The Proposition (28 page)

“No, he had two sisters.”

“But her only son.”

Emma nodded.

“Damn.” Aidan’s eyes widened when he realized
he had just cursed in church. “Sorry,” he mumbled under his breath.
He glanced over at Virginia to see if she had heard him, but
luckily, she was chatting up one of her friends.

Then the service got underway. Aidan listened
appreciatively as Emma belted out the hymns. His mind began to
wander during the sermon, and he was never more thankful when
church ended.

When he shot out of his seat, Emma laughed.
“Guess you’ve had your fill, huh?”

“You could say that.”

Earl came up behind them and thumped Aidan on
the shoulder. “Come on, son, I’d like to introduce you to a few
people.”

Aidan reluctantly nodded. He wasn’t quite
sure he wanted to hear the introductions Earl might make for him.
After all, he was just Emma’s boyfriend…or the sperm donor…or the
asshole who knocked up the sweet angel of the community.

Surprisingly everyone was very friendly and
welcoming. Of course, one guy continued staring daggers at him, and
Aidan wasn’t too surprised to learn it was Steve—another blast from
Emma’s past. Even though he had a beautiful wife beside him, Aidan
could tell Steve was very protective of Emma.

He was nevermore thankful when Earl ushered
him out the door and into the yard. After Earl finished introducing
him to just about everyone outside as well, Aidan craned his neck
through the crowd for Emma. A hand patted his arm. He glanced down
to see Virginia. His expression must have spoken volumes because
she pointed over his shoulder. Turning his head, he saw Emma
standing at the far side of the church cemetery. He then nodded at
Virginia, and she gave him an encouraging smile.

Drawing in a deep breath, he started weaving
his way through the maze of different shaped and colored
tombstones. Finally, he reached Emma. She stood stoic and silent in
front of a pink granite monument that read “Harrison”. Underneath
it were names “Noah and Katherine” along with their birth and death
dates. A large silk flower arrangement sat at the base of the
monument.

“Em,” he said softly, putting his arm around
her waist.

Tilting her head, she gave him a sad smile.
“I’m fine. Really. I always come out here when I visit.”

Aidan gazed at Emma’s father’s death date.
“Your mom never remarried?”

“For a little while. It was about five years
after my dad died. I was in middle school then. It only lasted a
couple of years. Not that Paul was a bad guy or anything. I still
talk to him from time to time. Mama just said there wasn’t anyone
in the world for her but my dad.”

Aidan nodded. “Sounds like Pop.”

They stood in silence for a few moments, the
wind rippling their hair and clothes. Aidan’s heartbeat accelerated
when Emma reached out and took his hand in hers. “I don’t remember
much about my father, but I know my mother would have loved you,”
she whispered.

He squeezed her hand. “I’m glad to hear that.
Considering how much Pop adores you, there should be no doubt how
my mother would feel.”

Emma smiled at him. “It’s good our baby will
have lots of guardian angels to watch over him or her.”

Thinking of his mother made Aidan’s throat
close up. He could barely croak, “Yes, it is.”

“Come on. We better get back. Grammy’s got a
feast waiting on us at the house.”

Aidan bobbed his head and let Emma lead him
back across the cemetery.

After making their goodbyes, they all piled
into the car to head back to Earl and Virginia’s. The moment they
entered the house, the wonderful aroma of a roast wafted back to
Emma. Grammy had risen early not only to prepare breakfast, but
lunch as well. Even after the insanely large breakfast she had
devoured, Emma’s stomach still rumbled. Inhaling sharply, Aidan
moaned in appreciation. “God, that smells like Heaven.”

Grammy smiled at him. “Thank you, son.” She
then wagged a finger at Emma. “You’re going to have to start
cooking more for your man.”

While it was silly, Emma still felt her
cheeks flushing at the mention of Aidan being
her
man. He
raised his eyebrows. “You mean you know how to cook like
that
,” he said, jerking his thumb towards the kitchen.

She giggled. “Of course I do.” She nodded her
head at Grammy. “I had the best culinary teacher anyone could
have.”

“Hmm, I’m in for a treat then.”

