The Absolution of Aidan (The Syndicate Series Book 3) by Kathy Coopmans Page B

the table and walk down the hallway, stopping short of the spare bedroom when I hear Aidan talking to Diesel about the first bike he’s going to buy him.
    It’s cute, really, listening to him carry on like he’s having a conversion with someone who understands what he’s saying.
    I back away soundlessly, deciding it’s time for dinner. It’s been a long time since I’ve actually cooked a meal. It’s what I went to school for. Cooking and baking were something my mom and I have always done together. I’m overly passionate about it. There were days when I was growing up when I would start dinner the minute I returned home from school. Other days, I would create my own recipes. I miss my job at Buttercup Bakery, which is over on 2 nd Street. Thank god, my uncle owns the place and my job is there for me whenever I’m ready to return. I would give anything to be able to go back to work, but I’m not sure if I’m ready to leave Diesel, yet. I know the time is coming soon, but the idea of anyone else taking care of him all day long doesn’t sit well with me.
    I throw my hands up in frustration over it all. I’m not going to worry about any of it tonight. There’s already too much rattling around in my scatter-brained head, tugging and pulling me in every direction. Especially the man who’s entertaining our child while I’m out here pulling items out of the fridge to cook… I look down at the food in my hands. Of course it’s his favorite, my raspberry chicken. Now I’m sub-consciously as well as consciously thinking about the man.
    You know what? I say to myself. Fuck it. I’m making it. He deserves it, especially after everything he’s done in one day to prove to me he’s going to be around to help raise our son.
    I remember all too well how Aidan would praise my cooking and baking when he stayed with me. Like with everything, I need to make the chicken and maple carrots with brown butter. I begin chopping and dicing food. The feeling of having my knife in my hands is phenomenal. The smell of the spices in the air steadies my unstable mind, and I float away. Concentrating, preparing, and setting the oven and the heat on the stove. I’m so in my element that I jump when I see Aidan standing in the doorway to the kitchen, his arms spread wide, clinging onto the jamb.
    “I promise to kiss you goodnight if you tell me you’re making that chicken I love.” I could totally get used to this, especially if his drop-dead handsome smile and those pulse-pounding eyes land on me every single day.
    “I am making the chicken, but you don’t have to kiss me for it.” I shrug like it’s no big deal. It really isn’t. He knows from while we were trapped in my apartment last year, how much I enjoy doing this. Hell, it was the only thing that kept me from losing my mind. It was the only time we weren’t at each other’s throats.
    I turn my back to him, preparing the final touches on the chicken before placing it in the oven. The heat from his stare to my backside is fiercer than the heat coming from the oven.
    “Listen to me for a minute, Deidre.” He’s standing directly behind me now. I take a deep breath. He’s so close I can smell him over the scent of the spices that are engulfing my face.
    “Okay,” I manage to say weakly.
    “I should have asked if I could stay here instead of demanding it. The last thing I want to do is make you feel uncomfortable, especially in your own home. I’ll leave if you want me to.” Oh hell, now the man is going to be sweet.
    “It’s fine, Aidan. I have to get used to it, is all.” If you don’t move away from me though, I may spontaneously combust here on the spot. I don’t say those words out loud. No freaking way.
    “You sure?” he asks.
    I turn around and stare up at him. God, he’s simply divine.
    “I’m sure.” I’m not giving him any more than that. I spin back around, pick up the dish, side-stepping around him, and place it in the oven, set the timer,