The Proposition

by Katie Ashley

  Emma’s own heart suddenly ached for a girl she didn’t even know. “Why did you break-up?”

  “We dated through high school and tried making it work the first semester of college, but my heart just wasn’t in it anymore. More than anything, I didn’t want to be tied down. So I got the wandering eye.”

  “She caught you cheating?”

  Aidan rubbed his hands over his face. “Fuck, I can’t believe I’m telling you all this.”

  “Please finish.”

  “No, I broke it off before she found out. Then three years later, I ran into her at a friend’s wedding, and we started seeing each other again. Neither one of us were swimming competitively anymore, we had finished up college and were starting our careers. After another year together, the logical thing to do was…”

  “Get engaged.”

  He grimaced. “But as much as she wanted a proposal, I just couldn’t man up and do it. The thought of being tied to her the rest of my life made me physically feel choked.” His body gave a slight tremor. “And then I did something really, really shitty, so she broke up with me.”

  “What did you do?” Emma questioned softly.

  “She walked in on me having sex with another woman.”

  Emma’s hand flew to her mouth, and she stared at Aidan in horror. “That’s…so cruel.”

  His expression darkened. “Yeah, in case you didn’t get the memo, I’m an asshole, remember?”

  “But you can be so kind and considerate. The very fact I’m not at home alone, crying into a pint of Ben and Jerry’s proves that. Instead, I’m sitting here eating the dinner you cooked and wearing your clothes. That’s true compassion.” She shook her head sadly. “Those are the reasons why it’s so hard imagining you could do something so callous to someone you loved.”

  Aidan shrugged. “The past is the past I guess. At least she found someone else and has been happily married for the last eight years.”

  “You’ve seen her?”

  “No. My mom used to at Mass with her husband and kids” Aidan grinned sheepishly. “Mom seemed to love rubbing it in my face.”

  “She was probably still mad at you for ruining such a good thing.”

  “Probably.” Aidan emptied the rest of the wine bottle into his glass. “So now that you’ve heard my sad story, what about you?”

  “You already know mine.”

  Aidan shook his head. “I’m not talking about being in love. I’m talking about breaking someone’s heart.” He propped his elbows on the glass table. “With your face and body, it isn’t possible you haven’t broken at least one guy’s heart.”

  “I never said I didn’t,” Emma protested.

  “Aha! So spill,” Aidan said.

  “It’s certainly not as salacious as yours.”

  He smirked at her. “I would imagine not, Goody Two Shoes. I’m sure the fact you wouldn’t sleep around broke quite a few hearts.”

  Emma crossed her arms over her chest. “Last time I checked, your heart is above your waist, not below it.”

  Aidan laughed. “Okay, okay. I get it. So what’s the story?”

  “Fine. Here’s the Sparknotes version: his name was Steve, we were eighteen, and I was in love with his best friend.”

  “Ouch, that had to suck for ol’ Steve.”

  “I never meant to hurt him, but from the time I turned sixteen, there was never anyone in the world for me but Travis.”

  “Did you go out with him to make Travis jealous?”

  “No, at first I thought Steve would make me forget him. We were all in school and church together, but Travis acted like I was nothing more than a friend. Steve was the kind of guy who brought you flowers and called you in the morning to see how you were doing. He also respected my boundaries about sex.”

  “Poor Steve,” Aidan joked.

  Emma laughed. “Now I didn’t say he wasn’t getting any sexual satisfaction.”

  “Just not the full enchilada.”

  She wrinkled her nose. “If you have to put it that way, I guess so.”

  Aidan grinned. “So what happened?”

  “Even though he should have been everything I could ever want in a boyfriend, I felt nothing. It wasn’t fair to him, so I broke up with him. He was so devastated he got Travis to come and talk to me.”

  Emma ducked her head, fighting the dreamy smile spreading across her cheeks. “Travis came stomping in my room, red faced and furious, demanding how the hell could I break his best friend’s heart. After listening to him rant and rave for about five minutes, I finally just screamed I was in love with him.”

  Aidan’s eyes widened. “Holy shit! That took balls. What did he say?”

