Made For Us (21 page)

“Listen,” he began quietly, his head turning toward hers. “I called my father on the way here just to let him know I was bringing you to dinner and he told me that we’re going to have a houseful joining us.”

Zoe looked at him quizzically. “Why? Because you’re bringing someone with you?”

He explained about Owen and the trip into town just as his father had explained it to him. “I had no idea there were going to be so many people there. If you aren’t comfortable with it, we can try this again next week.”

“Are you uninviting me?”

“What? No. No…I just wasn’t sure if you actually wanted to be bombarded with Shaughnessys. As it is, Darcy practically trails behind you wherever you go. I just didn’t want you to be uncomfortable, that’s all.”

She reached up and cupped his cheek and smiled. “Well, aren’t you sweet?” Standing on tiptoes, she kissed him on the cheek and didn’t care how many people were staring. “It can’t be much worse than what we’re experiencing right now, right?” She casually motioned to the people around them. “Now I know what the animals in the zoo must feel like.”

Aidan pulled her even closer and kissed her temple. “Yeah, that’s my fault. I don’t date much so this is an oddity. Sorry.”

Pulling back, Zoe looked at him. “Hmm…an oddity, huh? Not sure how I feel about that.”

Aidan knew she was kidding but it still made him feel uncomfortable. He didn’t like being the center of attention. While he knew they were going to walk out of here in five minutes and be away from inquiring eyes, what was it going to be like when they got to his father’s house? What kind of crazy, awkward questions or stories were going to get around?

“Oh, stop worrying,” Zoe whispered beside him. “Let them look. We’re just here getting pizza like everyone else.”

He shrugged and was saved from saying anything else when his name was called for his order. Quickly paying and avoiding eye contact, he ushered Zoe out the door and back to their vehicles. Placing the pizzas in the truck, he walked over to Zoe’s car and waited for her to roll down her window. “Last chance? I won’t blame you for wanting to run.”

“Are we just meeting?” she asked and laughed when Aidan looked at her funny. “I would think that by now you would know how much I love a challenge, and what you, dear Aidan, have done here with all of your worrying and warnings is presented a challenge. I’m excited to meet more of your family.”

“You won’t feel that way after about thirty minutes,” he said grimly.

“Nonsense. I’ve already dealt with Quinn and he’s positively charming, and Darcy and I are practically BFFs. I can’t imagine that your father is going to be scary or that your brother Owen is going to be a problem. He’s the scientist, right?”

Aidan nodded. “He’s scary smart. If anything, you’ll walk away after talking to him wondering how it is that you even get up and dress yourself. It’s actually kind of intimidating sometimes, and he doesn’t even realize it.”

“Then I’ll be sure to steer the conversation away from science,” she said with a wink and a grin.

“Good luck with that. Owen only knows how to talk about science.”

“Aidan?”

“Yeah?”

“You’re on the verge of babbling. Get in the truck and let’s get to your dad’s before our dinner gets cold, okay?”

He nodded and walked back to his truck like it was the green mile. With a sigh of resignation, he got in, started it up, and headed for home.

And hoped that he wasn’t making a big mistake.

* * *

“So then he tries to mop up all of the soap suds, but the washing machine just kept spewing more out!” Quinn was saying as he laughed hysterically.

“Actually,” Owen interrupted, “it was more than soap suds. You see, although soap bubbles are traditionally made from soap, most bubble solutions consist of detergent in water. Glycerin is often added as an ingredient. Detergents form bubbles in much the same way as soap, but detergents will form bubbles even in tap water, which contains ions that could prevent soap bubble formation. Soap contains a carboxylate group that reacts with calcium and magnesium ions, while detergents lack that functional group. Glycerin, C
3
H
5
(OH)
3
, extends the life of a bubble by forming weakening hydrogen bonds with water, slowing down its evaporation.” He paused and looked around the table and then down at his hands. “Sorry.”

Rather than being irritated by his little brother’s interruption, Quinn just slapped him on the back with a smile. “What would any conversation be without some science thrown in, right? Never too old to learn something.”

Owen reached for his pizza and began to eat.

“So anyway, Zoe, Dad had to replace the floor in the laundry room and all of the trim and drywall! It was a complete gut job!” He laughed even harder. “I guess laundry just isn’t your thing, Bro!”