“Yeah, don’t hold your breath on that one.
Between work and the pregnancy exhaustion, I don’t have a lot of
time or energy for cooking.”

Grammy tsked as she wrapped her red gingham
apron around her waist. “You better start making time, sweet girl.
After all, the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach.” She
then winked at Aidan before heading into the kitchen.

When Aidan snickered at Grammy’s
admonishment, Emma nudged him in the stomach with her elbow. “Don’t
make me tell her the way to your heart is through your dick,” she
whispered.

Aidan’s eyes widened, and he made a strangled
noise. He glanced left and right before hissing, “I cannot believe
you just said
dick
in your grandparent’s house!”

Emma laughed. “And I love how you’re not even
trying to argue that it isn’t the truth!”

He scowled before easing down into one of the
dining room chairs. On her way into the kitchen to help Grammy, she
ruffled his hair playfully. He glanced at her over his shoulder and
grinned.

Two of her uncles along with their wives and
families sauntered in, filling the massive antique table to its
capacity. Emma edged Mary out of the way before she could plop down
next to Aidan. Even though she had won the bet, Mary seemed
hell-bent on continuing to see how far she could get with Aidan,
and Emma was happy to draw the line. Mary scowled at her before
stalking down to the “kids” table.

At the scuffle between the two, Aidan
chuckled. Emma responded by rolling her eyes. “Wipe the sexy little
smirk off your face, or you’ll keep encouraging her.”

“Nothing wrong with her stopping by to say
hello.”

“Oh really? Last night you didn’t seem too
taken with her attention.”

“And last night,
you
were encouraging
her, not
me
.” Leaning over, he nuzzled her neck before she
shoved him away. “Besides, I’m still not taken with her. It’s just
hilarious seeing you get your panties in a twist over a fawning
nineteen year old girl.”

“My panties are not in a twist,” Emma huffed,
smacking her linen napkin down in her lap.

He took her hand in his and brought it to his
lips. Kissing her knuckles, he gave her his best puppy dog
expression. “You know you’re the only one I want, right?”

Emma struggled to breathe. Even though he was
joking around with her, his words hit straight home. “Yes, I
know.”

Her heart melted when he winked at her. They
were interrupted by Earl taking his seat at the head of the table.
“All right everyone. Let’s return thanks.”

After Granddaddy gave the blessing, they
started passing the bowls and plates of food around. Filling hers
to the brim, Emma let the familiar portions melt on her tongue.
Glancing over at Aidan, he seemed to be enjoying the meal and
conversation just as much as she was. For a moment, she tried to
imagine what it would be like if this were every Sunday. Even if
she didn’t move back to the mountains, it was comforting to think
of Aidan being by her side for future Sunday dinners or family
events. She just didn’t know if that was getting her hopes up too
high.

When the main course and dessert were
finished, Grammy and her aunts started gathering up some of the
dishes. Emma rose out of her chair. “Here, I’ll help you clean up,”
she said.

“Thanks, honey,” Virginia replied.

While the rest of the men started vacating
the table to duck-out of cleanup duty, Earl nodded at Aidan. “Come
on out on the porch with me and the boys, son,” he suggested.

“Are you sure?” he asked.

Earl nodded. “We can leave the women folk to
the dishes while you tell me a little more about yourself.”

Emma couldn’t fight the smile spreading
across her cheeks. She knew if Granddaddy wanted to know more about
Aidan, then he had really made an impression. At his momentary
hesitation, she gave him a gentle nudge. Aidan finally put one foot
in front of the other to follow Granddaddy outside.

Once the dishes were done and the kitchen
cleaned, Emma hurried to check on Aidan. She skidded to a stop at
the sight of him lounging in the porch swing with a pocketknife in
one hand and a piece of wood in the other. Her mouth gaped open.
Before she could ask what the hell a city boy like himself was
doing whittling, he grinned. “Your granddaddy is teaching me.”

She laughed. “I see.” She motioned towards
the gleaming knife. “Just be careful, okay?”

“Aw, he’ll be fine. He’s not quite the
sissified city boy I originally thought he was,” Earl replied.

