couple of hours
after the phone call from James and went to the hospital.

We arrived to the maternity floor and
found everyone in the waiting room, including Elora’s parents.

"Lilli, Aidan…" Viola walked
toward us, giving us each a hug and kiss to the cheek.

"Viola." I smiled and kissed
her back.

"We're having a baby!" Elora’s
parents boasted in unison.

"Has anyone been back yet?"
Lilli asked, taking a seat next to Maggie and Jason. Maggie immediately started
rubbing Lilli’s stomach.

"Not yet. We're still waiting."
Anne stated impatiently.

"These things take time."
Viola patted Anne’s arm.

"I’m starving." Lilli stood.
"I’m going to go get something to eat before I get cranky."

"I’ll come with you!" Maggie
jumped up, linking arms with Lilli. As they passed me, I ruffled Maggie’s hair
and kissed Lilli.

"Be right back." She smiled up
to me. I nodded.

"So, how is Lilli feeling?" My
head snapped at the sound of Uncle Henry’s voice.

"Good. Lilli and the babies are
fine." I smiled.

"That is great to hear." He
seemed to relax significantly. "So, have you gotten the completed
paperwork from the lawyers about AIS?"

I furrowed my brow. We were here for the
birth of his grandchild and the asshole was concerned about the fucking
inheritance.

"It’s taken care of." I curtly
replied.

"Any more information about the
birth control pills?" Liam inquired with genuine concern.

I shook my head. "Not yet? But, I
assure you, I will continue to dig until I find out."

"Why bother?" I glared at my
Uncle Henry's ability to brush off the incident. "The outcome was for the
best and no one is hurt."

"What the hell, Henry?" Liam
spit out, before I could say one word. "The poor girl was drugged, which
is not only illegal, but was also a risk to her health."

"I’m just saying…" Henry
shrugged.

"I suggest you don’t say anything
else about it." I snarled. "And don’t you dare say one fucking thing
about any of it with Lilli around. Do you understand me? I will not have her
upset over your lack of compassion!"

My uncle’s face stiffened in anger, but
also fear. When I felt a hand rubbing my back, I looked over. Viola had moved
to sit next to me. I forced a smile. She wrapped her arms around me in a large
hug.

We all sat in silence for what felt like
an eternity.  The ding of the elevator finally broke the silence. A smiling
Maggie and Lilli stepped out. My whole body relaxed when this beautiful
creature – my wife – walked toward me, smiling, carrying my children and
wearing my grandmother’s necklace. God, I love her.

Lilli sat on my left side with a brown
bag in her lap.

"Here." She handed me a bottle
of orange juice from the bag and then a bagel.

"Thank you."

I watched her pull out a bagel with
cream cheese and strawberry jam. She ate the bagel and drank a bottle of milk.
Then she pulled out a banana and ate that.

"Is that going to be enough?"
I inquired, ready to go get her something else.

"What are you trying to say?"
She pretended offense.

"That my babies need to eat, which
means you need to eat." I laughed and wrapped my arms around her.

"I’ll be fine. For now." She
leaned her head on my shoulder. I deeply inhaled.

"Did you just sniff me?" Her
face twisted in confusion.

"Maybe." I whispered.

"You're so weird." She
giggled.

"It’s a boy!" James burst
through the set of gray double doors.

"Congratulations" and "awwws"
flooded the waiting room. James was smiling from ear to ear. I can say I'd
never seen my cousin look like so elated.

"Elora was amazing and both of them
are doing great." He boasted proudly.

After watching everyone hug and
congratulate him before heading back to see Elora and the baby, he stopped in
front of me.

"Congratulations." I pulled
him into a hug.

He pulled back, smiling with his hands
on my shoulders.

"I can’t describe it. One minute I
wanted to run and, then, it was like nothing could pull me away from her. It
was unbelievable! Once he was here and cried out…fuck, man! I can’t even tell
you!"

His smile was infectious and I hugged
him again, patting his back firmly.

"I am so happy for you,
James."

"You’re next." He smiled and
walked me down the hall with his arm around my shoulders.

"So, Lil, you’re next?!" I
heard Dixon before we rounded the corner, seeing him walking toward Lilli.

"Fuck you, Dixon, you are not
helping to deliver these babies." She pointed to her stomach.

