Chapter 17 Emma
Chapter seventeen
Emma
Babies teethe?
~ The Next Day ~
“Is everyone ready?” Nancy asks as we make our way to the door.
We’re about to head to the arena to watch Greyson play, and I’m excited to be doing this with his family. They’re so welcoming and loving. It’s easy to feel at home with them. Plus, I get to spend one-on-one time with Aubrey, which doesn’t happen often.
Apparently, every time Greyson plays in Toronto, his family comes out to watch. They all wear matching jerseys with his name on the back. Gracie and I are also wearing our special jerseys tonight. They’re so supportive of their son, and it’s beautiful to watch.
“Yup! Let’s go, doll. My son is probably already looking for you in the stands,” Andrew says with a wink as he passes by me and heads for the car.
“Of course he is. Have you seen me? Who could resist,” I joke, touching my hair and posing slightly.
“He’s not even on the ice yet, Dad,” Aubrey tells him with an eye roll. “You two are horrible together. I don’t know what Greyson was thinking,” she adds, shaking her head while Nancy and I giggle as she buckles Gracie into her car seat.
We’re all settled in by the time the boys make their way onto the ice. It doesn’t take long for Greyson to spot us and come over like he did the first time, handing a puck over for Gracie. She even latches on to his hand when he has it through the little hole.
She giggles and shrieks every time she sees her dad now. At first, you could tell this was all new to her, and she wasn’t sure who he was. But now she recognizes him every time, and it’s adorable to see. Even when we watch his games on TV and the camera zooms in on him, she notices her daddy.
“I’m gonna miss you guys,” he says, looking at his daughter, then to me.
Fluttering butterflies erupt in my stomach as I smile softly. “We’ll miss you, too. I’ll call you when we land tomorrow.”
He nods and says bye to his parents and sister, then skates off. We also get a little visit from Silas, Clay, Noah, and Gabe. These guys really are just one big family.
“Can we get a picture of the Ford family? For our social media page,” a photographer for the team asks from beside us.
I’m about to pass Gracie over to Nancy and step back, but Andrew puts his arm around me and forces me to stay in place, clearly picking up on what I was about to do.
The man takes a few pictures, looks at his camera, then says, “That’s perfect, thank you. Now just mommy and baby.”
I’m a bit confused by the comment and stand frozen in place. Nancy pushes me forward with Gracie on my hip. The photographer places his camera and instructs me to smile. On autopilot, I do as asked and smile, looking down at Gracie as she giggles while playing with my hair.
“Beautiful. Thank you again. Enjoy the game.” He smiles and goes back to taking pictures of the players and other families around.
I’m still a little shocked as I take my seat between Nancy and Aubrey. “I should have corrected him. Now people will think I’m her mom,” I mumble more to myself than anyone else.
“It’s okay, love. I’m sure Greyson won’t be upset by the mistake. And it most likely will happen often with how much time you three spend together,” Nancy says, patting my thigh before she takes Gracie from my arms and rubs her nose against Little Tulip’s.
“It just doesn’t seem fair to claim being her mother when there’s a chance people who do know her real mom see that picture. It feels a bit disrespectful,” I say, biting my lip.
“But you didn’t claim to be her mom, and from what I’ve seen so far, you’ve never made it seem that way, either. It was an honest mistake on the photographer’s part. Not yours. Anyway, I’m sure once they figure it out, they will correct it,” Aubrey tries to reassure me.
She always has such a delicate, soothing voice, just like Morgan, but Brey’s is always so peaceful, even when she’s emotional. When she says something, you’re drawn to listen.
We watch the game play out, and I have to admit, the boys are seriously impressive.
Greyson, Clay, and Silas are really a power trio.
I understand why Shane always puts them together on the starting line.
They work so well and communicate without even looking at each other.
It’s as if they always know what the other will do or where they’ll be.
I look over to the players’ bench, where Shane is talking into a player’s ear. He suddenly looks up my way and smiles, then his eyes fall on Aubrey, who’s also watching him. His features turn into something I could only describe as infatuation.
She mouths a “thank you” with that same look in her eyes. He smiles lovingly and places his hand over his heart.
Aubrey looks down at her lap and pushes her hair behind her ear, smiling to herself timidly as her cheeks take on a pink shade. But Shane doesn’t look away immediately. Instead, he watches her with longing before reluctantly turning back to his job.
