The Proposition (29 page)

“What’s wrong?” She stood frozen, her hand
pressed against her stomach. Aidan took a step forward. “Em?”

She grabbed his hand and placed it where hers
had just been. “Feel that?”

Aidan almost jerked away at the slight
vibrations beneath his fingertips. His heart shuddered to a stop
before restarting. The baby—
his
baby—was moving. “Yes,” he
croaked.

Emma beamed up at him. “It’s amazing, isn’t
it?”

He was too overwhelmed to speak, so he bobbed
his head. “I’ve never felt it move before. I’m so glad you were
here with me when it happened.”

“Me too.”

When the movement stopped, Emma wrapped her
arms around Aidan’s neck. “I can never thank you enough for giving
me this wonderful gift of life. You’ve made me the happiest woman
in the world, and I love you for it.” He widened his eyes at her
words while she leaned in and kissed him. “I love you, Aidan,” she
murmured against his lips.

Part of him wanted to be honest with her and
himself and openly admit that he loved her. But the hardened part
of him refused to let go and give her those three simple words. He
pulled away from her kiss. “Em, I…”

Although hurt radiated in her eyes, Emma gave
him a shy smile. “It’s okay. You don’t have to say it back. I just
wanted to tell you how I felt.” She took his hand in hers. “Come
on, we better get going.” He let her tug him down the dock and back
up the hillside.

The shrill beeping of the alarm jolted Emma
awake. Knowing what a deep sleeper Aidan was, she rolled over,
shaking him gently. “Babe, the alarm.”

He grunted before smacking his hand on the
clock repeatedly before it finally went off.

When Aidan fell back over in bed, Emma fought
the urge to run her hands down his bare chest. He was always so
handsome in the mornings—his face so rugged, his sandy hair
disheveled. Instead, she snuggled against his side. When she draped
her leg over his thigh, he stiffened. “You can have the shower
first,” he mumbled.

“You could always join me,” she
suggested.

“No, go ahead,” he said, pulling away from
her. “I wanna sleep in a little longer.”

Stung by his words and actions, Emma jerked
back. Salty tears streaked down her cheeks as she made her way into
the bathroom. He had been so different, so distant since they had
come back from the mountains. He had been working later and later
hours the last week at the office. By the time he got home at
night, she was already in bed or asleep. He hadn’t touched her
intimately since they had made love on the pond’s shore at her
grandparents.

Leaning against the shower wall, fear
crippled her. Had committing the carnal mistake of telling Aidan
she loved him driven him away? What happened now? Did she just
pretend she had never uttered it and hope things would return to
normal, or did she push things even further by demanding to know
what his intentions were?

After spending the entirety of her shower
crying, Emma tried to pull herself together to get ready for work.
Throwing on her robe, she stepped out of the bathroom. Aidan still
hadn’t stirred from the bed. Maybe she was making something out of
nothing, and he was truly just tired.

She eased down on the mattress and rubbed his
bare back. “Wake up, sleepyhead, or you’ll be late for work.”

He grunted as he rolled over to face her.
“Fucking job from hell.”

“You haven’t forgotten what today is?”

“No, it’s the baby’s gender sonogram.”

Emma smiled that he remembered. “It’s at
four. You’ll still be able to make it, right?”

He fisted the sleep out of his eyes. “Sure. I
had Marilyn cancel all my afternoon appointments.”

Leaning over, Emma gave him a quick kiss.
“I’m glad to hear that.” A contented sigh escaped her lips. “I
can’t wait to see if your dad and Grammy are right about it being a
boy.”

“Yeah, that’ll be something,” he said, his
voice devoid of emotion. From his tone, she might as well have been
discussing whether it was going to rain outside, not what his first
born child would be. Instinctively, her hand went to her abdomen as
if to protect the baby from Aidan’s callous attitude. When he swept
his gaze to hers, she ducked her head so he couldn’t read the hurt
in her eyes.

“So I’ll see you this afternoon,” he said,
flinging the sheet back.

Unable to speak for fear of sobbing, she
merely nodded.

Without another word to her or a goodbye
kiss, he hopped out of bed and stalked into the bathroom.

When Aidan glanced at himself in the bathroom
mirror, he shook his head in disgust. “Yeah, that’s right, drive
the stake into her heart even deeper, you fucking asshole,” he
muttered under his breath.