I looked at James.

"Guess who was on fucking duty, of
all days?" James rolled his eyes.

I burst into laughter.

"Shut the hell up!"

Dixon's response brought my attention
back to their conversation. My smile faded.

"Ah, come on. I’ve already seen you
naked before." He chuckled.

James felt the tension in my shoulders and
removed his arm.

"We were like sixteen and it was an
accident!" Lilli yelled, blushing from his comment.

I relaxed slightly and moved to her
side.

"Yeah, yeah, sure it was, Lil. We
know you purposely left the bathroom door unlocked for me." He smirked.

"Oh, yes, that, of course, was what
I wanted. However, you feeling the need to sneak through my bedroom window to
get in the house? What was that about, huh?" Lilli crossed her arms over
her chest.

"The front door was locked."
Dixon replied like she was an idiot.

Lilli shook her head, took a step
forward, and smacked Dixon in the arm roughly.

"You are not delivering them!"
She walked around him and headed into the hospital room behind Dixon.

"Hey, man." He smiled at me.

"Are you trying to piss her off so
I have to deal with it for the rest of the day?" I raised my brow with a
smirk.

"Hey, I didn’t knock her up, so you
must deal!" He laughed loudly and turned to the nurses’ station.

Shaking my head, I walked into the room.
Viola was holding a small bundle wrapped in a blue blanket. Lilli was leaning
over her arm looking into the bundle.

Glancing over at Elora, I saw James
scoot in next to her and wrap her in his arms as they both talked about the
delivery. Lilli shuddered a few times when Elora recapped the pain.

"Okay, enough. I don’t want to hear
any more." Lilli waved her hands in front of her to stop. Elora laughed.

"So, what is my grandson’s
name?" Aunt Anne broke into the conversation, she now held the baby.

"Henry James III." Elora
stated proudly. James looked surprised by the announcement. His grin spread
widely and he kissed the top of her head.

"Happy Birthday, Jimmy!" I
proclaimed. It was my turn to hold my little cousin.

Chapter Four
7 Months
Lilli

I sat in the waiting room of my doctor’s
office going through every out of date magazine on the table next to me.
Thankfully, the nurse called my name. I wanted to get this blood test over
with.

Earlier this morning, I had to drink
four ounces of the most disgustingly thick and sweet glucose serum. It was absolutely
foul and I wanted to puke. I hadn’t been allowed to eat anything during the
time either, having to wait until the test was complete.

Sitting in the cold, hard chair with my
arm extended out in front of me, the nurse wrapped a rubber tie tightly around
my bicep. After a few taps on my vein, she poked the needle through my skin and
drew the blood she needed. I used to have a small apprehension about needles
but, after all the poking and prodding since the car accident and the pregnancy,
I was a pro.

Once she was finished, I gulped down the
granola bar I had in my purse, feeling like I'd smuggled contraband into the
office, and waited for my official doctor’s appointment.

After the appointment, I had the driver
immediately take me to a restaurant.

Ordering a large breakfast, a familiar
face appeared.

"Lilli?"

Loreley stood next to the table. I
started to stand to greet her.

"No, no, please stay seated."
She motioned for me to stop. "Do you mind?" She pointed to the empty
chair next to me.

"Of course not." I smiled.
"Do you want anything?"

She looked through the menu as I called
the waiter back over. He moved quickly. Loreley placed her order, which would
look like nothing compared to mine.

"So, how are you?" She smiled
warmly.

"I’m good. Hey, I never got to
thank you." She looked at me with confusion on her face. "For telling
us about Becca." I explained. "Thank you."

She smiled. "It was my pleasure. I
couldn’t believe what she had done when I found out." Shaking her head
with a disgusted look on her face, she continued, "I mean, the Iverson’s
have always been good to her and you never did anything to her. I just don’t
get it."

"Well, thankfully we have some
answers. Aidan is still working on the rest of it." I sighed.

"I’m just happy I was able to help."
Loreley placed her hand over mine with a pat.

Loreley and I ate lunch together while
discussing some common interests. I discovered we had a lot in common. We both
loved to read and held an interest in poetry though neither of us wrote it.

After a few hours, Loreley and I said
goodbye and went our separate ways. Viola’s was my next stop.

