Emma shot him a death glare. “I think there’s a hell of a lot of difference singing a baby to sleep in the privacy of my own bedroom than in a barn full of people!” she hissed under her breath. She then shook her head at Dave. “Really, I couldn’t.”
A tall, leggy blonde came bounding up behind them. It didn’t take Aidan long to deduce that this was Laurel. “Oh please, Emma, sing Cowboy Take Me Away. You were singing that the night Dave and I met!”
Aidan brought his lips closer to Emma’s ear. “Go on. You know you could knock their socks off singing in the shower.”
She jerked away to stare at him, her mouth a perfect O of surprise. “Really?”
He nodded.
“Okay, okay, I’ll do it.”
Another cheer went through the crowd when Emma rose out of her seat. As she climbed onto the stage, Aidan leaned forward in his chair. He couldn’t wait to actually see her perform.
Emma’s shaking hand took the microphone off the stand. She cleared her throat a few times before speaking. “I think you all know I haven’t sung professionally in two years, so you have to believe me when I say that only pure and true love could get me on this stage. It’s the love I feel for Dave, who over the years has been like a brother to me, and it’s the love between him and his sweet, beautiful fiancée that makes me able to sing this song for you.” Her gaze went to Dave and Laurel, who were already wrapped in each other’s arms, waiting expectantly on their song. “This one is for you.”
The twang of the fiddle coupled with two guitars echoed through the barn. Aidan watched as Emma’s nervousness faded away the moment she heard the familiar chords. With complete confidence, she brought the microphone to her lips and began singing. The room filled with people melted away, and for Aidan, there was only the two of them. Pinching his eyes shut, he let her velvety voice wash over him. He didn’t care if the lyrics were about a cowboy sweeping a woman away from the big city into the wide-open spaces of the country; he just focused on the immense pride that filled him at her performance.
When she finished, applause and cheers roared through the room so loud they stung Aidan’s ears. Emma flushed a deep crimson, but a beaming smile filled her face. She curtsied prettily. “Thank you,” she murmured.
“Now sing Sweet Dreams, Emmie Lou!” Earl shouted.
Emma shook her head furiously as she started to put the microphone back on the stand. “No, Granddaddy, I’ve sung enough for one night.”
Earl stomped his foot on the sawdust floor. “Emma Katherine Harrison, your granddaddy wants to hear some Patsy Cline, so sing Sweet Dreams.”
Aidan couldn’t help chuckling at the stalemate between Emma and her grandfather. “Uh-oh, Em, he’s calling you by your full name. Better do what the man says,” he called.
She shot him a murderous look before turning back to her cousins. “I assume you guys remember Sweet Dreams?”
Dave, who had returned to the stage, held up his hands. “Oh no, this one is all a cappella, little cuz.”
Pointing a finger at them, Emma said, “I just want you to know I’m going to hurt each and every one of you for this!”
The boys laughed heartily as they shuffled off the stage. Emma turned back to the crowd and pointed her finger at Aidan. “That goes for you, too.”
He grinned. “I’ll happily take whatever you want to dish out. Now make your granddaddy happy and sing.”
When Aidan glanced over at Earl, he nodded and smiled at him. Maybe he was really off the hook…or at least his dick was. He settled back in his chair and focused his attention on Emma.
The moment Emma began singing the old country song, a hush fell over the barn. If she had been good on Cowboy Take Me Away, she was hitting this one out of the park like a grand slam. Closing her eyes, she belted out the lyrics with such feeling and emotion that Aidan noticed tears sparkling in several people’s eyes.
Aidan’s enjoyment began to fade when Emma got to the second verse. A haunting, aching quality entered her voice as she sang Patsy’s lyrics about never wearing the ring of her lover and never having him reciprocate her love. His chest tightened at how so much of the song could relate to him and Emma. He wondered if she often had sweet dreams of a life together with him—ones that might never come true.
Thundering applause jolted him out of his thoughts. Emma had finished singing and now half the room was on its feet cheering for her. She flushed and grinned. “Thank you,” she murmured into the microphone.
