Missing (The Brannock Siblings Book 3) (19 page)

"Whoa there! Calm down, Aid."

"Oh God. What if they don't like me?"

"They will."

"But-"

"They. Will. Love. You."

She didn't get a chance to argue because Gus' angry voice
came from the doorway. "How many times do I need to tell you girls to lock
the damn door even when you are inside?"

"Gus Gus!"

Aiden watched as her little niece flew past her and into
Gus' strong arms with a massive smile on her face. He had become her hero from
the very first time she saw him at her door spouting complaints about the loud
music she insisted on playing. She hadn't even been upset with him, not the way
Aiden had been.

"Hey, pretty girl," he chuckled and the glare he
had been sending her way faded quickly.

"I'm sleeping over here tonight with Aunty Aiden, you
want to sleep here, too?"

Gus' nervous smile was almost as sexy as his flirty one, but
Aiden couldn't focus on the awkwardness Aidy had just welcomed into the room
because this sleepover was news to her. She spun around to find her sister
looking guilty and anxious.

"I have a date tonight," Lily blurted out before
Aiden could even ask.

"What?"

"God, Aiden. He's sexy as sin and I couldn't say no if
you paid me to. I've been talking to him for the last couple weeks and I like
him a lot."

"What?" she asked again.

"I really need to get laid, Aid."

"What's laid?" Aidy asked loudly and the
awkwardness turned up about a million notches.

Lily only took a second before she answered with, "It
means I need a hug."

"I'll give you a hug, Mommy."

She couldn't help it. Aiden burst out laughing right along
with Gus and a moment later, Lily joined in. The shock at the news her sister
just dropped on her wasn't unpleasant. She was happy for her, but they would
definitely have words later for not telling her about the guy. For now, she was
hungry and ready to spend some time with the people who meant the most to her.

"I guess we're having a sleepover then," she
stated with a shrug.

Gus winked at her as he shifted Aidy behind him for a piggy
back ride. "Let's eat."

***

By the time they finished lunch, Aiden had relaxed
completely. It felt so good to finally stop holding back when it came to Gus
and every time he looked at her, she felt that warm, slow building pressure
that always started in her chest. He made it hard to breathe.

Lily told them all about this man she was so excited to go
out with. When they asked his name she answered with a breathy
'Chad'
and smiled like an idiot. Aiden took in all the details about how they met. He
was a doctor at the same hospital Lily worked, how he was always showing up at
Lily's station just to see her , and how one of these visits ended in a
janitor's closet with him pinning her to the door and kissing her
'like
there was no tomorrow'.

After that, Aiden couldn't get her mind off of what it felt
like to kiss Gus, even if their only kiss had just been a brush of lips. It had
been like nothing else she'd ever experienced before, which was honestly a
little sad. She could only imagine the things this man could do to her and she
finally gave up on trying to pay attention to her sister at all.

"I've got to leave in like an hour so I can get
ready," Lily stated and glared at her watch for a moment before grabbing
Aiden's hand. "Are you sure you're okay with keeping Aidy tonight? I can
come and get her after, I'm just not sure what time it will be."

"Lil, it's fine. Go have fun tonight."

"Thank you, Aid."

Gus' phone rang and her stomach rolled. This was it. She was
going to meet his family. She hadn't even talked to him about what she wanted
and she was going to
meet his family
. What if it didn't work out? What
if she had been reading him wrong this entire time and he didn't want anything
more with her?

God, she was going to get an ulcer.

She was just starting to think she should make a run for it
when her ears perked at the ringtone coming from Gus' phone.
Girls Just
Wanna Have Fun?
She raised a curious eyebrow at him and he blushed.

"Ash always changes my ringtone for her whenever I see
her. I haven't gotten around to changing it back."

"Mmmhmm," Lily smiled. "Whatever helps you
sleep at night."

He laughed as he answered the call. "Hey, sis."

Lily winked at her. Maybe meeting his family wouldn't be so
scary after all. Ash seemed like someone she would get along with.

"Calm down, Ash. There are still a few weeks to figure
things out. Worrying about it isn't good for the baby… Yeah, she is." His
eyes shifted to Aiden and a mischievous glint filled them. "Here she
is."