I wonder how long it will take them to admit their feelings for each other.
It’s clear as day, but both live in denial of their emotions.
I don’t get it. I feel like their love story will be one in the making for a long time before they finally give in.
But once they do, it will be explosive. I can’t wait to see it happen.
“So how are you feeling? Regarding the gift,” I ask Brey quietly, not to gain her parents’ attention.
She peeks over at me, then back down to her hands. “I don’t know. I don’t understand why he would send me such a gift. He must have paid a fortune for that ticket…” she whispers.
“He likes you, baby Brey. It’s obvious to anyone who can see. And we all know you like him too, even if you keep saying otherwise. So what’s the deal?”
“I don’t get why he’d be into me. He’s so much older and good-looking.
I’m so young and just… me. Plus I'm super inexperienced; he’ll probably change his mind once he discovers that.
What thirty-six-year-old successful man wants to be with a twenty-three-year-old virgin dropout?
” She shakes her head with an annoyed look.
“Aubrey, you’re beautiful, smart, and so talented. You’re extremely mature for your age, anyone can see that. So what if you’re young and inexperienced? I’m sure Shane doesn’t care about that in the least. And even if he did, the heart wants what the heart wants.”
She smiles softly, then finally looks up at me. “Like you and my brother?”
“Uh… I’m not touching that subject.” I giggle and play with my hair.
“You know, normally I’d tell you Grey is not the guy you want to have feelings for, but I see the way you two are together. He’s different with you. It’s not a match I would have necessarily predicted, but now I see it under a new light, and I think you could be happy together.”
“I don’t know. It’s too soon and complicated to even think that way.”
“Well, maybe just keep an open mind about it. I wouldn’t mind having you as my sister.” She bumps her shoulder into mine with a chuckle.
~ Two Days Later ~
The plane ride home didn’t go as smoothly as the first. I'm not sure if Little Tulip could sense her dad was missing or if she was just in a cranky mood, but she cried most of the way, no matter how much Aubrey and I tried to soothe her. Thank God it was only a two-hour flight.
Today isn’t any better. Gracie is still in a fussy mood. She isn’t eating much or drinking either, and I’m getting a bit worried. It’s why I called Cece over, hoping she might know what’s wrong.
“I’m here. Where’s the little princess?” she says as she walks through the door with Dante.
“I just put her down in her swing, but she hasn’t lasted longer than thirty minutes without waking up crying.
It’s been like that since yesterday. She doesn’t seem to have a fever, but she’s irritated and has hardly taken anything I give to her,” I inform her as we walk over to the sleeping little flower.
Cecilia lets go of Dante’s hand and lets him wander over to the toys we have set aside while she crouches down in front of Gracie. She caresses her red cheeks, then pulls down her bottom lip tentatively and smiles. “I think this little one is teething.”
“Really? That’s why she’s been so moody?” I ask, a little shocked. I completely forgot babies go through this. Now I just feel stupid.
“Oh, yeah. Dante turns into a monster when a new one comes out. Silas even took him to the hospital the first time because he didn’t know what was wrong and couldn’t get him to calm down.” She chuckles.
“Okay, well that makes me feel a bit better if you say it’s normal. What can we do to help her?”
She stands back up and we walk over to the kitchen, not wanting to disturb Gracie in her little moment of sleep.
“They sell products for teething babies to help with the pain. She might get a fever, which is normal. You could also try freezing some of her milk and letting her suck on it, that should help, too.”
“Okay, yeah. I’ll try that. I’ll see if I can order some things and get them delivered.” I take my phone, ready to do some online shopping, when it lights up with an incoming call from Greyson. I changed his name to ‘Wolf’ in my phone, and he frowned when he saw it. It was funny.
“Hey, how is she doing?” he asks once I answer his video call.
“She’s pretty much the same. I got her down for a little nap, but I know it won’t last long. Cece just showed up and said she’s teething. It’s why she’s fussy. I was just about to get everything we need to help her out a bit.”
“Babies teethe?” he asks with confusion written all over his face.
Cecilia giggles from beside me as she pours us each a much-needed glass of wine. “Oh, you two are so adorable. Yes, babies grow teeth. They don’t just magically appear when you’re five.”