Dave and her other cousins joined Emma back on stage. Each one hugged and kissed her before picking up their instruments. They started up a song as she came back to join him. “So what did you think?” she asked breathlessly.
“Absolutely amazing.”
Emma beamed at his compliment. “Really?”
He nodded. “You were spectacular singing to Mason, but damn…you were like American Idol good up there.”
She giggled and kissed his cheek. “Thanks.” After eyeing the couples on the dance floor, she turned back to him with a pleading look. “Want to dance again?”
He groaned. “If we must.”
It was after eleven by the time the last guest left. Pleasantly exhausted, Aidan dragged himself up the hillside to the house. After grabbing their suitcases out of the car, he joined Emma as they trailed behind Earl and Virginia. “Now Aidan, you’re going to be sleeping here,” Virginia said, pointing to a bedroom.
He dropped his suitcase in the doorway, and it didn’t take him long to surmise that his bedroom just happened to be next door to Earl and Virginia’s. It was a nice way for them to keep tabs on him. He smiled back at them. “Looks cozy. Thank you.”
“Emma, you’re going to be in your mama’s old bedroom.” Earl then looked pointedly at Aidan. “Way down the hallway from us.”
Aidan turned a laugh into a cough. It was so absurd that he and Emma were in their thirties and being treated like teenagers. “Then I suppose I should say goodnight now,” he said. Wrapping his hands around her waist, he pulled her against him. “Sweet dreams, Emma.”
“Sweet dreams to you, too, Aidan,” she murmured.
Dven though he knew Earl wouldn’t like it, he gave Emma a chaste kiss on the lips. She grinned at him before saying goodnight to her grandparents and with a final wave, she went on down the hallway.
Reluctantly, he went inside and closed his door.
26
Emma felt she was doing something truly illicit when she tiptoed past her grandparents’ bedroom toward Aidan’s. Her trembling hand slowly turned the knob, and she breathed a sigh of relief at finding it unlocked. Slowly, she pushed it open, trying not to let its loud creak echo through the hallway. She lamented the fact that she hadn’t thought to grab the WD40 from under the kitchen sink.
Emma found Aidan propped up in bed with multicolored paperwork strewn across the handmade quilt and Beau lying next to him. At the sight of her, Aidan’s eyebrows shot up so far they disappeared into his hairline. “What the hell are you doing?” he hissed.
Holding up a finger, she closed the door behind her before responding. When she turned back around, she grinned. “I wanted to see you.”
Aidan rolled his eyes. “Jesus, Em, just when I think my dick is safe from your grandfather’s wrath, you sneak in here.”
She giggled as she made her way over to the bed. “Oh come on. You know he’s not going to do anything like that.”
“I’m not holding my breath.” His eyes roamed over her practically sheer nightgown. “What do you really want?”
“Can’t you tell? I want that hot bod of yours…bad!” she teased.
He grunted. “Don’t torture me by saying things like that.”
“Actually, I thought you might like to go for a midnight swim.”
“Really?”
Emma nodded. “The pond is just below the house.”
“Is it safe?”
“Sure, that’s where I learned to swim.” Nudging his knee with her elbow, she said, “Of course,
I wasn’t a state swim champion, so what do I know?”
Aidan shook his head as he threw off the quilt. “There goes that mouth of yours again.”
Emma giggled. “So I guess that means you’re in?”
“Yeah, yeah. I’m in,” Aidan replied, stepping into his tennis shoes.
They crept out into the hallway. Aidan stepped on one of the creaky floorboards and they both froze. When Earl didn’t come streaking out into the hallway with his shotgun, they continued tiptoeing on into the living room. Emma grabbed a flashlight out of the table by the door while Aidan unlocked the deadbolt.
Once they got out onto the porch, they hurried down the steps and onto the gravel path that wound behind the house. They barely needed the flashlight with the glowing full moon illuminating the way. When they reached the long dock, they were both winded.
Aidan bent over, propping his elbows on his knees. Once he had caught his breath, he raised his head and took in the surroundings. “Damn, it’s beautiful out here.”
