The Proposition (30 page)

When she opened her eyes, Connor and Casey
were at her side. Both leaned over to hug her. “Congratulations,
Mama!” Casey said, kissing Em’s cheek.

“A boy, huh? Hope he’s as handsome and smart
as his Gunkle Connor.”

“Gunkle?” Emma questioned.

“You know, ‘gay uncle’.”

Casey snickered. “I’m not sure how Big Papa
Fitzgerald is going to feel about that one.”

Emma laughed. “I think he’ll be okay with it.
I mean, who doesn’t appreciate people to love their child?”

“Hell yeah, I’m going to love him! He’s part
of you, so that makes him all the more loveable,” Conner said, with
a wink.

Janine handed Emma a DVD along with several
print-outs of the ultrasound. “Congratulations again.”

“Thanks,” Emma murmured, her gaze honing in
on the grainy images in her hand.

“So when are you going to tell Big Papa?”
Casey asked.

“Oh, um, I guess when he gets in tonight. I
don’t want to tell him over the phone or by text or something.”

“You should go surprise him at work,” Connor
suggested.

Emma ran her fingers over the ultrasound
picture. At any moment, she expected it to evaporate and for it all
to have been just a dream. After Casey cleared her throat, Emma
bobbed her head. “That sounds like a good idea. From the way he
sounded, it could be pretty late.”

Casey pulled Emma into her embrace and then
kissed her cheek. “I’m so proud and happy for you.”

Emma grinned. “Thank you.” She squeezed Casey
tight. “Most of all, thank you for being my rock through all of
this, especially today.” She smiled at Connor. “And you, too.”

“We wouldn’t have it any other way,” Casey
replied as Connor nodded. She kissed Emma’s cheek. “Now go on and
tell Big Papa the happy news.”

“I sure will!”

“I
want to thank you all for staying late. I’m thrilled at how
everything has panned out, and I look forward to a successful
merger.”

As soon as the CEO exited the boardroom,
Aidan dug his phone out of his jacket pocket. Glancing down at the
time, he grimaced. There was no way in hell he could get across
town to Emma’s appointment. Shame echoed through him when he felt
relieved at missing the ultrasound. Confirming the baby’s sex made
its impending arrival all the more real. Loosening his tie, he
fought the choking feeling that continued to plague him. His hand
tingled again, and he was right back on the dock feeling the baby
move with Emma.

He was rubbing his fingers under his collar
when someone cleared her throat. He glanced up to find the
boardroom empty except for a stacked brunette who was new to his
department.

“I don’t think we’ve been formerly
introduced,” the brunette said with an inviting smile. “I’m Heather
Donnovan.”

He extended his hand. “Aidan Fitzgerald.”

“Oh, I know who you are,” Heather replied,
letting her hand linger on his a little longer than it should have.
“You have quite a reputation here.”

Aidan’s eyebrows arched. “Do I?”

She nodded. “Both in and out of the
boardroom.”

For the first time in his whole life, Aidan
was completely inept at how to handle a woman’s advances. Normally,
he would have taken the initiative from the moment she stayed back
to be alone with him. But now he was at a total loss for words.

She tilted her head to the right and grinned
coyly. “You know I’m new here in Atlanta, so I don’t know a lot of
people. Would you like to have a drink with me?”

Aidan’s heartbeat accelerated as the weight
of Heather’s question crashed over him. His mind and heart battled
against each other. It sent his blood pumping harder and harder
through his veins until it pounded like a brass band in his ears.
He had been down this road many, many times before. He knew exactly
what Heather was insinuating, and it wasn’t just a harmless drink
after work.

He could almost taste the need radiating off
of her. If he made the move, she probably wouldn’t object to him
fucking her right on the boardroom table. The very thought of
pushing up her skirt, tearing off her panties and devouring her
sent heat stirring below his waist.

And then the image of Emma lounging on her
grandparent’s dock, her hand tenderly stroking the belly that
carried his child, flashed before his eyes. She loved him, and deep
down, he loved her. He shouldn’t take Heather’s offer. No, he
couldn’t
take her offer.

But then the suffocating weight of a
relationship and impending fatherhood once again bore down on him.
He had never asked for any of it. All he wanted was to finally get
Emma into bed and then move on like he always did. He clenched his
teeth. Damn, Emma, for making him want more with her…for making him
love
her.