Aidan glared at him. “I was twelve, for starters, and it was a one-time thing and I do laundry just fine now. And after that, I seem to remember I had to do that load of laundry because you peed your pants!”

“Hey!” Quinn snapped, wiping tears of mirth from his eyes. “That was only because Hugh scared the crap out of me by hiding in my closet.” He shifted in his seat as his face flamed a bit. “He was cashing in on the fact that we had watched
The
Shining
the night before and I was scared to death of everything.”

“Whatever, dude. The point is that you peed your pants. And I had to wash them.” Aidan held up his hands and everyone started to laugh, except Quinn. “Not so fun when the joke’s on you, is it?” he said to his brother.

“Yeah, whatever,” Quinn said as he crossed his arms across his chest and pouted.

Anna sat beside him and placed a hand on his arm. “Stop being such a baby. You were the one who brought it up.” Before he could answer, she placed another slice of pizza on his plate and got up to grab him another beer. She sat back down and handed it to him before turning to Zoe. “So how’s the job going? Is everything back on track?”

Zoe gave a rundown of what was going on and what she was thinking of for the second house. “If you’d like, I’ve got some mock-ups on my tablet. We can go inside and look at them,” she suggested.

“That sounds great. Let the guys do the dishes.” Anna laughed as she stood and ruffled Quinn’s hair and walked away.

Darcy quickly followed.

Zoe found her purse, pulled her tablet out, and pulled up her file on the next model home. The three of them sat on the sofa in the living room and talked about fabrics and colors and furniture selections.

“I love the curtains you chose for the master bedroom,” Anna said. “I wish I had a room like that. Zoe, I know you work for Martha Tate, but I can’t really afford Martha’s company. Do you ever do small jobs on the side?”

“Absolutely! Martha only does commercial decorating, and she’s totally supportive of me doing residential work on the side. I can come over and help you sometime if you’d like.”

Anna reached over and squeezed one of Zoe’s hands. “I would love that! I am so not good with decorating. I go for the basics—solids, no patterns. I completely lack imagination.”

“I’m sure that’s not true. And seriously, I would love to come over and help you. You tell me what your budget is, and we can make it happen.” They began to chat among themselves about colors and patterns when Darcy interrupted.

“Would you be willing to look at my room, Zoe?” she asked quietly.

Both women stopped talking and turned to her. “What’s the matter with your room, Darce?” Anna asked.

The girl shrugged. “It’s just… It’s the same stuff Dad bought for my room when I was, like, six years old. He refuses to take me shopping to do anything with it. He says that it’s not necessary.” She looked at Zoe and Anna, her eyes huge. “But it is! So can you? Will you come upstairs and help me?”

Zoe looked at Darcy and then turned to Anna, who shrugged, before returning her attention to Darcy. “Of course I’ll help you. C’mon, let’s go and have a look.”

* * *

Back in the dining room, all eyes were on Aidan. “What? What’s everyone looking at?”

Quinn smirked and then looked at Owen and then his father and then back to Aidan. “So…I take it that everything worked out when I sent Zoe to come and get you at the site the other day?”

Aidan rolled his eyes at his brother’s ridiculous question and tone. “Yes.”

“I guess that means I can take the credit for you getting your head out of your ass and returning to the land of the living.”

“Shut up.”

“I’m just saying it’s about time you started dating. We were all getting concerned,” Quinn said, clearly trying to goad his brother again.

“There’s nothing wrong with being single,” Owen said, placing his pizza back on his plate. “Forty-four percent of adult Americans are single, according to U.S. Census figures. This means that there are over one hundred million unattached people out there.”

Quinn chuckled. “Impressive. You were one in one hundred million, Aidan.”

“However”—Owen raised his hand slightly to get the attention back—“statistically, the odds on finding someone favor the male population: There are eighty-six unmarried men for every one hundred unmarried women, although in some regions the gender ratio favors women, especially out west. Paradise, Nevada, a suburb ten miles from Las Vegas, has one hundred and eighteen unmarried men for every one hundred unmarried women. Other cities where females have the advantage include Austin, Texas; Fort Lauderdale, Florida; Tempe, Arizona; and Sunnyvale and Santa Ana, California.” He cleared his throat. “All warm and sunny places.”

