Chapter Three
With just three weeks until her due date, Sunny didn’t like that her whole life was being uprooted by one very stubborn, hot man.
She felt the need to nest and get settled, not to pack up all her shit and move into his loft.
Her only saving grace was that she didn’t have much for the baby.
She was trying to be frugal and only pick up things as she needed them, but her little one was going to be here shortly, and she didn’t even have diapers for her.
Aaron asked her where the crib was, and when she shrugged and said that she didn’t have one yet, he looked horrified.
After they helped clean up at Sawyer and Lorna’s wedding, Aaron stayed true to his word and forced her to eat something.
He then took her back into town and found the only open clinic to have her and the baby checked out.
It was a relief to hear their daughter’s little heartbeat, and they even did a sonogram to make sure that she was safe.
She was always mesmerized every time she got the chance to see pictures of her baby.
But watching Aaron’s face when he saw their daughter’s profile pop up on the screen was magical.
Every emotion that she felt the first time she saw her baby was right there, shining through in his eyes.
The doctor sent her home, telling her that she needed to rest. Sunny probably overdid it with Christmas and Lorna’s wedding, so he wanted her to be either in bed or on the sofa as much as possible.
She wanted to protest, but secretly craved being able to just lie around for a few days and do nothing—it would be like heaven.
Still, Aaron was back in her life for all of ten minutes, and he was already being bossy and demanding.
Having him around was going to take some time to get used to.
She was prepared to go through bringing her baby into this world by herself.
Now, she had Mister Bossy Pants with his perfect body and great ass telling her what to do.
If she was being honest, a part of her liked the way that he dived head-first into her crazy life to help.
She was scared to death that she was going to screw this baby up.
Having Aaron around to tell her that she was a hot mess might not be such a bad thing.
He always had a way of telling her the truth, no matter how bad it was, while at the same time making her feel like everything was going to be all right.
She didn’t like having to explain to her parents and siblings, late Christmas night, that not only was Aaron the father of her baby, but that he was packing her up and whisking her off to his house.
Her mother was skeptical, questioning if Sunny knew what she was doing.
Luckily for her, both of her parents were free spirits who’d raised her to follow her heart.
And Lord help her, but her heart wanted Aaron Steele.
She tried to hold onto the anger that had built up over the past few months that he was gone, but she just couldn’t.
He made her sit on her bed while he packed her meager belongings.
He carried everything to his truck, not letting her lift a finger to help.
When she complained that she was a grown-ass woman capable of taking care of herself, Aaron simply pointed to the bed and told her to sit.
She was tired. It was a long few days making Lorna’s cake and helping her get ready for her big day.
Emotionally, she was all rung out, watching her two friends express their love for each other and finding out that her best friend was going to have a baby.
Piper deserved so much happiness, and now she would have that with Tag and the baby that was on the way.
But a part of her felt sadness and even loss today with the realization that she was all alone in her pregnancy and her feelings towards Aaron.
Until he showed up at Piper and Tag’s cabin, she wasn’t sure that she would ever see him again, and that thought broke her heart.
Now, he was here, taking over her life, and all she could do was sit back and let him.
Well, that and enjoy the view of his very fine backside as he loaded up the truck.
Sunny’s parents told her that she and the baby were always welcome back if things didn’t work out with Aaron.
She wanted to tell them that she wasn’t trying to “work anything out” with him, but that would have involved admitting that they weren’t together.
Her parents were all about following her path, but they were also traditionalists who liked the idea that Sunny wouldn’t be alone in raising her daughter.
So, she thanked her mom and kissed her cheek, saying goodbye.
Her little sister, Willa, told her that she was happy that they weren’t sharing a room anymore because she snored.
Aaron laughed at her sister’s comment until she shot him an angry glance.
Sunny reminded them both that she was growing a human inside of her body and that there was very little room left for nonsense like air.
Heck, she knew for a fact that Aaron snored from their one night together.
She blushed thinking about it, and her heart raced.
Aaron looked at her almost as if he could read her mind and winked.
If he only knew that she was thinking about the way he stripped her out of her clothes and made love to her on the staircase at his loft, he would probably be blushing too.
They finally made it back into town at about sunrise, and it took every ounce of her strength to climb out of Aaron’s pickup truck and try to make it up the steps to his loft.
About halfway there, he lifted her into his arms, and she curled into his chest.
“Thank you, Aaron. I’m so tired,” she said around a yawn.
“Baby, you’ve had a long day. Actually, it’s been a long two days.
” She nodded against his chest, already feeling herself drifting off.
“I’m going to tuck you into bed, and then I’ll bring your stuff in from my truck.
” She wanted to thank him, or at least acknowledge that she heard him, but she wasn’t sure that any of that came through.
Aaron sat her on the side of his bed and helped her out of her coat and boots.
He then slid her dress over her head, leaving her in just her bra and panties.
She knew that her body was completely changed from the pregnancy, but she didn’t have the energy to care about her enormous belly or the stretch marks that covered it like a road map.
The last thing she remembered was Aaron laying her in his bed and covering her with a heavy down comforter, and Sunny felt like she was home.
Aaron unloaded his pickup and put the two small suitcases that contained Sunny’s whole life in his bedroom.
There was no fucking way that she was going to sleep in his spare room.
He would spend the rest of Christmas taking care of Sunny the way he should have been for the past eight months, but he was a stubborn ass.
How he left town without giving her the chance to tell him about the baby only drove that point home.
She was right—he completely ignored her for months after their night together.
He didn’t allow her to tell him anything, and he missed the first eight months of his daughter’s existence.
He was determined to make it up to both Sunny and his little girl.
First, he was going to turn his third bedroom into a nursery for their daughter.
Sunny was completely unprepared for their little one to arrive—she didn’t even have a crib.
It baffled him that she was so unprepared for the baby when she was due in just a few short weeks.
He would have his work cut out for him, but there was no turning back from this.
Sunny and his daughter were his top priority now, and that thought should have scared the shit out of him, but it didn’t.
Taking care of them both gave him a peace that he hadn’t felt in a very long time.
Being with Sunny and having her in his arms again felt right—like coming home.
Before he and Sunny jumped into bed together last April, they were friends.
Honestly, what he had with Sunny always felt like more than friendship, but he was too much of a chicken to admit it.
Now that she was having his baby, he didn’t mind admitting that Sunny took up a place in his heart, and he was ready to explore what that meant—for their daughter’s sake, if not for his own.
First, he would have to convince her that he was worth taking a chance on.
He needed to tell her why he left and about the demons that haunted his past. If she still wanted to stick around and let him try to be a father to their daughter, he would get down on his knees to thank her.
He knew that he would probably make a crappy dad, but he wanted to try.
For Sunny and his baby, he would face the ghosts that haunted him every night and try to be the man who deserved a place in their lives.