"Lilli…" Viola kissed my
cheek, hugged me, and then rubbed my stomach. "How are you today?"

"Good. A little tired, but
good." I gave a small smile.

"You poor thing." She looked
at me with pity.

We got into her car and headed to a
shelter that the foundation was considering taking under its wing.

Once inside, I started to take the place
under an investigative eye. The building was dilapidated, but still seemed in
good standing. The woman who ran the shelter was very pleasant and welcoming.

"I am so glad you agreed to visit
today." She shook Viola’s hand before turning to me. Her eyes dropped to
my stomach, just like everyone's did now, and then looked up smiling as we shook
hands. "My name is Debra."

"It is entirely our pleasure."
Viola responded.

"Let me show you around and tell
you a little bit about the place. Please, question me at any time." Debra
motioned for us to follow.

"It is a little run down, isn’t it?"
Viola whispered into my ear. I nodded in response.

"This is the recreation room."
Debra motioned through a large set of doors. The room was filled with televisions,
couches, pool tables, card tables and folding chairs, book shelves, and more.
"Most of the young adults hang out in here during the days."

"This is the dining room." She
motioned through another set of double doors across from the recreation room.
Looking around, I could easily see they needed new flooring and wall treatment.
It could also use a good scrubbing. "The kitchen is this way."

The kitchen also needed some work: new
appliances, flooring, a good cleaning and, probably, pots and pans.

Viola’s smile never faltered as Debra
led us around the building. Clearly, they needed help. They were constantly at
full capacity but only had enough to really support a third of those who stayed
there.

Most of the population in the shelter consisted
of young mothers, abused kids, and abused women and their children. There were
also a couple of single fathers with small children. My heart instantly broke
when we entered a nursery of small infants and toddlers.

One crib held a baby who'd been burned
and a toddler with lost eyesight. Then there was a young, pregnant girl who
looked to be helping out.

"Who is the girl? Does she work
here?"

Debra followed my eyes and smiled.

"That's Abby. She came to us a few
months ago from an abusive foster family." Debra’s face fell. "She
was one of three foster children that lived with the family and their two
children." She sighed heavily and then her voice dropped to a whisper.

"She's thirteen years old and
pregnant with the foster parent’s grandchild. They beat her and kicked her out
when they found out she was pregnant. Their
biological
son, who is
seventeen by the way, denies the child is his. It’s a shame because she has the
biggest heart and loves to help in here."

"Oh my god!" Viola exclaimed
at the story. A look of disgust plastered across my face.

"I know." Debra choked back
tears. "She is such a good kid and had her innocence stripped from
her."

"He raped her?" I asked, torn
between anger and tears.

"She says that it was consensual.
Apparently he had told her that he loved her and she willingly had sex with him.
I can’t be sure as to whether she is lying or not."

"Why would she lie?" I asked.

"Fear." Viola answered and put
her arm on my shoulder.

"Exactly." Debra stated.
"Though it could have been consensual, most of these kids just want to
feel loved. And, with her history, I could see her falling prey to a little
bastard like that boy."

"I can’t believe the foster parents
were that…horrid, to allow this to happen to her." Anger pulsed through
me.

"Honey, I wish I could say it
wasn’t common, but that would be a lie."

Wiping at my face, the tears fell freely.

"What will she do?" Viola
asked Debra.

I didn’t stay to hear her answer.
Instinctively, I walked over to Abby who was holding a baby on her hip, rocking
back and forth.

"Hello." I smiled.

Abby smiled shyly and then looked down
at my stomach. "Hi."

"When are you due?" I pointed
to her small but visible bump.

She got very still and fear crossed her
face.

"I’m sorry, you don’t have to
answer. I’m due in October." I rubbed my stomach.

She smiled. "Will I get that
big?"

I laughed.

"I don’t know, but I doubt it. I’ve
got two in here." Her eyes widened. I laughed again.

Giggling, she spoke. "Wow, I don’t
know if I could handle that."

I shrugged. "We all take what we
get and make the best out of it."

Her smile widened. "January."

"Well, you have some time then,
don’t you?" I rubbed my stomach.

"Hello there." Viola appeared
next to me.

"Hi." Abby turned shy once
again.

