The Proposal(27)
Understanding crashed over Emma as she thought of how thoroughly Dr. Pendleton had examined her. “Oh,” she murmured.
He leaned forward in his chair, his dark eyes taking on a pleading glint. “I don’t want you to think I’m a creep or something for wanting to get to know you better. It was Mr. Fitzgerald who first broached the subject.”
Emma widened her eyes in horror. “He actually did that? I’m going to give him a piece of my mind when we’re both better!” When his shoulders sagged in defeat, Emma felt terrible that he appeared insulted by her words. “Oh Pesh, I’m so sorry. It’s not that I wouldn’t want to go out with you.”
His dark eyes lit up with hope. “Really?”
“Yes. I just can’t believe that Patrick would do such a thing.”
“Because of what was once between you and his son?”
“Yes that and the fact he was laid up in the emergency room. It’s not the most opportune time to be playing matchmaker.”
“I guess I planted the seed when I called you beautiful.”
Emma’s cheeks warmed at his compliment. “Thank you.”
Staring down at his hands, Pesh said, “I want you to know that taking your phone number from Mr. Fitzgerald, saying that a total stranger is beautiful—that’s not who I am. I’m sure none of my colleagues would believe I had done such a thing.”
“Really?”
Pesh nodded. “The truth is I haven’t reacted to a woman like I did with you in a long, long time.”
“Oh?”
He peeked up at her through his long, dark lashes. Sorrow radiated in his eyes. “Eighteen months ago I lost my wife to an aneurysm.”
Emma gasped. “I’m so sorry.”
“You can’t imagine what a helpless feeling it is to be a physician, and you can’t save the woman you love most in the world.”
“How old was she?” Emma tentatively asked.
“Only thirty-five.”
“That’s so young.”
Pesh nodded. “Jade was adopted when she was just three. Her adoptive parents didn’t know anything about her medical history. From what I’ve been able to gather, it could have been preventable had we known the signs and symptoms of what to look for.”
At his anguished expression, Emma reached out for his hand. With a grateful smile, he slipped it into hers. “I know what it’s like to lose the love of your life.”
Pesh’s dark brows arched in surprise. “You do?”
She nodded. “Five years ago my fiancée was killed in a car accident.”
“I’m so sorry.” An awkward silence filled the room. Finally, Pesh gave a short shake of his head. “Hmm, between your lost fiancée, your breakup, and me being a widower, I suppose we would make a tragic pair, wouldn’t we?”
“People do move on,” she said softly. But when she uttered the words, she was thinking more of Aidan than of Travis. Was Pesh the sign she had prayed about? Or had everything that had been thrown at her in the last three weeks just confused her too much?
“In the eighteen months since I lost Jade, I could never imagine ever wanting to date another woman again.” He smiled at her. “Until today.”
“But why me?”
“Why not?”
“You do realize I’m six months pregnant right?”
“I’ll tell you the same thing I did Mr. Fitzgerald’s son when he mentioned it.”
Emma’s cheeks burned at the mention of Aidan. She didn’t even want to begin to imagine what the conversation had been like between Patrick, Aidan, and Pesh. Her mortification was interrupted by Pesh squeezing her hand. “The fact you’re pregnant has no bearing on how beautiful you are outwardly or the kindness that radiates from within you.”
Unblinking and not breathing, she stared at him in disbelief. How was it possible that a handsome, successful, compassionate man was interested in dating her when she was six months pregnant with another man’s child? “Pesh, I’m very grateful for your flattering compliments, but my life is so very complicated at the moment.”
“And I’m not helping matters with my amorous declarations, am I?”
She gave him a sad smile. “You’ve been through so much that you deserve true happiness. I have to be totally honest when I say I just don’t know if I have anything to give you at the moment.”
Pesh tilted his head to one side in thought. “What if we just tried getting to know one another as friends and see where it goes? I know you’re not going to be able to get out and about much in the next few weeks, so I could come and do house calls. You know, check your vitals.” He momentarily grimaced. “That sounds completely stalkerish, doesn’t it?”