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aidan grunted .
`` do n't tell em that story .
she already blames me enough for noah 's stubbornness . ''
megan smiled .
`` let 's hope that this next baby has emma 's temperament . ''
`` like she is n't stubborn , '' aidan countered .
`` much less than you are , '' megan replied .
pursing his lips , he appeared to be surveying her words .
`` you might have a point , '' he said , with a grin .
after everyone finished eating , the adults lounged around the table talking and laughing while the kids went into the living room .
both mason and noah wanted to go with the bigger kids .
`` will you keep an eye on them ? ''
megan asked percy .
`` sure , '' he replied .
`` i owe you , perce , '' aidan said , as percy took the boys by the hand .
as he sat with his arm draped over the back of megan 's chair , pesh enjoyed listening to the lively conversation around him .
occasionally one of aidan 's sisters would ask him a question or his opinion .
he had always been naturally quiet , and when he got in the midst of such a lively bunch , he tended to be even quieter .
he realized if he was going to truly fit in , he was going to have to speak up more .
their conversation was interrupted by a shriek that came from the living room followed by a loud wail .
aidan was out of his chair in a flash while megan was close on his heels .
mason came running into the dining room .
`` what happened ? ''
pesh asked .
`` noah got hurted . ''
aidan reappeared in the dining room with noah in his arms .
`` he 's fine .
he just fell down . ''
taking noah 's hand , aidan said , `` here daddy will kiss the booboos away , okay ? ''
noah sniffled and bobbed his head .
once aidan finish with his hand , noah stuck out his leg .
aidan smiled .
`` okay . ''
once he bent down to noah 's leg and kissed it , he asked , `` are you daddy 's boy ? ''
`` uh-huh . ''
angie chuckled .
`` that 's not fair to do that when emma is n't here . ''
as the others laughed , pesh glanced at mason .
he was staring at aidan and noah with a contemplative look on his face .
never in a million years could he have imagined what he would do next .
mason crawled up into his lap and patted pesh 's chest .
`` esh mace 's daddy .
mace daddy 's boy . ''
conversation in the dining room silenced .
without even looking up , pesh felt his skin singing under the burn of everyone staring at him and mason .
there was no way he could deny the boy when he wore such an expression of happiness .
`` yes , you 're daddy 's boy . ''
a strangled cry caused him to snap his gaze from mason over to megan .
wide-eyed and open mouthed , she blinked a few times as if she were trying to believe that what she was seeing was real .
then without another word , she bolted from her chair and fled the room .
pesh sat in a shocked silence for a few seconds trying to decide what to do .
bending over , he whispered into mason 's ear , `` will you go back and play with the others ?
i need to check on mommy . ''
when mason nodded , pesh gently sat him back down on the floor .
after he raced out of the dining room , pesh finally glanced at the others .
`` excuse me , '' he said , before rising out of his chair .
he made his way down the hallway .
he did n't have to look hard for megan-she was in the one bedroom with the door closed .
he rapped lightly on the wood .
when she did n't answer , he went ahead and opened the door .
he found her sitting on the edge of the bed with her head in her hands .
he went over and sat down next to her .
tentatively , he put his hand on her back .
`` i 'm sorry for not setting mason straight and telling him i was n't his daddy .
he looked so happy , and i did n't want to hurt him . ''
with her elbows braced on her knees , megan turned her head to look at him .
tears streamed down her cheeks .
`` you think i 'm angry at you ? ''
he nodded his head .
she hiccupped a cry .
`` oh pesh , you 're so naive sometimes ! ''
he jerked back at her words .
`` excuse me ? ''
`` just when i think i ca n't love you more , you go and do something like that . ''
before he could process her words , she threw herself at him , kissing his cheeks and mouth .
she straddled his lap and brought her hands around his neck .
`` you really love mason , do n't you ? ''
`` of course i do . ''
`` you could see yourself really being a father to him ? ''
`` yes , i could .
but what- '' she silenced him with a kiss .
it was one that was laced with desperate emotions .
he wrapped his hands around her waist and drew her closer to him .
just as he was about to deepen the kiss , she pulled away .
`` you love me too , do n't you ? ''
`` you should have no doubts on that one . ''
`` you love me enough to be a husband to me ? ''
her question caused him to suck in a harsh breath .
he felt like he had been kicked in the gut .
`` yes , i could-i always have . ''
she tilted her head at him and smiled .
`` then marry me . ''
`` excuse me ? ''
bringing her lips to his , she murmured against his mouth , `` marry me .
make me your wife . ''
at that moment , he thanked god he was sitting down because if he had n't been , he was pretty sure he would 've done something totally emasculating like fainting .
he also questioned both his hearing and his sanity .
had megan just proposed to him ?
surely , he was hallucinating .
`` did you just ask me to marry you ? ''