“Maybe you need to move?” Quinn said with a grin. “You know, leave the nest. Run away from home.”

Reaching for a beer, Aidan refused to be baited and instead turned his attention to his other brother. The normally quiet one. “So where’s the seminar at, Owen?”

“Oh…um…Charleston. It was sort of a last-minute thing. Their speaker became ill—some sort of stomach bug that really has the potential to be gone within the next twenty-four hours, but the coordinators panicked and wanted to make sure they had someone lined up who could actually…you know, speak…without vomiting.”

Aidan and Quinn looked at each other and each made a face. “There’s a visual for you,” Quinn said.

“So does that mean there’s a chance that you’re going there for nothing?” Aidan asked.

Owen shook his head. “No, I’m definitely speaking. They asked the other scientist to leave and are currently decontaminating the banquet room to make sure no one else contracts what he had.”

“Sounds a little drastic,” Aidan said, taking a sip of his own beer.

“About as drastic as disappearing for a few days because you’re upset?” Quinn said daringly.

“All right, let’s get this over with,” Aidan said, slamming his hands down on the table.

“Boys,” Ian said in a tone they all knew meant business. “Enough’s enough. Aidan’s allowed to do what he wants. He’s a grown man.”

“That’s bullshit,” Quinn said, suddenly angry. “He runs off, gets everyone worried, and then we all have to just act like nothing’s wrong? Uh-uh. I’m done with that.” He faced his brother. “You scared the hell out of everyone. We all get that you were upset, man. We do. But you’re getting too old for this running away shit.”

Aidan’s first instinct was to argue, but unfortunately, his brother was right. “I know,” he said quietly. “It was… It was everything combined. I felt…guilty. I never missed an anniversary. Ever. And I missed it because I was with someone. I didn’t know how to handle it.”

“Aidan,” Quinn said even though his father was about to speak, “cut yourself some slack. It was one time in seventeen years. Hell, you’re the only one who goes to the cemetery as much as Dad. Mom’s not going to be mad because you missed this one time. You’re human. It’s about time you accepted that.”

“What the hell’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means you walk around here like you have to be perfect, and you’re not! It’s damn exhausting watching you put on this martyr act. You’ve been here for all of us, even when it wasn’t what you wanted. You’ve sacrificed everything for this family; hell, you’re practically like a second father to all of us. Don’t you think it’s time you put yourself first? You’ve got a beautiful woman who clearly is into you, God knows why, and you should be enjoying your time with her.”

Aidan glared at his brother. He didn’t like the lascivious way he said that last sentence. “Zoe is none of your concern.”

“Jesus,” Quinn muttered, “that’s what you took away from that? Seriously? I’m happy for you, Aidan! We all are! Stop trying to be the goddamn parent around here and just be yourself!”

“I’m not—” Aidan began but his father immediately cut him off.

“Your brother’s right, Aidan. And I’m largely to blame.”

“What are you talking about? You’re not to blame for anything.”

Ian shook his head. “You were so strong and you seemed to be able to come home here and make everything…work. I was overwhelmed and devastated and could barely function most days. And then you’d come home from school and suddenly everyone was behaving and things were getting done around here. I relied on you, maybe too much, and now I see I’ve monopolized your time. We all have.” He looked at his son sadly. “You have a life, Aidan, but you’re not really living. I’ve watched you tonight with Zoe and that’s when it hit me—I haven’t seen you genuinely smile in a long time. She makes you smile. You shouldn’t be here tonight. It’s a Friday night and you should be taking that lovely woman out on a date, not having pizza with your family.”

“I enjoy having pizza with my family,” Aidan said defensively. “And whether or not I’m dating anyone, I’m still going to want to spend time with you…all of you.”

Ian shook his head. “No one’s saying you can’t. All I’m saying is that it’s okay for things to change, Son. It’s okay if you don’t come for pizza every Friday night. It’s okay for you to do something for yourself first.”

Aidan wasn’t sure how this had all come up but he wasn’t happy about it. He didn’t want anyone telling him how to live his life or that all of a sudden, his life was bothering everyone. There was nothing wrong with him or the way he cared for all of them.