Page 440 of Redeeming 6

“Listen to me. You are an unbelievable mam, and that kid is lucky to have you,” he urged. “You don’t need to second-guess a damn thing you do, Aoife. You honestly don’t, because you’ve got this, baby. You’re the glue. The three of us are here together because of you.” He squeezed my hand again. “AJ wouldn’t be here without you, and neither would I. So, don’t doubt yourself because you’re temporarily out of steam. The only reason you’ve been running on fumes in the first place is because you’ve spent your entire pregnancy picking up the slack for me.”

His words curled around my heart, and I shivered. “Joe, it’s okay. I understand. You were sick.”

“Yeah, I was,” he agreed. “And I can’t change that part of our story, but I can lighten the load for you now. I can step up now, Aoife, so let me do it, okay?” He cast a glance in my direction, imploring me with his clear green eyes to listen to him. “Let me take care of you.”

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“Joey?” Edel called out from behind the kitchen door. “Is that you, love?”

Standing in the utility room, I watched as my boyfriend fought an internal battle. I could see it in his eyes. I knew exactly what was happening in his brain. Joe was willing himself not to run. He was willing himself to trust the woman on the other side of the door.

“You’ve got this,” I whispered, reaching out to trace his cheek with my thumb.

Finding that inner steel I adored so much, he took a steadying breath and nodded to himself before calling out, “Yeah, it’s me.” I watched as he tightened his hold on AJ’s car seat and pushed the door open. “I brought a few people to see you.”

Pride.

It roared to life inside of me.

When we stepped into the kitchen, I was too overwhelmed to speak.

“Look at you,” Edel whispered, clasping the front of her apron with floury hands as her tear-filled gaze flicked from me to AJ, before settling on Joey. “Look at the man standing in my kitchen.”

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“Holy shit, Joe,” I spluttered when he let me inside his new digs. “This entire place is yours?” I spun around with our son in my arms, taking in the huge open-plan kitchen/living area. “Are these people fucking millionaires?”

“I think they are,” he replied with a frown as he set the empty car seat on the table. “It’s fairly wild, huh?”

“I’d say,” I replied, choking out a laugh. “Holy crap, this is insane.”

“It sure beats that mouse-infested flat in Elk’s Terrace we talked about, huh?”

“Yeah.” I laughed and then quickly spun back to face him, when awareness smacked me upside the head. “Wait, what?”

“Move in with me.”

I stood, unmoving, un-bloody-blinking, as I tried to absorb his words. “Huh?”

“Move in with me, Molloy,” Joey repeated, closing the space between us. “Live with me.”

“Here?”

“Here,” he confirmed with a nod. “For now, at least.”

My heart bucked wildly in my chest as my eyes roamed over his face, searching for the lie.

I didn’t find it.

“You’re serious,” I breathed, feeling dizzy. “You’re not joking.”

“No, I’m not,” he replied, clamping a hand down on my hip. “Be with me.”

“I am with you, Joe.”

“No.” He shook his head. “Be with me, Molloy.”

“In what way?”

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