Emilie's Baby

Eight

Emilie

It was official.

I would have no best friend once Rowan and I returned home.

Why? Because my oh-so-loving best friend decided that instead of packing me clothes for my honeymoon that wasn't, he was going to fill my luggage back nearly to the top with brand new lingerie. I didn't have a single item of clothing in the bag that covered my entire body at once, and I was sure that even if I somehow managed to sew all of the garments together, I'd still look like I belonged in the red light district.

Freakin' A!

I sighed to myself and eyed the other closed case on the bed. Maybe I should ask if I could borrow something to sleep in? At least until we could pick something up for me tomorrow. A small part of my brain yelled that we were married and it wouldn't matter either way, what's his is mine, right?

With that in mind, I unzipped the bag and grabbed the first shirt I could find, nearly sighing in content when my fingers came in contact with the buttery soft cotton t-shirt lying on top of everything else. With a grin, I pulled it out, re-zipped his bag and proceeded to redress for bed, not caring that his shirt swallowed me.

The sound of the shower rushed through the room, and an unbidden image of Rowan's wet, soapy body entered my mind. I had to admit one thing; he was sexy and I could have done a lot worse and been stuck with someone else, like Luke, my brother's all time best friend. I shivered. A yawn worked its way through my body and I realized just how tired I really way. My body ached from the long drive and my head was beginning to throb. Closing my eyes, I embraced the lack of light, but panicked as I realized something that hadn't occurred to me when we'd entered the room.

There was only one bed.

Rowan

I was so screwed.

Emilie though I was showering, but I had too much on my mind to just shower and I couldn't think with her in the same room.

I realized I was in trouble when I stepped into the hotel room.

There was a single king sized bed in the center of the bed and there was no couch. Of course, I could sleep on the floor, be a true gentleman and allow her to be comfortable and not complain once, but there was a problem.

I wanted to sleep with her. Of course, not in the sense that we had se-

Okay, so, maybe I really wanted to relive the night we'd conceived Peanut, but I wouldn't tell her that. Not a chance in hell.

She was already jumpy enough, especially once she found out that we were actually going to be alone for pretty much two weeks by ourselves. Now, she was going to jump ship if she found out that I wanted more than just a friendly little peck or even the steamy kiss we'd shared after our vows.

        "Rowan?" There was a hesitant knock on the door that pulled me from my mental rundown. Shaking my head, I called to her that I'd be a few more minutes and jumped into the shower, taking less than five minutes to wash, dry and redress.

 As I stepped out, my eyes landed on a tired looking Emilie curled up on the bed wearing what looked like nothing but my t-shirt, with her long bare legs glinting under the low light of the reading lamp. I swallowed hard. God was seriously punishing me.

Emilie

Rowan stepped out of the bathroom completely dressed and I couldn't help but be slightly disappointed, but I quickly pushed that away. We needed to talk about the bed situation.

I knew, knew he was going to offer to sleep on the floor, but I wasn't going to allow it. For two reasons. One, we were adults-- sort of. We were capable of sharing a bed and not acting like preteens. Two, we were now married. And, even if I still didn't completely agree with the fact that we were pretty much forced into this marriage, the point was there.

I was only so accepting due to the conversation Mama and I had prior to Rowan and I leaving the house.

        "Emilie Catherine, I want to speak with you alone, sweetheart." Mama called, tugging me from the safe enclosure of Mark's arms. I nodded at her, patting Mark's arm lightly and smiling over at an uncomfortable looking Rowan who had my cousin hanging over him. With a grimace, he attempted to smile back, but it fell flat and I couldn't contain the laugh that was dancing in my chest. I looked back up at Mama, frowning suddenly when she beamed at me, a mischievous look on her face. 

        "I know that look. Baby, you're going to have to face it, you're smitten." She whispered, smiling at me with her blue eyes. "Not that I blame you, because he's a gorgeous young man." I blushed furiously when my mother says this, but agree, knowing that she knows me almost better than even Nick does. 

        " What did you wanna talk about, Mama?" I asked, trying to avoid this specific topic. 

        "You're married, Emilie."   After a moment of giving her the 'and your point is' look, she scowled and tacked on "you have duties as a wife, sweetheart, but those should wait until you two at least know one another. What I want you to know is now that you're married, you need to make an attempt to get to know one another. It's going to be awkward and it won't be easy, but you're going to have to push past that and try. I want you to be happy. So, for your sake as well as that of Little Bit's, you need to try, you need to want this to work out, because honestly, you have no other option, Em." 

The car ride after that had been light hearted and filled with laughter as I took my mother's advice and tried to talk to Rowan, and for the most part, I liked what he had to say. He was, as my mother would put it, "A good ol' southern boy" who had no problem bucking up and taking responsibilities, and for that, I was grateful. 

        "Em, toss me a pillow, please?" Rowan asked, pulling me out of my own thoughts. I shook my head in reply and smiled at him when he looked at me questioningly. I wasn't really all that comfortable with this, but I wanted to make things work out and it wouldn't happen if I didn't make an effort. First step: Get comfortable with touching him and getting to know him. 

It was pretty much baby steps for now, and I wasn't sure if it would work or not, but I was willing to find out. 

        "No. Sleep up here with me, Row. Please?"