The Proposal(44)
“No, no, that’s fine.”
“I may run by the gym after that. I shouldn’t be gone more than two hours. I can pick us up some dinner on my way in.”
“Oh, um, that won’t be necessary.”
Aidan gave her a funny look. “Won’t you be hungry then?”
“Actually, Pesh is coming by for a house call in a little while. He’s bringing dinner with him.”
Emma sucked in a breath as Aidan’s blonde brows disappeared into his hairline. “You’re having a date with Pesh tonight?”
“It’s not a date!” she protested.
Aidan crossed his arms over his chest and countered, “He’s not just stopping by to take your pulse, Em. The fucker is bringing dinner.”
She winced. “No, it’s not like that. Pesh knows that I’m not looking to start anything right now. He’s just checking on me to be nice. You know, friendly and all.”
“It sure as hell doesn’t sound like that to me.”
At his harsh tone, Emma stared down at her quilt. “Look, this is your home and your hospitality I’m imposing on. So if you really feel that strongly about Pesh, I’ll tell him not to come.”
When she dared to look up again, Aidan’s expression momentarily softened. “You mean you would do that? For me?”
“Of course I would. Give me a little credit for considering your feelings.”
After jerking a hand through his hair, Aidan gave a frustrated grunt. “And you’re sure you’re not trying to start something up with him?”
“The last thing I need right now is more stress in my life, and any relationship, especially a new one, is always stressful.”
“Even with me?”
She cocked her head at him. “I wasn’t the one who caused the stress in our relationship, remember?”
Aidan cringed. “I’m well aware of what I did as it continuously comes back to bite me in the ass. Like with this foreign fucker sniffing around you.”
Emma rolled her eyes. “He has a name, and it’s Pesh. If you would take the time to get to know him, you would realize he’s not the type of man trying to take advantage of me or get in my panties.”
“No, it’s worse because he isn’t,” Aidan grumbled.
“What?”
“I’d rather he be some douchenozzle trying to get in your pants because you’d be totally repulsed by that and tell him where to get off—just like you did me at first.” Aidan grimaced. “But it’s worse because he’s some honorable dude who doesn’t care that you’re pregnant with another man’s child. He reeks of commitment for God’s sake. Hell, you’ll probably be engaged by the time he leaves tonight!”
After taking in Aidan’s words, Emma remained speechless. When they had stared each other down for a few agonizing seconds, Aidan sighed. “Fine. Let him come by and check you out.”
“He’s not checking me out. He’s checking my vital signs. He even has a portable ultrasound to check on Noah.”
“Fabulous,” Aidan muttered before starting to the door.
“You’re not being fair,” she said.
Aidan whirled around, fire burning in his eyes. “Excuse me?”
“Can’t you at all empathize with what I’m going through? All this confusion I’m feeling about you and about us and all the uncertainness—you felt this too, didn’t you?”
“Are you insinuating that what you’re going through right now is the same thing I did about committing to you?”
“No, it’s just—”
Aidan held up a hand. “I’d think long and hard about making any comparisons, Em. Because in the long run, my confusion led me to screw up the most wonderful thing I ever had.” He shook his head sadly at her. “I wouldn’t want you to have to go through the same thing.”
Her chest caved in at his words, and she had to suck in a few harsh breaths. Was Aidan right? Was she throwing away happiness with both hands because of her stupid uncertainty?
His voice brought Emma out of her thoughts. “How long should I be gone tonight?”
“Aidan, you don’t have to leave. You can stay right here and see that there’s nothing going on.”
“I may be a masochist but only to a certain extent,” he replied bitterly.
Emma sighed. “He’s coming at five, and he has to go into work at nine.”
Aidan bobbed his head in acknowledgement. “I’ll have my phone if you need me.”
Without another word, he left her. When the back door slammed shut, she jumped. Beau came into the bedroom and gave her a WTF look. She rolled her eyes. “Yeah, yeah, it’s all my fault, right?”