No, he would not drown himself in his
feelings for Emma. He would get out now while he still could.

“There’s O’Malley’s across the street,” he
croaked.

“That sounds wonderful,” Heather replied, her
voice a throaty purr.

When he started to walk around the side of
the desk, Aidan found himself rooted to the floor. His brain
screamed at his feet and legs to pick themselves up, but they
refused. It was as if they owed some strange allegiance to his
heart and to Emma. At Heather’s puzzled expression, he forced a
smile to his face. “Sorry, sitting in meetings like that always
makes me a little stiff.”

“In some places that isn’t a problem,” she
replied, with a giggle.

He laughed at her innuendo while his legs and
feet finally worked. He grabbed his briefcase and started out the
boardroom door with her.

Even though Heather chatted non-stop the
entire elevator ride down, Aidan didn’t hear her. He bobbed his
head at certain points or smiled, and that seemed to be enough to
pacify her. All he could do was focus on what he was trying to
accomplish. He had to purge Emma from his system, and if it took
fucking Heather to do it, then he was going to do it.

He held the door open for her as they swept
into O’Malley’s. He cringed at the sight of Jenny behind the
hostess booth. At the sight of him, her eyes lit up. Her face
started to break into a wide grin, but then she noticed Heather.
Her expression immediately darkened, and anger flashed in her
usually cool blue eyes.

Aidan cleared his throat. “We need a booth,
Jenny.”

She shook her head furiously, causing her
blonde ponytail to swish back in forth. “I’m sorry, but we seem to
be full tonight.”

Staring past her, Aidan eyed the half empty
bar and turned his pointed gaze back on her. “Looks to me like
you’ve got plenty of room.”

“No, I’m sorry we don’t. I guess you and your
friend
will have to go somewhere else.”

Heather clicked towards Jenny on her high-end
heels that Aidan wagered probably cost more than Jenny made in a
week. He held his breath as Heather surmised Jenny. Then her plump
red lips curved into a cat-like smile. “Looks like someone is a
little jealous that we’re here together, Aidan. What’s the matter,
honey? Are you one of Aidan’s spurned lovers or former one night
stands?” Heather ran her acrylic nails up his back, causing him to
shudder. “I’m glad to see you live up to your bad boy reputation.
I’m pretty much guaranteed an interesting evening now.”

Jenny sputtered something under her breath
that Aidan didn’t catch. Heather cast one last superior glance at
Jenny before saying, “I’ll wait for you outside. I’m sure you’ve
got a well-stocked liquor cabinet at your house. No need to waste
our time here.”

At Heather’s departure, Jenny’s eyebrows shot
up so high they disappeared into her hairline. “Where is Emma?
Better yet, what the hell are you doing with
her
?”

Aidan narrowed his eyes. “Frankly, it’s none
of your damn business!”

“Well, I’m sorry, but when one of my friend’s
is about to fuck up his life royally, I make it my business!” Jenny
countered.

A growl erupted deep in his throat. “I don’t
need this bullshit from you.”

Sadness washed over Jenny’s expression. “I’m
begging you, Aidan. Don’t do this. I’ve never seen you as happy
since you’ve been coming in here with Emma. She’s so good for you,
don’t you see that?” When he started to walk away, she grabbed his
arm. “Before you go home with that skank for a night of mindless
and meaningless sex, think long and hard about what you have with
Emma, and don’t break her heart…and yours.”

Aidan stared into Jenny’s pleading eyes
before slinging her arm away. Without another word, he stormed
through the door and out to Heather’s side.

After Heather followed him home, Aidan got
out of the car. He had barely closed the door when Heather launched
herself at him, pinning him to the car. His mind instantly flashed
back to his and Emma’s first kiss in the dingy parking deck. An
ache rolled through his chest.

Grabbing Heather to him, he tried to make
himself forget. Her tongue swept into his mouth as her fingers went
to his hair. Her lips were harsh, and it lacked the tenderness he
had with Emma. He shook his head, trying to rid any thoughts of
her.

At his reaction, Heather broke their kiss,
tugging his bottom lip between her teeth. “Take me inside and fuck
me until I scream!”