Defeated, he turned on the shower. Standing
under the scorching water, he let it pound and singe his skin. He
rolled his shoulders from the burden that hung heavy around him.
The one he felt cloaked and suffocated by since the day on the
dock. Damn that day—the one that had completely fucked up his life.
At times, his lips burned from Emma’s declaration of love against
his mouth after their kiss. Even his fingers tingled, and he could
almost feel the baby’s movement under them.

Love like he had never known entered him that
day, and instead of embracing it, he kept railing against it.

Closing his eyes, all he could see was Emma’s
rejected form in the bedroom, the silent sobs she tried to hide
from him. Would it really have killed him to show her a little more
attention and kindness on today of all days? He groaned and banged
his head against the shower wall. No, he’d gone full on bastard by
refusing her advances and acting like a total douchebag about the
ultrasound.

Damn, he was just exhausted. The constant
traveling and the late hours were wrecking him physically. Then
everything with Emma was tearing him apart emotionally. He couldn’t
sleep without taking something, and he usually had to chase that
with alcohol to even get it to work. The more he was in Emma’s
presence, the more he felt like he was drowning. Like a true
coward, he tried avoiding her as much as possible. Some nights he
debated sleeping on the couch in his office.

He didn’t know what he was going to do. But
something had to give.

For the rest of the day, Emma felt overcome
with giddiness. She refused to let Aidan’s morning attitude ruin
her excitement. Casey lifted her spirits by taking her out for a
pre-celebratory lunch. Then at a little after four, she pushed
through the doors of her OB/GYN’s office and tried to fight her out
of control nerves.

When she started to sign in, the receptionist
gave her an apologetic smile. “It’s probably going to be awhile.
Our technician got held up at the Sandy Springs office.”

Emma’s heart momentarily sank. “You’re
kidding? You mean I’m going to have to wait even longer? I’m
already about to bust!”

“I can only imagine! She’s trying to get over
here as fast as she can.”

Emma grinned. “I understand. I’m just glad I
can find out now. I don’t know how women waited nine months in the
past.”

The receptionist laughed. “I know, right? But
I promise we’ll call you back the minute she walks through the
door.”

“Thanks.” Emma then plopped down in one of
the comfy chairs and took her iPad out of her purse. She thought
she might as well read until Aidan or the technician showed up. She
got so lost in her romance novel she barely realized her phone was
ringing. Grabbing for it, she saw it was Aidan calling. “Hey, where
are you?”

When he spoke, his voice was hushed, and she
knew he must’ve been in a meeting or right outside of one. “The
fucking CEO showed up out of nowhere two hours ago wanting to go
over all the reports we’ve been working on. I don’t know if I’m
going to be able to make it.”

“It’s okay. The sonogram technician is
running late from one of their other offices. Just try to come
whenever you can, okay?”

“Okay. I’ll try.”

“Love you,” she said.

The only response she got was the click of
the line going dead. At first, she tried reasoning with herself
that he had to go because of his job. But arguing with herself
didn’t help. She fought the overwhelming urge to burst out in
tears. Not only was she facing the sonogram alone, but Aidan hadn’t
even bothered to say good-bye. And he still refused to say he loved
her back.

Digging a tissue out of her purse to dab her
moist eyes, she glanced up at the commotion coming in the doctor’s
office door. “At least let me go in first and see if it’s okay,” a
familiar voice said.

A man snorted in response. “Screw that! Big
Papa can just kiss my ass if he doesn’t want me here!”

Emma’s heart surged at the sound of Casey and
Connor bickering. At the sight of her, they shut up. “Hey, what are
you two doing here?”

Connor gazed around the practically empty
waiting room. “I think the better question is where’s Big
Papa?”

Emma rolled her eyes. “Would you stop calling
him that? And he got stuck in a meeting.”

“Oh,” Casey murmured.

They were interrupted by a nurse poking her
head into the waiting room. “Ms. Harrison? We’re ready for you
now.”

“Oh, okay, thanks,” Emma replied, popping out
of her seat. She had hoped for a longer delay to give Aidan more
time, but it didn’t look like she was in luck.