  Emma laughed. “That he was in love with me too, but he didn’t want to hurt Steve. So we waited a few months to start dating, and then we were inseparable.”

  “And Steve was okay with it?”

  “He wasn’t thrilled, but he found someone else.”

  Aidan stared at her for a moment and then grinned. “After unloading that heavy shit, I think we need some more wine.”

  “Yes, I think we do, too.”

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  When Aidan didn’t return within a few minutes, Emma went in search of him. She found the kitchen empty but heard raised voices coming from the hallway. She craned her head around the corner to see who Aidan was talking to. Three sandy haired boys stood in the foyer outfitted in swimming trunks and carrying pool gear. Their faces were downcast. The smallest one, who couldn’t have been more than five, stomped his foot and huffed, “But Uncle Aidan, you promised we could come swimming anytime!”

  “I know, Georgie, but you see—”

  The tallest one shook his head. “Dude, this is so not cool.”

  “Look, I told you guys that you could come back tomorrow. It’s just tonight isn’t a good time,” Aidan argued.

  Emma stepped out into the hall and cleared her throat. Four pairs of eyes focused on her. “What’s going on?”

  “So, she’s why we can’t go swimming!” the middle boy exclaimed.

  “Ooh, Uncle Aidan’s got a girlfriend!” Georgie said before dissolving in giggles.

  Aidan groaned in frustration. “Emma, these are the monsters I mentioned earlier: John, Percy, and Georgie.”

  Stepping forward, Emma waved and gave them a bright smile. “Hi guys.”

  “Hi,” they murmured. They seemed almost mesmerized by her presence. It made Emma wonder if they’d ever seen a woman at Aidan’s house before.

  She cocked her head at them. “Let me guess. Any chance you guys were named after the Romanic poets?”

  The tallest one rolled his eyes. “Yeah, unfortunately our parents have a major thing for boring, stuffy British dudes.”

  Aidan gave an exasperated grunt. “What he means to say is my sister and brother-in-law are both English professors at Georgia State.” Pointing to the tallest one, he said, “The thirteen year old with the mouth is John Keats. My middle man, Percy Shelley, is eleven, and George Byron, or Georgie, is five.” He turned back to her. “And guys, this is my friend, Emma Harrison.”

  “It’s nice meeting you. Looks like you were all set to swim, huh?”

  “Yeah, until Loverboy over here decided to ruin it for us,” John replied, scowling at Aidan.

  Jabbing his finger in the air, Aidan practically growled, “Watch your mouth.”

  Emma hid her amusement behind her hand. Once she recovered, she said, “In his defense, your uncle didn’t know I was going to have such a bad day today and need some company. But I don’t mind one bit if you guys stay and swim.”

  Aidan’s eyebrows rose in surprise. “You don’t?” he asked at the same time Georgie squealed, “Really?”

  “Sure why not.”

  “All right!” Percy exclaimed before barreling past Emma. John and Georgie were close on his heels.

  Emma laughed at their excitement while Aidan shook his head. “I can’t believe you just agreed to have them stay.”
<
br />   “They’re here to swim, so I highly doubt they’ll even bother us.”

  “Famous last words,” Aidan muttered as he ushered Emma back outside.

  At the sight of Georgie about to jump in the shallow end, Aidan rushed forward and grabbed him up. “Whoa, whoa, Little Man. Don’t you dare get in without your floaties.”

  “But floaties are for babies!” he moaned, writhing against Aidan’s chest.

  “I don’t want to hear it.” He sat Georgie down and flipped open a brown storage bin. He pulled out two Power Ranger arm floaties. He slid them up Georgie’s arms. “Your mom would kick my butt if she showed up and you weren’t wearing these.”

  Georgie glowered at Aidan before running off and jumping in the pool.

  “Uncle Aidan, will you help me with my backstroke again?” Percy asked.

  Aidan glanced over at Emma. “You mind?”

  “Of course not. In fact, I’d love to see you in action.”

  He smirked before leaning over to whisper in her ear. “I’d wear that speedo I promised you, but I think it would freak the boys out.”

  She giggled and shoved him away. “Go get your swim trunks, cocky.”

