The Engagement

Chapter Three

They only allowed a few visitors at a time. Emme patiently waited for her turn, ignoring Alex, though he made it difficult. The man was like a live wire, pulling everything around him to him with little effort. That she even noticed him frustrated her. The worst part she thought, was he did it with so little effort. Just as he had when they were kids. But she wasn't falling down that rabbit hole again.

When Kate and Josh appeared in the waiting room again, she stood up, thrilled to get a look at the baby. Alex fell in next to her, and she wanted to do a number of things; but instead, she pretended he wasn't next to her as they walked down the hall in tandem.

"You can't pretend I'm not here forever."

She didn't look at him. "Yes I can."

"I fail to see how you insulting me, gets me the silent treatment."

She shot him a glare. "Speaking the truth isn't an insult."

"I beg to differ."

"I'm not going to argue with a man who does it for a living."

He laughed softly. "That's never stopped you before."

She ground her teeth. "Can we just get through this visit civilly?"

He reached out, tugging on her hair. "I don't know, can we?"

Hand automatically going to where he touched, not liking the tingling of her scalp, she snapped, "Why did you just pull my hair?"

He held up his hand. A small piece of fuzz balanced in his palm. "You had this in it."

Sometimes, she thought he did things just to aggravate her. Manners had her thanking him anyway.

"You sound like you swallowed something sour."

"Alex..."

They fell silent as they entered the hospital room. Ashlyn lay in bed, a small, pink bundle cuddled in her arms. Deacon sat next to her, and Emme thought she never saw her friend look so happy. Despite having given birth a short while before, Ashlyn glowed in her own happiness. The baby squirmed, making a little squeak. When Ashlyn rubbed her cheek on the baby's, she stilled.

Alex approached first, handing Deacon the flowers. "Who do we have here?"

"Josephine Margaret," Ashlyn told him, smiling.

Peering down at the baby, a tiny, delicate face peered back at her. Bright blue eyes, so alert for a newborn only a few hours old, stared directly at her. In love, Emme reached out and stroked Josephine's face. The baby yawned in response.

"She's beautiful, Ashlyn."

"Want to hold her?"

"Oh, yes, please."

Her friend laughed, carefully handing over the baby. Emme snuggled her close, turning to catch Alex watching her. Something odd filtered through his face, but his eyes remained unfathomable. With the soft, warm baby in her arms, Emme could care less what he thought of her right now.

Alex rounded the bed, speaking to Deacon. Clapping him on the shoulder, he grinned. "Congrats, man."

"Thank you, Alex. And for the flowers."

They fell into an easy conversation, and Emme looked away, bouncing the baby gently. Her ovaries twinged, and she silently told her biological clock to stuff it. Whether she loved babies or not, she didn't have time to be a mother. Not when her business was truly taking off. In the next year, she hoped to build it up to the point where she could hire employees, and maybe get a break here and there.