“High praise indeed,” Emma mused, easing down
next to Aidan. In a hushed voice, she murmured, “Don’t even think
about taking up chewing tobacco to impress Granddaddy. I won’t let
you anywhere near my mouth with a chaw of nastiness.”

He chuckled. “You have nothing to worry
about.”

As the afternoon wore on, Aidan put aside his
whittling and wrapped her in his arms. A happy sigh escaped her
lips as she snuggled against his chest. She tried ignoring the
flashback that assaulted her of sitting the same way with Travis
after Sunday lunch many years before.

While Grammy filled her in on some of the
local gossip she had missed in the last two weeks, Emma watched as
Aidan’s eyes grew heavy. It wasn’t long before the heave and sigh
of the porch swing caused him to nod off. She kissed his cheek and
rose out of his embrace. There was somewhere she wanted to return
to before they had to leave.

Aidan woke up to Beau’s tongue slurping
across his face. Rubbing his eyes, he peered around the front
porch. The rest of Emma’s extended family had left. Only Virginia
sat in one of the rockers, working on a quilt for the baby while
Earl read a newspaper. Aidan fought the urge to shake himself at
how he felt like he was in a scene straight out of a Norman
Rockwell painting.

“Well, hello there, sleepyhead. Decide to
finally wake up?” Virginia asked.

“Yes, ma’am. I apologize for nodding
off.”

She waved her hand dismissively at him. “Why
naps are the best parts of lazy Sunday afternoons.”

Aidan gazed around the porch. “Where’s
Emma?”

“Down at the dock.”

He nodded and motioned for Beau. After
pounding down the porch steps, he followed the winding path around
the house to the pond. When he got to the shoreline, he froze.

Emma sat on the end of the dock, dangling her
legs over the edge. Her sundress was hiked up to her thighs, and
she swirled her feet and calves around in the water. She leaned
back with one hand while the other rubbed wide circles around her
belly. A serene smile curved on her lips.

The mere sight of her sent a stabbing pain
ripping through his chest. It was a pang of true and pure emotion.
In that single instant, it was like the Earth shifted on its axis,
and every molecule in his body shuddered to a stop.

He was in love.

A suffocating panic crippled him, causing his
lungs to burn. He had never felt like this before. Not even what he
had with Amy could compare. The feelings flickering within him the
last few months had grown from a tiny ember into a raging fire. And
now that inferno of emotions threatened to consume him.

He loved Emma.

Fuck. He absolutely and completely loved her
with every fiber of his being. And that very fact scared the hell
out of him.

Aidan raked a trembling hand through his
hair. God, how had he let this happen? They had just been having
fun spending time together, enjoying each other’s company, not to
mention having great sex. He had done it dozens of other times with
assorted women. Of course, he had never gotten to this level of
emotion for them either. He always ended it way before that could
happen.

His foolish offer to
give
Emma more
had ended up
taking
more from him than he could have ever
bargained for. It felt like he was submerged in an undertow of his
feelings and was drowning hard and fast.

He needed desperately to get away from her.
If he could just put some distance between them, then his feelings
could change. He might be able to go back to the way he had felt
about her the weeks before or even the day before. But in reality,
he knew the depth of his lie. Every time he had been away on
business, he had missed her—sometimes even ached for her in his
heart, not his dick.

In the end, maybe it didn’t matter if he
loved her. He could not imagine giving up the entirety of his life
to being all she would need. To be choked by the responsibility of
being a husband and father…fuck no.

Aidan started to back away, but a twig
snapped beneath his feet, causing Emma to turn her head.

“Hey,” she called.

Beau raced past him and down the dock. He
splashed into the water, sending a small wave crashing over Emma.
“Beau, you stinker!” she shouted.

Aidan forced himself forward towards Emma.
She smiled at him as he approached. “Sorry, I left you in the
swing. I wanted to come down here before we had to leave, and you
were sleeping so peacefully I didn’t want to wake you. Especially
since I dragged you out of bed last night.”

“It’s okay.” He glanced down at his watch.
“We probably need to be heading back.”

Emma nodded and swung her legs out of the
water. After she pulled herself to her feet, she gasped.