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.”