The Proposition(73)
“Whaddya mean?”
Aidan sucked in a ragged breath before he spoke. “Well, it’s just Emma told me about you being a very religious man, so I wouldn’t imagine you do a lot of drinking. If I accept, you’ll think me a drunkard who doesn’t deserve to date your granddaughter. On the other hand, if you do enjoy a drink once in awhile and I refuse, then you’re going to consider me a sissified city boy. Right?”
Earl stared Aidan down. Finally, a wide grin broke on his face. He thumped Aidan heartily on the back. “I like your way of thinking.” Without breaking Aidan’s gaze, he brought the Mason jar to his lips and took a long gulp. “A little sip of spirits never hurt anyone.”
Aidan laughed as he took the moonshine from Earl. The moment the liquid entered his mouth it burned a fiery stream of torment down his throat and into his stomach. With Earl watching him expectantly, he did his best to fight his watering eyes and the urge to choke and hack. “Good stuff,” he replied, mustering the manliest voice he could. He quickly passed the jar back before he could be expected to drink anymore.
With a chuckle, Earl turned to Emma. “Maybe he’s a keeper after all, Emmie Lou.”
She widened her eyes as Earl walked off. “I can’t believe you’ve managed to win him over, especially so fast. It took Travis ages not to get a death glare 24/7, and we’d known each other our whole lives.”
Aidan smirked at her. “After everything we’ve been through, I can’t believe you doubted my ability to charm the pants off your grandfather.” He leaned over and whispered in her ear. “Let’s not forget all the times I’ve managed to charm the panties off of you.”
Playfully, she pushed him back. “You seem to forget the first time you tried to play Marketing McDreamy with me at the Christmas Party, and I said absolutely and totally not.”
Aidan chuckled. “That’s the truth. Worst rejection of my life.”
“I doubt that.”
“Trust me, babe. It was.”
She couldn’t hide the surprise on her face. To change the subject, she said, “Would you go get us some dessert?”
He raised his eyebrows. “Still hungry?”
She laughed. “Asks the man who ate two plates of BBQ to my one.”
“All right. I’ll go get you something sweet.”
She kissed his cheek. “The baby and I thank you for it.”
“Yeah, yeah. You’re going to milk this pregnancy thing for everything it’s worth, aren’t you?”
“Damn straight,” she replied.
Chuckling, he rose out of his chair. “Anything specific you’d like?”
“Maybe a little sampling of everything?”
He gave her a mini-salute. “Yes, ma’am.”
After hitting up the desserts in a major way, Aidan started back to the table with two plates filled to the brim. When he got there, Emma held a tiny infant in her arms while chatting up a young couple. “Oh, Aidan, these are my cousins Stacy and Mark.” She glanced down at the baby in her arms and a broad grin stretched on her face. “And this is my namesake, Emma Kate.”
“You’re kidding.”
Stacy smiled. “Well, Emma Katherine was our great-grandmother’s name, but I couldn’t imagine a sweeter person to name my baby after than Em.”
“Neither could I,” Aidan replied, winking at Emma.
“Come on, hon, we better go get a plate before all the food is gone,” Mark suggested.
When Stacy reached for the baby, Emma shook her head. “I can watch her while you guys eat.”
“Really?”
“Of course. It’ll be good practice.”
Mark chuckled. “Wow, I don’t think we’ve had a baby free meal in the six weeks since Emma Kate was born.”
“Thanks, Em,” Stacy replied.
Aidan eased down beside Emma as Mark and Stacy walked off. Her appetite seemed to have evaporated with the baby’s appearance. So he started working his way through his plate of sweets as Emma cooed at the baby. “Isn’t she beautiful?” she asked.
Aidan cut his eyes over to infant swathed in pink from head to toe. “She’s almost as beautiful as her namesake.”
Emma laughed. “Aren’t you the charmer?”
When he had overloaded himself with sugar, he pushed his plate away. Emma leaned over, holding the baby out to him. “Want to take her for awhile?”
“So you can eat?”
“No, I just thought you might like to be around a little girl for once. You only have younger nephews.”
Aidan eyed Emma Kate warily. She was so tiny and fragile compared to Mason’s bulk. He was afraid he might break her somehow. “Seriously, Em, I don’t know anything about little girls.”