He held out the phone and she gaped at him. "W-what's
going on?"

"Ash wants to talk to you."

"Why?"

"Ask her," he chuckled.

She slowly lifted the phone to her ear and tried to keep her
voice from shaking. "Hello?"

"Aiden! Thank God you are there. I didn't know if he
was going to introduce you to us tonight or not. Anyway, I'm in a crisis. My
photographer just backed out of the wedding in a few weeks and I swear to God
if I see her face anywhere around town, I'll rip her hair out. She made some
lame excuse about going on vacation and not being able to cancel the trip. Can
you believe that? She's had this event scheduled for months and she tells me
this
now
? Oh, I'm Aislinn by the way, Gus' little sister."

Aiden's head was spinning. This woman could talk just as
fast as Aidy. "Umm, nice to meet you."

Gus covered a smile with his hand and she smacked his
shoulder. He could have warned her that his sister was a hyperactive, slightly
crazy, rambler.

"You too! I know you two are
just friends
, and
yes, I
am
using air quotes because come on… but I've heard so much about
you and I feel like I've known you forever. You'll have to fill me in on all
the shit you did to my brother when you guys were battling it out, but that
will have to wait for another day."

"Okay." Aiden's mouth turned up into a grin.
Aislinn Brannock was hysterical.

"Please, please,
please
be my photographer for
the wedding. I've had my bridals taken, but I didn't really like a lot of them
so if you could maybe take some after the wedding, too, I would owe you."

"Whoa, hold on. I don't know if I can do that. I mean,
you've never even seen my work."

"Yes I have. That picture Gus has of you is breath
taking and I don't even know how you took it. He's told me about all your other
work, too. I totally trust you."

She narrowed her eyes at Gus who had apparently heard his
sister and was doing everything possible to avoid her glare. "What
picture?"

Aislinn giggled. "Oh this is priceless. Do you know how
long I've waited to throw that man under the bus? The shit they did when we
were teenagers. It's so nice to finally get even with them. I'm assuming he
still hasn't told you he bought it."

"Nope."

"Good. I can tell you now." Aislinn laughed
maniacally and Aiden's anger quickly drained away. Gus' sister was pleasantly
evil when she wanted to be, a woman after her own heart.

"The picture you had displayed at your gallery showing,
the one of you on the roof, he bought it. Sent me a picture of it and I gotta
say, holy shit! You are good. So say yes to being my photographer."

Gus finally looked up at Aiden with a sheepish grin, trying
to pretend he wasn't nervous about her new discovery. She fell in love with him
a little bit more right then and there.

"Under one condition," she said, not taking her
eyes off of him.

Aislinn's smile was practically palpable, "And that
is?"

"You tell me every gory detail about Gus' awkward
teenage years."

Gus didn't even get a chance to argue before Aislinn agreed.

"Deal!"

He groaned and dropped his head to the table with a thud.

"Please tell me he looks terrified," Aislinn
begged.

"Oh, it's worse."

"Perfect! Babe, she said yes!"

Aiden heard a man's relieved voice in the background and she
could only imagine what kind of man Lucas Shade was to put up with a woman like
Aislinn. He must be completely devoted to her.

"Okay, tell Gus to be ready in a few minutes. We are
going to get, Dad, Con, and Em on Skype and call you guys back."

"Luke's created a monster," Gus groaned when she
handed him the phone. "My little sister used to be so sweet and shy. Never
had an inkling of the evil she now possesses. Not until Luke and her got
together."

"Well, good for her. I like her just the way she
is."

He smiled. "Me too."

She stood and cleared the rest of their plates while Gus
watched her carefully. "Um, are you mad?"

"About what?"

"The picture."

She sighed. "No, I'm not mad. Just surprised. You
didn't have to buy it."

"Yes, I did," he replied sternly. "I didn't
want anyone else to have that…"

He trailed off and looked away quickly. Before she could ask
what he meant, his laptop started chiming.

Time to meet the rest of the family.