He chuckled at her directness. “I think I can
do that.”

It had been so long since he had been with a
demanding female. Aidan could barely get up the front walk with
Heather running her hands over him as well as rubbing her hips
against his. “I have nosy neighbors, you know,” he said, when her
hand caressed his buttocks.

“Ooh, an audience, huh? That’s kinky.”

He gazed down at her. “You’re a naughty girl,
aren’t you?”

She giggled. “Oh yeah.”

When they got inside, Aidan kicked the front
door closed behind him. Heather wrapped her arms around his neck,
grinding her pelvis against his groin. Normally, he would have been
at half-mast already, but there was nothing stirring below his
waist. “Show me your tits,” he said, in a voice he couldn’t believe
was his own. He tried ignoring the churning of his stomach.

With an obliging smile, Heather ripped her
shirt over her head. Aidan’s hands immediately went to her breasts.
After kneading them through her bra, Heather’s Double D implants
didn’t turn him on or feel the same way in his hands that Emma’s
natural breasts did. He pinched his eyes shut.
Quit fucking
thinking about Emma!

Grabbing Heather by the waist, he dragged
them over to the couch. He plopped down and jerked her to straddle
his lap. He brought his mouth to hers, desperate to feel anything
for Heather and not Emma. After unbuttoning his shirt, Heather
raked her nails down his chest. Rocking against him, she moaned
against his lips. She was close to getting off just from writhing
against him, and he felt nothing.

No, that wasn’t entirely true. Everything he
had ever felt for Emma pulsed through him. Her laugh, her shy
smile, her giggle—they flooded his mind. She might as well have
been in the room with them. He could feel her all around him. His
nose stung with the smell of her perfume while his body ached for
the feel of her delicate curves beneath him.

When he dared himself to look at Heather
again, he finally felt something. Revulsion. How in the hell had he
gotten to this point? What could have possibly possessed him to
think bringing Heather home was a good idea? Fighting the rising
bile in his throat, he started to push Heather off his lap.

At the same moment, her hand went to his
crotch. When she found his lack of arousal, she jerked her lips off
of his. “Um, what’s going on?”

Raking a shaky hand through his hair, he
sighed. “I can’t do this.”

She cocked her head at him. “Do you have some
impotence problem or something?”

“I wish.”

“What the hell does that mean?”

It means you have to leave right now. It
means I’m making the biggest mistake of my life. I love Emma, and I
cannot do this to her.
He shook his head. “I’m really sorry,
Heather.”

“Aw, don’t get embarrassed, babe. We can work
this out.” She gave him a seductive smile. “
I
can work this
out.”

Halfway to Aidan’s office, Emma thought of Beau stuck at Doggy
Daycare. “Shit!” She whipped across two lanes to the symphony of
honking horns. Her mind had been so occupied with her new baby, she
had forgotten all about her old one.

She screeched into a parking space and
hurried out of the car. The moment Beau saw her through the fence
his entire body started wiggling all over, bringing a grin to
Emma’s face. “Hiya boy, did you think I’d forgotten you?”

He gave an appreciative bark and ran over to
the entrance door to wait for her. Sandy, the owner, greeted Emma
with a smile. “I was just beginning to think Beau might end up
spending the night with us.”

“No, I’m so sorry. I had my ultrasound this
afternoon, and it got delayed.”

“And what are we having?” Sandy asked.

“A boy.”

“Oh that’s wonderful!” She opened the door
and clipped on Beau’s leash. “Did you hear that? You’re going to be
a big brother.”

Beau ignored her and headed straight for
Emma. He nudged her belly with his wet nose as if saying hello to
the baby. Sandy’s eyes widened. “That is so sweet!”

Emma laughed. “He’s just started doing that
in the last few days. Ironically, after I felt the baby move for
the first time.” Emma shook her head. “It’s like he’s finally
sensing something is different, and it’s not just fat inside this
belly!”

Sandy chuckled. “He probably didn’t notice
anything because you’re barely showing!”

“Aw, I appreciate that. I feel like I’m
ballooning up.”

Beau jerked on his leash. “All right, boy,
we’ll go home and see Daddy.” His ears perked up at the mention of
Aidan. “Night, Sandy.”