All of Me? The Trust Me? Trilogy (34 page)

“Sounds perfect. Can you take that much time away from work though?” I ask curiously.

“I’m the boss remember? Bree is perfectly capable of looking after the place now that she’s fully trained. I think it would do her good to run the business without me there, and she could always contact me if she needed to. We’ve worked hard to get the business where it is now, and I have lots of great staff to help, so I am comfortable with leaving it for a while.”

I face him. “Sounds amazing to me,” I say, leaning in and kissing him softly.

I jump as I feel the girls kicking for the first time. Aiden looks at me concerned.

“Are you alright?”

I place his hand on my stomach, and he smiles as he feels our baby girls kick.

“Even though I felt it with Brody, I still can’t get used to the feeling of them moving around inside you,” he says. He leans down and kisses my belly. Our family of three will soon become a family of five.

“Brody, time to go inside,” Aiden calls out. Brody, with Charlie bouncing along behind him, runs over to us. Aiden picks him up, swinging him around in the air. He really is a great father; nothing like his father was at all, which is a relief. We walk inside and Brody runs to the sofa and turns on the TV. Charlie jumps up next to Brody and he snuggles into him. They are the best of friends.

My cell starts to ring, and I make my way to the table and pick it up.

“Hello?”

“Hey, Jeni, it’s me.”

“Sarah, how was your vacation?”

“Oh my God, I loved it in Disneyland. It was awesome. Ethan had such a good time, and Ella, well she was too busy drooling on everything to even notice that Minnie Mouse was standing next to her. Don’t even get me started on how excited Chris was to see Buzz Lightyear. Oh my God he acts more like a five-year-old than our five year old does.”

I laugh as I can just imagine Chris getting overly excited at Disneyland. “Make sure you bring all the photos when you come up.”

“Yeah, no worries. Look, I gotta go, Ethan’s trying to eat the remote again.”

“Alright, we’ll see you tomorrow. We’re looking forward to it.”

I hang up and Aiden looks over at me.

“They have a good time?” he asks curiously. I nod and walk back over to him; he takes me in his arms and kisses me softly. I hear Brody laughing at the cartoons on the TV. I look over at him, my beautiful, darling little boy who looks so much like his father.

Aiden moves my hair from my neck and gently kisses me, giving me goose bumps.

“Why, Mr. O’Connell, if I didn’t know better, I’d say that you’re trying to seduce me,” I say jokingly while he continues to kiss my neck.

“Well, Mrs. O’Connell, maybe I am.”

***

Aiden gets Brody into his pajamas while I clean up from dinner. I walk into Brody’s room to see him in bed with Aiden who is reading
Green Eggs and Ham
to him. Brody laughs along at the rhyming words.

I stand in the doorway, watching my two boys lovingly when Brody spots me.

“Mommy, mommy,” he says, jumping on the bed. I walk in and sit down, patting the mattress so that he sits down next to me. Charlie walks in and slumps down on the floor next to the bed. He never leaves Brody’s side.

I watch and listen to Aiden read the book, and Brody laughs at the silliness of the words.

“Sleep time now, baby boy,” I say, and he gets into his bed. Aiden pulls the covers up over him and tucks him in, and I pick up Mr. Snuggles from the floor and hand it to him. It’s funny how something that gave me a sense of calm and comfort is now having the same effect on our son.

“Yay, Mr. Snuggles, time for nigh night,” Brody says without a fuss.

“Goodnight, sweetheart,” I say and turn on the night light. We walk out of the room and head back to the kitchen.

Aiden walks to the fridge and takes out a bottle of orange juice and pours it into two wine glasses. I smile at him. He’s so thoughtful. He knows I won’t drink any alcohol while I’m pregnant, and he doesn’t drink either to support me.

“Here you go, baby. Here’s your pretend wine,” he says, and we head out to the deck.

“Now I remember why Sarah was so pissed about not being able to drink.”

Aiden chuckles as we sit on the sofa outside, and I snuggle into him.

“We have our semi-annual visit with Dr. Lovatt when we get back into Mornington Vale,” Aiden says. Even though the past five years of counseling has been traumatic and extremely hard at times, it has been undeniably beneficial, not just for me but also for Aiden. Dee has helped us both so much with all of the events from our past and helped us to move forward together, as a family. And with a little bit of help, we have both moved on, leaving all the past, exactly where it is meant to be—in the past. Aiden and I have never been happier than we are in this moment. Our son is a blessing and now with our girls on the way, we couldn’t be more complete. He wraps his arm around my shoulders and we drink our juice while we stare at the lake and watch the moon creeping up over the horizon.

***

Sarah and Chris arrive. Aiden and Brody are at the entrance of the lake playing in the water as I walk out to meet them.

“Hi guys,” I call out.