  While he disappeared into the house, John swam closer to where Emma was sitting. He propped his elbows on the ledge. “So how long have you been Uncle Aidan’s girlfriend?”

  She fought the flush creeping across her cheeks at his directness. “He’s just my friend.”

  He gave her a look that said he clearly thought she was bullshitting him. “Wish I had friends as pretty as you,” he said with a grin.

  Emma couldn’t help giggling. “Why thank you, John. You’re quite a charmer, aren’t you?”

  He puffed out his chest, and Emma could have sworn she was seeing Aidan at thirteen. “The girls seem to think so.”

  “Hmm, I think besides your hair and eyes, you may have inherited your flirting ability from your Uncle Aidan.”

  Aidan chose that moment to come back outside. He glanced between her and John with a curious expression. “What are you two talking about?”

  “How much John looks like you.” She gave Aidan a mischievous grin and winked. “And acts like you.”

  Aidan crossed his arms over his bare chest. “John, are you making the moves on my friend?”

  John paled a little. “No, I was just talking to her. I mean, you never, ever have girls over here or bring them to Papa’s.”

  Now it was Aidan’s turn to get flustered. “Whatever.” He dove into the pool and swam over to where Percy waited expectantly on him. Emma watched as Aidan gave Percy demonstrations and then feedback on his form. In between giving instructions, he would throw a gleeful Georgie in the air and let him splash down.

  Emma drew in a desperate breath and tried to still the fluttering of her heart at the sight of Aidan interacting so effortlessly with his nephews. When he pulled himself out of the pool and came striding over to her, she couldn’t help staring in wonder at him.

  His eyebrows shot up at her expression. “What?”

  “I just never imagined seeing you around kids.”

  “Oh yeah, I’m freakin’ Ward Cleaver, aren’t I?” he snorted in response.

  “You don’t give yourself enough credit. For some reason, you don’t like to admit how much you care about them.”

  “Is that right?”

  She nodded. “If you were so anti-children, you wouldn’t have offered to let them come and swim, and you would have let Georgie in the water without his floaties. Plus, you just spent twenty minutes giving Percy swimming lessons.”

  Aidan furiously toweled his wet hair, a scowl forming on his face. “Em, I don’t know what you’re hinting around at right now, but I’m never going to be father material, okay?”

  “You shouldn’t feel so negative about yourself,” she protested.

  Before Aidan could say anything, a shriek came from the pool. Georgie was paddling over to the ladder, tears streaming down his face. Once he got out, he streaked over to Emma and Aidan.

  “He held me under!” Georgie cried, pointing at John.

  “It was barely a second. Stop being such a big baby,” John replied.

  “I-I couldn’t breathe!” Georgie snubbed, grinding the tears from his eyes with his fists.

  “Walk it off, Little Man. You’ll be all right,” Aidan said.

  His response made Georgie cry harder and earned him a glare from Emma. “What?” Aidan questioned.

  “Come here, sweetie,” Emma offered, opening her arms. Georgie quickly scrambled into her lap and then wrapped his arms around her neck. “Shh, you’re okay now.” She turned her wrath on John. “I think you owe your brother an apology.”

  John’s eyes widened as he glanced from Emma to his uncle, but Aidan only shrugged. “Um, I’m sorry, Georgie.”

  “You promise not to do it again?” he asked, his voice muffled against Emma’s collarbone.

  “Yeah, I promise.”

  Emma rubbed Georgie’s back in wide circles. “See, everything’s fine. You want to go back in the pool?”

  “No,” he snubbed.

  Percy rolled his eyes at John who then snickered. “Yeah, if I was pressed up against that rack, I wouldn’t want to leave either!” John said while Percy nodded in agreement.

  Even though he said it in low voice, both Emma and Aidan heard him. While Emma fought to keep the flush from creeping across her cheeks and neck, Aidan stepped to the edge of the pool. “All right, get out this instant. If you’re going to be that disrespectful to my friend, you can march your horny little asses home!” he growled.

  John and Percy’s eyes widened, but they didn’t mouth off. Defeated, they started for the pool steps.

  “Wait, Aidan, don’t make them go home for that. They’re just being boys,” Emma argued.