While Viola talked with her about the
nursery, I couldn’t help but think about everything this girl had gone through.
Everything she had yet to go through.

I was so much luckier than that poor
girl. My parents both loved me, no one had ever hurt me the way she'd been hurt
and, even though my pregnancy was a shock and unconventional to an extent,
Aidan was there for me, along with his family and our friends.

Both hands were on my stomach when I
felt movement beneath my fingertips. I must have giggled out loud because both
Viola and Abby looked at me in curiosity.

"They’re moving."

"Really?" Abby croaked.

I nodded. "Wanna feel?"

She bit her lip and hesitated, but then
took a few steps toward me and placed her hand on my stomach. There was some
movement and Abby’s eyes widened with panic.

"It’s okay." I placed my hand
on hers.

She looked up, still unsure. "I
don’t know what I'm going to do." I barely heard the words.

Sighing, I pulled her into a hug. The
baby she was holding in her arms wiggled under us and I pulled back, taking the
baby from her and holding him.

"So, you don’t know what you are
going to do yet?" Viola had her arm around the girl’s shoulders.

She shrugged.

"I know I should put the baby up
for adoption, I am only thirteen. I just hate the thought of abandoning my
child…like my mom did."

Viola hugged her quickly.
"Everything will work out for the best, my dear."

We left Abby in the nursery, following Debra
around for the rest of the tour. I was already sure that both Viola and I were
in agreement; this would be the newest addition to the foundation. After we
said our goodbyes and got back into the car, Viola confirmed my thoughts.

"So, our new addition?" She
asked.

I nodded. "Yep."

"I thought so."

"First thing, they need a better
air conditioning system." I fanned myself. "Whew! I am sweating
horridly and it’s not just one of my hot flashes this time."

Viola nodded.

"There are a few things they will
need. I wonder if the bad air system also means that the heating system is bad."
Viola picked up her cell phone and dialed. "I'm going to make some calls
now and have the paperwork prepared…oh, and I want to have their budget sent
over." She turned to her phone and began talking rapidly with people at the
foundation office.

Once she was finished, she turned back
to me.

"The contracts and the financials
are going to be sent over. I will have copies sent to your house
tomorrow."

"Sounds good." I smiled. Then
my thoughts traveled back to Abby.

"What’s the matter?" Viola
placed her hand on my knee.

"Just thinking about that poor
girl." I placed my hands on my stomach. "I don’t know what I would do
without all of you. Especially Aidan."

Viola smiled brightly. "It’s starting
to sink in isn’t it?"

I looked at her, confused.

"That you love him." I felt
myself blush. "Lilli, it’s okay to love him. You know that right?"

"I know." I said in a hushed
tone.

"No, I don’t think you do."
Viola patted my knee. "He loves you, Lilli. This has nothing to do with
that damn agreement. Hell, I could tell that there was something there before
you even agreed to everything." She laughed.

"Huh? We didn’t…I mean, we weren’t
even friends or—"

"There was something pulling you
two together. Aidan was way too adamant and focused on getting you, and only
you, to be the one to sign that agreement." She raised her eyebrows.

"That’s just because he could bribe
me with Donald." I winked.

She laughed. "If that’s what you
need to convince yourself, you go ahead. But, I will tell you right now, Aidan
has been taken with you from the start."

Viola didn’t say much of anything else.
I think she was letting it all sink into my thick skull.

Once I got into the house, I decided to
talk to Rachel.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Aidan

"Mr. Iverson?"

I hit the intercom button on my desk.
"Yes, Amy?"

"Mr. Devlin is here to see
you."

"Good, show him in. Thanks."

"No problem." Amy disconnected
and soon I heard a light knock before my door opened.

"Devlin…" I stood up.
"It’s good to see you."

"It’s good to see you too, Mr.
Iverson." I raised an eyebrow. "Aidan." I smiled, shaking his
hand.

"So, what are we doing today?"

"We are finalizing the contracts
for AIS. I have a few other things we need to go over, as well." Devlin
kept his face in his black leather brief case as he dug out folders and papers.

"What few more things?" I was
a little worried about what my grandfather could have possibly done now. Devlin
looked up with a blank professional expression.

"Nothing drastic." He smirked,
"Just a couple of things your grandfather left for you." Before I could
speak, he continued.