“Hey, Jen Pen.” Sarah says as she walks in with baby Ella on her hip, and Ethan is sitting on Chris’ shoulders.

“Hey, Jeni, looking bigger than when I saw you last,” he says with a smirk.

“
Chris
,” Sarah yells at him.

“No, it’s okay. I know I’m huge, but there
is
two in there, so I think I have a good excuse.”

Brody sees Sarah and Chris and runs from the water to greet them.

“Unkie Chris,” he screams out. Chris pulls Ethan down from his shoulders and lifts Brody up and spins him around.

“Hey, little man,” he says, pulling him in for a hug, getting Chris’ white shirt wet.

“I see you’re the favorite today then.” Sarah laughs as Chris hands Brody to her for a hug.

“Auntie Sawa,” he says, smothering her with a slobbery kiss.

***

“I’m going to the store. I’ll be back in about fifteen, baby.”

I nod and Aiden kisses me on the cheek and walks out the door. Charlie goes to follow him, but I stop him.

Sarah and Chris left yesterday after staying the weekend with us; it was nice to see them and the Starke’s of Winterfell as Chris now calls them. Aiden introduced Chris to
The Game of Thrones
, and he’s been hooked ever since.

A little later, I hear our car pull up and Charlie starts to bark.

“Charlie shush,” I call out as Aiden walks into the house.

“Hey, baby, can you come here for a second,” Aiden says.

I stand up awkwardly and waddle toward the kitchen to see Aiden with a giant bunch of flowers in his hands.

“And what are these for?”

“It’s Monday, baby,” he says, smirking, handing them to me. I take them and smell them. They smell fresh and fragrant.

“We’re on vacation, babe; I don’t expect you to keep up the tradition. I thought it was only while I was at work?”

“No, I said every Monday, and I mean it, not just at work but always and forever,” he says, taking them from me and placing them on the counter.

“You’re such a hopeless romantic,” I say to him, and I wrap my arms around his neck. He smiles and wraps his arms around my waist.

“Would you want me any other way?”

“No, you’re perfect just the way you are.”

“I think you’re confused because it’s you who is the perfect one.”

“I love our family, and I love that we’re adding to it,” I say.

“I can’t wait for Katie and Kassidie to enter the world and be with us,” he says kissing me again. We come up for air and I stare into his bright blue, lustful eyes, and know that Aiden O’Connell really is my exception.

***

Brody’s in bed fast asleep while we sit outside on the sofa, cuddling each other. We look up at the sparkling stars in the clear night sky.

“I don’t know why, but I always feel at home in your arms under the night sky,” I say.

“I know what you mean. From our first date to now, every time we’re looking at the stars it feels like the first time”.

“Aiden, I’m so glad you literally ran into me that day.”

He chuckles and pulls me tighter to him. “So am I, baby, so am I. After everything we’ve been through together, I can’t imagine my life without you, Brody, and our baby girls growing inside you.”

“It’s amazing how much our lives have changed, but there is one thing I know for sure. You do know you have all of me?”

“I do.”

I hope you enjoyed Aiden and Jeni’s journey together in The Trust Me? Trilogy.

Stay tuned for more books from Author K E Osborn.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

First time Australian author K E Osborn was born and raised in Adelaide, South Australia. Having worked in the optical industry for some time, K E Osborn decided it was time to leave the optical world behind and start on something new. With a background in graphic design and a flair for all things creative, she tried her hand at writing. After a very vivid dream of a three-car pileup, the story of Aiden and Jeni began to evolve from her dreams on to paper.

K E Osborn hid the fact that she was writing from her family, as she believed the story was simply something she had to get on paper first and then judge if it was good enough for others to read. It wasn’t until her mother found a printed version of the manuscript that her secret came out. She was a writer, and she loved it. Writing gives her life purpose. It makes her feel, laugh, cry, and get completely enveloped with the characters and their storylines. She feels at home when writing.

JUST FRIENDS?

Now that The Trust Me? Trilogy is complete; you can look forward to KE Osborn’s next novel

Just Friends?

Coming Early 2014

A talented young singer and actress, Australian born Katerina Barrett decides to follow her dreams and move to the United States to attend AMDA College in Los Angeles, to further her music and acting career. On her orientation day, a cocky, self-absorbed, arrogant Will Sanders catches her attention. She’s immediately drawn to him, and she knows she should stay away from him and concentrate on her career—but life is never that easy.

The chemistry is undeniable and Kat doesn’t want to let her guard down. When she gives herself to Will, she’s left hurt when he confesses that he doesn’t do the “
boyfriend thing
”.

Through a turn of fortunate events, they are both chosen to play the lead roles in an up and coming new indie movie, the Nightwalker series. Their relationship blossoms as does their fame, turning their world upside down and leaving them asking, are we just friends?