“This whole area is like the most magical place in the world,” Emma replied breathlessly. Stepping closer to him, she gave him her best coy smile. “You know I haven’t been skinny dipping with a boy in a long, long time.”
He grinned. “Have you not?”
Emma shook her head. She brought her nightgown over her head, leaving her completely naked in the moonlight.
A pained noise erupted from Aidan’s throat. “Fuck, this whole time you weren’t wearing any underwear?”
“Nope.”
“Then I should have ravished you right there in the bedroom.”
She giggled as Aidan proceeded to tear off his shirt and boxers at record speed. When he reached for her, she backed away. “I said skinny dipping, not defiling my grandparents’ pond by having sex.”
His hands swept to his naked hips, drawing her attention to his erection. “Did you really think I hauled my ass out here just for a midnight swim?”
“I don’t know what you might have thought, but that’s not what is happening.”
“Yeah, we’ll just see about that one.”
“Guess you’ll have to catch me first,” she teased before diving off the dock.
As she plunged into the depths, the icy water pricked over her body like tiny needles. She’d had no idea it would be so cold this late in the summer—it was usually like tepid bath water.
When Emma broke the surface, she fought the chattering of her teeth and whirled around at the sound of splashing behind her. Even in the dim light, she could see the gleam in Aidan’s eyes. “I do believe I’m going to catch you.” She giggled as he closed the gap between them in two fluid breaststrokes.
Instead of fighting him, she gleefully let Aidan pull her against his chest. “Gotcha!” he said.
She poked her lip out. “Not a fair fight, considering I’m pregnant and you’re a good swimmer.”
“True, very true. What kind of man would I be to take advantage of my baby mama? I’ll behave now, and we’ll have a nice swim.”
She arched her eyebrows in surprise. “Seriously?”
He gave her a wolfish grin. “Well, there’s also the fact that this cold water is doing nothing for my hard-on.”
“Then I guess after our swim, we’ll just have to make it to land for any action.”
27
Later, as they remained intertwined on the sandy shoreline, a tangle of arms and legs, Aidan’s brows furrowed. “What’s wrong?” Emma asked.
“I’m just surprised you haven’t blown my horndog ass to the curb yet.”
“Huh?”
“You know, the constant sex stuff. I would have thought you wouldn’t be up for it, being pregnant and all.”
Emma burst out laughing, both at his statement and the serious expression on his face. She rubbed the stubble on his chin. “So I guess this is when I know you didn’t read the pregnancy book I gave you.”
Aidan grunted. “Yeah, the moment I pulled that one out on a plane or in public, someone would have come to take away my balls and revoke my man status.”
Emma rolled her eyes. “Reading a pregnancy book would not emasculate you in the least bit. Besides, you could have bought it for your iPad.” At his doubtful look, she tweaked his nose with her fingers. “If you had read it, you would have known that a woman’s sex drive often increases during pregnancy so much that husbands and boyfriends just can’t keep up.”
“You’re shitting me?” he asked, his dark blue eyes wide.
“Nope. I’m not.”
Aidan grinned. “That’s fanfuckingtastic.”
Emma laughed. “Yeah, and who knows what else might be lurking under the cover of that book. I suggest you read it.”
“Fine. I will.”
Inwardly, she did a victory dance, even though she’d had to be a little deceptive to get him to read about pregnancy. The more he knew and understood about the coming months, the better. At times, pregnancy wasn’t entirely attractive, and she wanted him to be prepared.
Aidan pulled himself off of her and got to his feet. Emma stayed motionless, admiring his naked form in the moonlight. He turned back to her and offered her his hand. All inappropriate thoughts of him vanished at his gentlemanly behavior. When he helped her up, she gave him a chaste kiss on the lips in thanks.
“Damn, I wish we had thought about a towel,” Aidan said.
Emma grinned. “Ask and you shall receive.” She walked over to the edge of the dock where a worn wooden box the size of a steamer truck sat. It was something Granddaddy had made a long time ago for his grandchildren to house their swimming gear. She pulled out two checkered picnic blankets. “Not exactly towels, and they’re a little musty, but they’ll do the trick.”
