“Sounds like fun. Willa, you in?” Aiden asked as Lacy looked at me and let her smile grow into a full-on grin. She tilted her head and tapped her finger on her almost seven-month belly.
I forced myself to change my expression from one of murder to one of agreement as I turned and faced Aiden. “It does sound like fun. But are you sure you want to be around a bunch of kids?”
He looked puzzled by my question. “I love kids.”
There might as well have been a swarm of butterflies in my stomach, because if that wasn’t the sexiest thing to hear coming from this man’s mouth, I didn’t know what was.
Lacy giggled. She actually giggled. “See, Willa. Aiden loves kids.”
“I heard him, Lacy,” I said as I turned back and shot her yet another look.
“Did you want to follow me back over to the bookstore?” I asked Aiden, knowing that earlier he’d made it clear he didn’t want to be trapped anywhere.
“Yeah, I’ll meet you over there. Let me go say goodbye to your folks. Did you need help with Ben’s stuff?”
“Where did he come from?” Lacy whispered as she walked by me. I gently pushed her, praying Aiden wasn’t listening. He smiled at Lacy, but it appeared he hadn’t heard her.
“He’s all packed up and ready to go. I changed his diaper before you got here,” Lacy called back at me.
I raised my brows and opened my mouth, but nothing came out. I just stood there, eyes wide and mouth wide open.
Aiden blinked at me and then tilted his head. “Are you okay?”
I snapped my mouth shut, nodded, and looked down to Ben who had been standing there after I set him down, holding my hand and taking it all in. He really was the best little boy ever. He had yet to give me any problems, which only led me to believe he was going to be hell on wheels when he was a teenager.
“Ben? You want to go to the bookstore for story time?” I asked.
He smiled up at me and then lifted his arms. I picked him up, and the moment I turned to face Aiden, Ben nearly tossed himself at him. Luckily, Aiden was ready.
“Geesh!” I said as Ben smiled at Aiden. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen him take to anyone like this.”
Aiden tapped Ben on the nose, then turned his attention to me and winked. “I have that way with women and kids.”
I rolled my eyes. “I don’t doubt it.”
“Willa, Lacy told me you’re leaving already. Heading to the bookstore?” my mother said, stopping to give me a kiss on the forehead.
“Yes, well, Lacy was the one who suggested it.”
“Actually, I believe it was me,” Aiden said.
I laughed. “Right. It was Aiden, and Lacy agreed.”
“Are you going, Aiden?” my mother asked, a sudden spark of light in her sky-blue eyes.
Aiden was so focused on Ben, all he did was nod. I nearly groaned when I saw my mother look at me and wiggle her brows.
“This is wonderful! Wonderful!” she nearly shouted as she clapped her hands together.
“Calm down, Mom,” I said in a hushed voice. “Don’t read into this.”
She waved me off with her hands. “I’ll go get Ben’s—”
“Already got it. You’re good to go with your backpack!” Lacy said, tossing Ben’s bag at me.
“It’s not a backpack. It’s a JoJo Plus bag from Paperclip, and I believe you were praising the built-in baby changing pad not very long ago,” I retorted.
Lacy rolled her eyes. “Fine. Your fancy-ass diaper bag. And if you tell my husband I bought one, I’ll kill you.”
I smiled. “Um, what about Bree?” I asked as I looked around the backyard for her.
My mother got that gleam in her eye once more. “Don’t worry about Bree. Hunter is showing her the orchard.”
That caused me and Lacy to exchange a look, both of us nearly laughing. My mother was most likely thinking she was two-for-two today. Little did she know Hunter and Bree were a fleeting thing, and as for me and Aiden…well, I honestly had no clue.
I turned and saw Aiden walking around the side of the house. No, he wasn’t walking—he was running like he was a horse, and Ben was dying with laughter.
“Okay, I’m pregnant and that even made my ovaries explode,” Lacy said softly.
My mother added with a sigh, “I don’t even have mine anymore, and they just exploded.”
The three of us fell into a fit of laughter before Lacy pushed me to leave. “Go! As great as he is with Ben, I highly doubt he knows how to put a baby into a car seat.”
I started to follow in the direction Aiden went, but then I turned and pointed at Lacy. “Payback is a bitch.”
She blew me a kiss. “Someday, baby sister, you’re going to thank me for this.”