  He whirled around. “Are you kidding me?”

  “I’m sure they feel very bad for being rude and would be willing to apologize.” She stared pointedly at the boys. “Wouldn’t you?”

  “Yes, ma’am,” Percy said.

  John nodded. “I’m very, very sorry for saying something like that about you Emma.”

  “Thank you.”

  For good measure, John glanced up at Aidan. “And I’m sorry for being disrespectful to your girl—” He paused at the death glare Aidan gave him. “To your friend,” he finished.

  “Me too,” Percy said.

  Emma gazed up at Aidan and smiled. “See, problem solved.”

  Georgie raised his head. “What does horny mean?”

  Emma couldn’t help giggling at the absurdity of the situation, especially when Aidan’s eyes widened, and he stared helplessly at Emma to explain. “It’s not something you need to know about, and your uncle shouldn’t have said it,” she replied.

  “Ooh, Uncle Aidan, you’re in trouble,” Georgie said, wagging his finger at Aidan.

  Emma grinned. “Yes, Uncle Aidan is a very bad boy. We should wash his mouth out with soap, shouldn’t we?”

  Georgia giggled. “Yes, we should.”

  “Hello?” a woman’s voice called from inside the house.

  “Mommy!” Georgie cried, peeling himself off Emma and running to the doorway.

  Emma started to stand up, but Aidan blocked her, thrusting his towel at her. When she started to protest, he grimaced and motioned to her chest. She glanced down and flushed. Comforting Georgie had soaked her white shirt, and you could see straight through to her lacy white bra. “Oh shit!” she stared wildly around the patio for an escape.

  Aidan held out his hand. “Come meet Becky.”

  “Are you kidding? I’m not meeting your sister looking like a bimbo from a wet t-shirt contest,” she hissed.

  “You’re not going to have much of a choice. The minute Georgie tells her there’s a woman here with me, she’s going to be all over you.” He stepped forward and wrapped the towel around her. “Just pretend you’ve been swimming.”

  “Okay,” she murmured reluctantly.

>   Just as Aidan predicted, Becky appeared in the doorway, holding Georgie’s hand. At the sight of Emma, she power walked over to them. With her sandy hair and piercing blue eyes, Becky and Aidan could have passed for twins. She patted Aidan on the back. “Well, Little Brother, I wouldn’t have let the boys come over if I knew you had company.”

  “This is Emma Harrison—she’s a friend from work.”

  Emma extended her hand and gave Becky her best smile. “It’s nice to meet you.”

  “Likewise.”

  As Becky continued sizing her up, Emma cleared her throat. “Your boys are absolutely adorable. I’m so glad I got to meet them.”

  Becky grinned. “Thank you. I only hope they were on their best behavior.” She then gazed over at Aidan with a determined look on her face. “I didn’t know you had such pretty work friends.”

  Aidan snorted at his sister’s directness. “Yes, there’s a high standard of beauty at the company.”

  Becky nudged him playfully. “Well, we won’t impose on you two any longer.” She motioned John and Percy out of the pool. They reluctantly dragged themselves out and started toweling off. Becky wrapped the towel tighter around Georgie. “Now what do we say to Uncle Aidan for letting us swim?”

  “Thank you,” they echoed in a sing-song chorus that caused Aidan and Emma to grin.

  Then both John and Percy looked pointedly at Emma. “Thanks for talking Uncle

  Aidan into letting us stay…both times,” John said, a pink tinge on his cheeks.

  Emma smiled. “You’re welcome.”

  Becky stared from the boys to Emma, and then she gave Aidan a knowing look. “Well, you two have a lovely evening.”

  “Thank you.”

  They walked Becky and the boys to the door. Once they were gone, Aidan groaned and rubbed his eyes as he collapsed into the chair. “Jesus, I’m glad they’re gone.”

  “Aw, I hate to see them go. They’re really sweet boys.”

  He chuckled. “Oh yeah, I should have asked them to spend the night. I’m sure John would have loved to share a bed with you and your rack.” He shook his head with disgust. “The little pervert.”

  “He’s thirteen. What do you expect? I highly doubt you were an angel of virtue at that age,” Emma countered with a smile.