Aidan took one from her appreciatively. “Sounds good to me.”
As he dried off, Emma wrapped herself in the faded blanket. When she shivered, he reached over and started rubbing her arms to warm her. “Ready to go back inside?”
“Let’s stay out here a while.”
“Are you serious?”
Emma nodded and motioned toward a hammock drawn between two massive oak trees. “It’s a beautiful night, and we can do some stargazing.”
Aidan snorted. “Stargazing in a hammock? That sounds like a bad romance novel cliché.”
“Oh, I didn’t realize you enjoyed reading bodice-ripper novels with their throbbing, pulsing members.”
“Ha, ha,” he replied, playfully smacking her ass.
After Emma threw on her gown and Aidan put on his boxers, she took his hand and led him over to the hammock. After she lay down, she pulled him down beside her. Once she wrapped her arms around him, she titled her head up. “So is this really so bad?”
He grinned. “Nope. It’s quite nice, actually.”
“Good. I’m glad you think so.”
“I can’t believe how much brighter the stars are once you get out of the city. Being up in the mountains makes you feel like you could reach out and touch them,” Aidan mused.
“Everything is more beautiful out here.”
“Do I detect a hint of homesickness in your voice?”
Stalling, Emma’s gaze followed a droplet of water as it trailed down Aidan’s bare chest. “Em?” he prompted.
She sighed. “Sometimes I think I’d really like to move back up here—especially to raise the baby.”
Aidan tensed beneath her. “Are you serious?”
“This is where I grew up, the place I hold most dear in the world. All my family is here. If something happened to me or with the baby and I needed her, Grammy’s almost an hour away.”
“Are you trying to say you feel alone back in Atlanta?”
“Well, no, I mean, Casey has always been there…and you’re there.”
Aidan grunted. “Wow, I rate after Casey, huh?”
“I didn’t mean it like that.” She raised her head to meet his intense gaze. “You know how much you mean to me, and how much I…care for you.”
Relief
filled her when Aidan’s expression lightened. “But I don’t know anything about babies, nor am I a certainty, right?”
“Exactly.” She then held her breath, waiting for him to say she had nothing to worry about in the certainty department. That he wanted even more with her. That he would be there always, in the middle of the night if the baby got sick and she was scared to death or if she was exhausted from a long day at work and needed a few minutes to decompress.
“If you’re worried about being all alone, you’ve got my dad, my sisters, and Megan. I promise you’ll have a support system in them.”
“That’s good to know,” she murmured, fighting the tears. Her chest clenched in agony at Aidan’s response. He didn’t mention anything about being more of an official couple or him being there for her, so how could she truly count on him? Instead, he had skirted responsibility and commitment once again. When was she going to learn? More importantly, when was she going to give up on him?
The sharp jolt of the hammock’s sway woke Emma up. Fluttering her eyelids, she looked up at the sky. Early morning sunlight streaked across it, making it a swirling mixture of blues, pinks, and oranges. Somehow she and Aidan had managed to fall asleep under the stars. At the sound of someone clearing his throat, Emma tried scrambling out of the hammock, but Aidan wrapped his arms tighter around her. “Where do you think you’re going?” he asked sleepily.
Emma swept her gaze from Aidan over to where Granddaddy stood, arms folded over his chest. “We have company,” she whispered.
Aidan’s blue eyes flew open and a look of horror crossed his face when his drowsy eyes focused on Earl. He immediately jerked away from Emma and held up his hands in mock surrender. “I’m really sorry about this, sir. I never meant to go against your wishes by sleeping with Emma under your roof,” he said, sounding more like a pleading teenager than a man.
Earl peered around the woods and then up at the sky. “Don’t quite look like you’re under my roof, does it?” he asked, the corners of his lips turning up.
Emma exchanged a glance with Aidan. Was her grandfather really going to let them off the hook so easily? “I’m sorry, Granddaddy.”
Love in the Dark Page 108
