Chapter Sixty-Five
Aaron had started wearing out a tread in the carpet in his room; he'd been pacing for the past hour or so. He just couldn't figure out what to do about Isabella. Obviously, his family knew now and there was a good chance his brother had blabbed to her sister. It put some pressure on him to tell her sooner rather than later. Aside from their 'date' at the ice cream shop, they'd not had any outings as such, but he'd seen her around the house when he was helping Sean and Tatum with their little baby corner of the bedroom. She didn't give anything away to indicate she might have known about his feelings, but he didn't want to risk anything.
He gave a loud sigh in frustration as he went through his hair with both hands. Why was this so complicated? He never had problems with dating before, except of course those were always flings. They rarely ever lasted beyond a couple of weeks at most and no other woman had ever made him feel as nervous as the Colombian beauty.
"Right," he said to himself as he stopped pacing and turned to face his mirror. "Isabella… Izzy…" he corrected, stuffing his hands in his pockets in an attempt to look casual and immediately changing his mind; it looked dumb. "I know I've not always been… that is to say, I know I've been… well a jerk to you 'n yours," Aaron started his apology, before shaking his head. "No, not good enough," he gave himself an exasperated look. "You suck at this," he commented, and it wasn't often that he wasn't confident that he was the best at something. But words, they were definitely more his brother's territory.
"You don't suck," his mother's voice made him jump. "And you're definitely not a jerk," she added as she leaned against the door frame, looking at her oldest son proudly. Her youngest son was halfway to having his life sorted with a lovely girl and a baby on the way, even if her husband was being a stubborn ass about it. She wanted the same for him.
"I'm sorry to say it, but I definitely have been mama," Aaron told her regrettably, as he sank down on the foot of his bed.
"I find that hard to believe," Martha said as she sat down next to him.
He gave her a sorry look as he pulled her in for a sideways hug. He wondered how much his mother knew about what he was really like, when he was doing things for his father as they worked to expand the family business and tried to acquire Bellum from Grayson and then his daughters. "Yeah, I know, I'm sorry mama," he told her now.
"I think you only need to be sorry for things you don't do," his mother said cryptically, getting a confused look back. "With Isabella," she clarified. "You need to tell her how you feel," Martha encouraged him.
"Don't you think I know?" Aaron huffed in response, pulling his arm back as he slouched, feeling overwhelmed. He had no idea how to go about this.
"Keep trying and be yourself. That's what women respond to best," she advised him, already trying to think of how she could help him. She went through his hair with a loving smile, as only a mother could. He gave her a disgruntled smile in response to the hair rub, but then gave her a real one.
"Thanks mama," he said as he gave her a proper hug now. He still didn't know what to say or do, but she'd at least made him feel a little better about the prospect.
Tatum groaned as she tried to get comfortable. She was seriously getting frustrated with her big bump, as she'd been so uncomfortable all day. She'd woken up when Sean got up for work and not been able to get back to sleep, which had left her with a nutty headache. In an attempt to ease her aching back, she'd already had a bath, done some stretches and tried every single seat in the house. Nothing had worked.
"Gah," she complained as she chucked the cushion, that had been behind her back, away down the porch.
"Everything okay?" Sean asked with a chuckle as he picked it up, just getting home from work.
"No, I can't get comfortable," his girlfriend complained, trying not to sound too whiney, as she flapped her hands down beside her.
He fought back a smile, thinking she looked like she was about to throw a tantrum, but knowing she would not take him laughing at her kindly. "Can I help?" he offered, approaching her carefully.
"Sure," she shrugged. "It couldn't get any worse."
Sean knew better than to take it personal; the first time he had when she was in a bad mood, she'd ended up crying as she thought he was being mean. He was in no rush to have a repeat. "Move up," he told her as he gave her a light nudge. Tatum gave him a look before she did so. He sat down in the corner of the two-seater she'd just vacated and turned her away from him slightly, so he could reach her back properly. "Is this where it hurts?" he asked, massaging the small of her back firmly.
"Oh, yeah, right there," she moaned in relief. That was exactly what she needed. "Oh God. Sean, you're so good at that," she continued appreciatively.
"Tate," he warned her a little embarrassed as he stopped and looked around; people would think they were up to something completely different.
"Who's gonna hear? We don't have any neighbours and Izzy's at the bar," Tatum told him, nudging his leg for him to keep going. "Honey," she whined when he didn't immediately do as she said. He chuckled softly as he started massaging her again.
After about five minutes, he'd evened out most of her pain. Sean manoeuvred her out his way slightly, so he could bring one leg round behind her and then motioned for her to move back so she'd be leaning against his chest. Her look blatantly said she wasn't sure about this. "Just do it," Sean told her strictly, but gave her a smile before she could tell him off. His girlfriend rolled her eyes at him before she did as he said, moving back against him. He wrapped his arms around her as she tried to get comfortable. "Better?" he asked as he leaned his head against hers, using his outside leg to gently push so the seat started swinging slowly.
"Hm, maybe," Tatum conceded grudgingly, managing a giggle when he nuzzled her neck. "Thank you," she told him softly, resting her hands on his arms.
"Anytime," he promised, and after a few minutes he could tell the gentle swinging was sending her to sleep. He decided to let her, as she'd not slept much the past few nights. He gently rubbed her bump, knowing she found it comforting and calming, for both herself and the baby. "Wow, did you feel that?" Sean asked, almost jumping a mile and jostling his girlfriend when he felt a sharp poke under his hand from her belly.
"Ouch. Well yeah, she's been kickin' me from the inside," she said a little grumpy, annoyed at the way he'd moved her when she'd finally gotten comfortable for the first time that day.
He smiled a little as he pulled her back into his arms and hugged her. "I'm sorry cookie, it just took me a little by surprise," he apologised, kissing her cheek as he went back to rubbing her belly. He jumped a little when he felt another kick. "Oh my god, this is so weird," he said, making her smile to herself. "How does it feel? Does it hurt?"
"It's not too bad right now," Tatum admitted. "It's funny when she hiccups," she added with a small chuckle.
"She?" he asked a little surprised, finally picking up on what she was saying; she hadn't mentioned finding out about the sex of the baby before now and he knew her well enough to know that she would not be able to keep that piece of information to herself.
"I can't be bothered to say he or she every time and I don't wanna say 'it'," she explained as she leant back against him more. She started dozing off as he pressed kisses to her hair.
"Wow," Sean said again after a few minutes, pulling her from her sleep.
"Wha-?" she asked, but he was wordlessly staring at her belly. As she looked down, she saw a foot, or an elbow, almost pop out and even she was taken by surprise. "I've never seen it that clearly before," she said softly. She laughed when the baby moved visibly again. "That looks so creepy," the redhead said in wonder, feeling her boyfriend nod silently.
"I can't believe it, that's our baby. I bet he's gonna be a big football star," he said softly, sounding proud as he kissed her cheek again; it was obviously going to be a boy with movements and kicks like that. He had no idea how much that comment meant to her, as it totally made her melt. Tatum turned towards him to kiss him, feeling him smile as he kissed her back.