Out of the corner of her eye, Emma saw Casey
throw a hesitant glance at Connor before she stepped forward. “Want
us to come back with you?”

Emma nodded. “I’d love that.”

Casey beamed while Connor cleared his throat.
“We’ll just stay until Big Papa, erm, I mean, Aidan gets here. Then
we’ll let you guys have your moment.”

His sincerity and thoughtfulness touched
Emma, and she reached out and ruffled his hair—a sign of her
affection since their teenage days. She smiled. “Thanks.”

The nurse held the door open for them. When
they stopped in front of a set of scales, Emma groaned. “Do we
really have to do this part?”

The nurse laughed. “Sorry honey. We need to
know how much weight you’re gaining and how you’re measuring.”

“Fabulous,” Emma replied, stepping on the
scales.

Casey and Connor peered over her shoulder to
see the number. “Do you guys mind!” Emma exclaimed.

“You’ve only gained fifteen pounds. That’s
very good,” the nurse said, marking it in Emma’s chart.

“Guess you and Big Papa have really been
burning the calories when he’s in town, huh?” Connor joked. While
he and Casey dissolved in giggles, Emma shot them a murderous
glance.

They followed the nurse into the ultrasound
room, which was muted with light. Emma recognized the technician,
Janine, from her previous ultrasounds.

“Big day, huh?” Janine asked.

“Yes, a really big one.”

Janine’s gaze honed in on Connor. “This must
be the proud father, huh?”

Connor widened his eyes, and he held up his
hands. “No, no, just a friend.”

“The father is caught in a business meeting.
I hope he can make it before we’re done,” Emma explained.

“No problem. I’ll be sure to make you
photocopies and a DVD of the ultrasound just in case he
doesn’t.”

“Thanks, Janine.”

She patted the examining table. “You know the
drill by now.”

Emma nodded. After climbing up, she laid back
and got comfortable. When she started to unbutton her pants, a
strangled cry came from Connor’s throat. “Wait, you’re not going to
be naked are you?”

At his apprehension, both Emma and Casey
snickered. “No, silly. You’re just lucky this is an abdominal one
and not a transvaginal,” Emma replied.

Connor’s brow creased. “What’s the
difference?”

Janine swiveled in her chair and picked up
the transvaginal wand. She waved it at Connor, and he paled when he
realized what all it entailed. “Oh shit.”

Casey thumped him on the back. “See, nothing
to worry about. You’re not going to be scarred by having to see
Em’s vagina.”

“Ha, fucking ha,” he grumbled. But when he
eased down into his chair, he pushed it as far against the wall as
possible, so there wouldn’t even be the possibility of seeing
anything.

Janine squirted the jelly-like substance onto
Emma’s belly. The coolness caused her to shiver. “Sorry about that.
I would have had it warmed for you, but I didn’t have time,” Janine
apologized.

Emma smiled. “It’s okay.”

Janine then began running the wand over
Emma’s abdomen. Craning her neck, Emma stared at the grainy image
forming on the screen. She sucked in an apprehensive breath until
the sound of her baby’s heartbeat filled the room.

“For you first timers, there’s the
heartbeat,” Janine said to Connor and Casey before pointing on the
screen at the tiny billowing in and out of the heart.

“Oh wow,” Casey said.

Janine smiled down at Emma. “It looks
and
sounds very strong, too.”

“That’s good to hear.”

Pressing the wand harder on Emma’s stomach,
Janine peered at the screen. “Well, you’re in luck. Your baby is
giving us a pretty good shot between the legs.”

“Really?”

Janine nodded. “Sometimes they’re lying at
angles which block the gender, or they’ll just be stubborn and turn
where we can’t see. But yours must want us to know without a shadow
of a doubt.”

Emma’s chest tightened. Her mouth ran dry,
and she licked her lips. Glancing over her shoulder, she eyed Casey
and Connor. They both leaned forward so far in their chairs that
Emma feared they would fall in the floor.

“So what it is?” Emma croaked.

Janine smiled. “It’s a strong,
healthy….boy.”

A sob erupted from Emma’s throat as happy
tears stung her eyes. Patrick and Grammy had been right. It was a
boy. She was going to give Aidan a son to carry on his family name.
She closed her eyes and gave a silent prayer of thanks to God that
her son was strong and healthy.