The Proposition(71)
Aidan chuckled. “That would have been a tragedy.”
“Oh yes, you wouldn’t have been able to get me pregnant later on,” she mused.
He pressed his lips against her ear, causing her to shiver. “Or give you mind blowing multiple orgasms.”
“Aidan!” she squealed, shoving him away.
He laughed at her outrage. “You know I’m right though.”
A booming voice interrupted them. “Emmie Lou, get on over here and give me a hug!”
She rolled her eyes but smiled in spite of herself. “While Grammy might have been a piece of cake, Granddaddy is probably going to be a real pain in the ass about all this,” she said to Aidan. She felt him tense a little as he followed her over to where a silver headed man stood in faded jeans. “Granddaddy, when are you going to learn I’m a little too old for that nickname?”
He grinned. “Nonsense. You’ll always be my baby girl and my little Emmie Lou!”
Emma hugged him tight, closing her eyes in contentment as his familiar scent of peppermint and Old Spice filled her nose. “I’ve missed you.”
He pushed her shoulders back and cocked a bushy, silver eyebrow at her. “It’s been two whole weeks, Baby Girl! I’s about to send the boys down to the city to check up on you.”
“I’m sorry, but things have been a little crazy lately.” She noticed her grandfather’s gaze was no longer focused on her. Instead, he stared quizzically at Aidan. “Oh, Granddaddy, I want you to meet someone.” Grabbing Aidan’s hand, she pulled him forward. At the sight of their fingers intertwined, the congenial expression on Granddaddy’s face evaporated, much to her dismay, and was replaced by one of veiled anger. Emma couldn’t help noticing that Aidan’s forehead had broken out in beads of sweat not from the heat, but from Granddaddy’s intense glare. “This is Aidan Fitzgerald. He’s my baby’s father.” She smiled at Aidan. “And this is my grandfather, Earl.”
“Nice to meet you, sir,” Aidan said, his voice cracking slightly.
Earl shifted his chaw of tobacco and eyed Aidan’s hand. He reluctantly pumped it up and down. “Nice meetin’ ya.”
“Emma!” someone called. When she threw a glance over her shoulder, her cousin Dave waved.
“One second. I’ll be right back.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
Aidan reluctantly let go of Emma’s hand. Frankly, he wanted to be a downright pansy and run after her. The last thing in the world he wanted was to be left with the old man. He shifted uncomfortably on his feet, wiping the sheen of sweat off his face with the back of his hand.
Earl spit out a stream of tobacco juice. “So you plannin’ on stickin’ around after the baby is born?”
“Yes, sir.”
“You gonna help out with raisin’ it?”
“Well, we haven’t really worked all that out yet.” As Earl’s expression darkened even more, Aidan quickly replied, “But I’m going to try. Honest, I am.”
Earl’s eyes narrowed. “What about marryin’ her?”
Aidan felt like he’d been kicked in the balls. He fought to catch his breath. Shit, if I answer this question wrong, this dude is seriously going to kill me. His mouth ran dry, and he licked his lips. Is it getting darker out here, or am I’m going to pass out?
“Son, you didn’t answer my question. Are you gonna marry my Emmie Lou or not?”
“Granddaddy!” Emma cried, her eyes wide with horror. Aidan wheezed in relief that he was momentarily off the hook.
“What darlin’? It’s an honest question.”
Emma flushed red from her cheeks down to her neck. Even her bare shoulders were tinged. “No, it isn’t. Aidan and I are comfortable with the arrangement we have. If we get ready to change anything, we’ll let you know, but until then, we don’t want to feel any pressure, okay?” When her gaze flickered over to Aidan’s to see if he was okay with her answer, he nodded.
Earl kissed the top of Emma’s head. “Fine, Baby Girl. I won’t mention it again.” He gave Aidan one last smoldering look of disgust before strolling away.
“He’s just messing with you,” Emma said. When he didn’t reply, Emma reached over and rubbed his arm. “You aren’t really afraid of him, are you?”
He glanced back at Earl. Surrounded by four of his grandsons, he sat whittling on a stick. The long blade of his knife gleamed in the sunlight causing Aidan to shudder. “Hell yes, I am! I know he seems like your sweet little grandfather, but the man could end me if he wanted, probably with his bare hands. And I’m sure your uncles and cousins wouldn’t mind helping him bury me in a shallow grave.”