Lily and Aidy stopped washing dishes and they all gathered
around him, Aiden at his side with his insistence, and Lily and Aidy behind
them. Aiden watched as multiple screens popped up revealing his family. Lucas
and Aislinn were there first and Gus immediately started in on how beautiful
his sister looked.

"Pregnancy is good for you, sis. You look just like Mom
only you're glowing."

Aislinn Brannock - soon to be Shade - was gorgeous. She had
the most beautiful long brown hair and her gray eyes twinkled the very second
she saw her brother. No matter what she said about the amount of crap they gave
her in life, you could tell she loved them fiercely.

Luke's hair was dark like Aislinn's and his eyes were a
light blue that reminded her of the sky on the clearest day. But it was the
pair of dimples that appeared when he smiled that told her exactly why Aislinn
'worshipped
the ground he walked on'
as Gus had so eloquently put it. Luke kissed Ash
on the cheek when she blushed at Gus' compliment and murmured something in her
ear, making her eyes widen.

"Hey now, Shady!" Gus snapped. "Don't you
dare be saying dirty things to my sister in front of me."

Luke laughed and flipped him off right as another couple
appeared in a box next to them. Gus' smile widened, but there was a hint of
sadness in his eyes. Aiden could see how much he missed his family and knew the
pain. It's what she felt when Lily had moved away to marry Brandon.

Conall looked like a harder, more serious version of Gus. He
smiled when he saw his younger brother, but there was a slight amount of relief
in there, too. Almost as if he had been waiting to see if all was well with his
little brother and finally had. His blue eyes were darker than Luke's, but they
shined at the same level of brightness when he looked over at the woman sitting
next to him.

Emily's green eyes sparkled when she got a first glimpse at
Gus. She was blonde, and not just any blonde. Her hair was the perfect blonde
that Lily had been dying to achieve her entire life. Aiden even heard Lily gasp
behind her before she felt the excitement flowing off of her. The moment the
opportunity presented itself, Lily was going to beg for Emily's secrets.

"Emily, when are you going to leave my grumpy ass
brother and find love with me?" Gus teased, making Conall glare
dangerously.

Emily giggled and shook her head, love shining through when
she replied. "Gus, you know you talk too much for me. Some girls just need
the strong silent type." She turned to Conall and smiled, "You can be
grumpy with me any day, baby."

They kissed tenderly and Gus pretended to gag. Conall caught
Aiden's eye and asked her to smack his little brother on the back of the head.
She was only too happy to oblige.

A third box appeared on the screen and an older version of
the two brothers appeared. William Brannock. Legend to his sons and hero to his
daughter. He was extremely handsome and she could only imagine what the younger
version of him must have looked like. No wonder Gus' mother had been so
passionate about her husband. William's blue eyes were like Conall's and it
finally became clear how Gus got the blue and gray in his own eyes. They had to
be a perfect mix of his mom and dad's traits.

"Fergus, Conall. You boys look well," William said
with a smile. "Emily, my dear, you are just as beautiful as ever."

Emily blushed and blew a kiss to the screen. This family
loved each other. Intensely. It caused the warm grip around Aiden's heart to
tighten. This is the kind of love she had with her own family.

"I see that gorgeous red hair my son has told me so
much about, but I can't decide which one of you he was talking about when he
said the words
'most beautiful girl in the whole world'
. Both are
stunning, son. Especially that little one I see behind you."

Aidy giggled and Gus turned and smiled at her. "They
both mean the world to me, so take your pick, Dad."

Ash and Emily gushed while Luke and Con both smiled wickedly.
Gus was going to get the teasing of a lifetime the minute they could get him
alone. Aiden, on the other hand, wanted to maul him right then and there.

"And you must be the little one's mother, Lily?"
William added, his eyes still looking behind us.

"Yes, sir," Lily replied.

"Liam, please. I get enough sir from my sons."

"How is everyone doing?" Gus asked, leaning back
and putting an arm over the back of Aiden's chair.

"First things first, asshat," Luke started.
"Introduce us to Aiden."

Gus' cheeks flushed the slightest pink and Aiden loved
seeing him this way. He wasn't just the tough, bad boy cop she had taken him
for in the beginning. He had a softness to him that the last several weeks had
clearly revealed.