The Proposition

by Katie Ashley

  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.

  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!”

  CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

  “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.”

  CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

  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.”

  “Night!” she replied, waving.

  Emma wrestled Beau to the car and got him inside. “There’s no way I’m taking you to Daddy’s office. I guess I better drop you off at home before I go see him.”

  Beau whined at the prospect as they pulled out of the parking lot. Since Aidan’s house was closer, she figured she would take him there.

  At the sight of Aidan’s car in the driveway, Emma’s heart shuddered to a stop. The fact a silver Audi sat next to it caused her lungs to constrict. She fought to breathe. Thoughts flashed through her mind like a lightning storm. He said his meeting was running late. He’s supposed to still be at work. He’s at home.

  With shaky hands, she killed the engine and opened the car door. Beau lunged out, but Emma didn’t even bother holding his leash. Instead she focused on trying to put one foot in front of the other up the sidewalk.

  Using the key he’d given her, she pushed open the front door. The living room was bathed in darkness except for the muted lights from the chandelier. Aidan lounged on the couch while a leggy brunette straddled his lap. He was still fully clothed except his shirt was unbuttoned and untucked. The woman, on the other hand, had stripped off her shirt, and her short skirt had ridden up her thighs. Aidan’s hands were on her forearms as if he was about t
o push her off of him.

  For a few agonizing seconds, Emma could only stare in disbelief. Blinking, she tried waking herself up from the nightmare in front of her, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t. It was all too real. The man she loved and the father of her child had stood her up on one of the most important days of her life to screw another woman. A strangled cry erupted from her lips.

  At the noise behind them, Aidan startled. When he saw Emma standing there, his eyes widened in horror, and he sucked in a breath. “What are you doing here?” he demanded.

  Tears pricked and stung her eyes, but Emma gave a maniacal laugh. “What am I doing here? I think the better question is what the hell are you doing?”

  The sound of another voice caused the brunette to whirl around. Her gaze trailed from Emma’s face down to her swollen belly. A hiss erupted from her lips before she shook her head. “I don’t fucking believe this.” She turned her head and then her wrath on Aidan. “No wonder you couldn’t get it up! The guilt of cheating on your pregnant wife must’ve really been eating at you!”

  “She’s not my wife…yet,” Aidan replied, his voice hushed.

  The brunette sent a stinging slap across Aidan’s cheek, and Emma had to bite her lip not to thank her for doing it. At that moment, she would have loved to have done far worse physical harm to him. “I don’t care what she is! You’re a fucking bastard!” She jerked herself off Aidan’s lap and snatched up her shirt. After throwing it over her head, she grabbed her heels and stalked towards Emma. The fury in her face melted a little. “I’m really sorry. I heard at work he was a player, and I wanted a play. I had no idea…” her voice trailed off as she glanced at Emma’s stomach.

  “Thank you,” Emma whispered as the woman started on by. She jumped at the slamming of the front door. On wobbly legs, she took a few step forwards, closing the gap between her and Aidan. He rose up on the couch, fumbling with the buttons on his shirt.

  When she stood there, just staring, he exhaled a ragged breath. “Say something.”