The Party

“Travisina?” Connor suggested.

Emma giggled. “No, I don’t think so.”

Connor laughed. “We’ve got time to work on a girl’s name.”

“As long as he or she is healthy, I don’t care what we have.”

He pushed away from her to grab up their wine glasses. “Let’s drink to our future child.”

“To our baby,” Emma said before toasting with Connor.

***

Chapter Three

Aidan swept through the front doors of the Commerce Country club. He nodded at a few of his fellow colleagues. His fingers went to adjust the tie on his tux. He had barely been in the damn thing for thirty minutes, and it already felt like it was choking him. Spotting his best work buddy, Blake, he weaved in and out of the couples to meet up with him.

“Well, hello, Fitzy, how goes it?” Blake asked.

Without a response, Aidan jerked the glass of Scotch from Blake’s hand and downed it in one fiery gulp. “Hmm, that bad huh?” Blake asked with a smirk.

“Sorry man. I’ve been in family hell all damn day.”

“The Baptism thing?”

Aidan nodded. “That was at noon, but then there was a party at my sister’s house.” Aidan shuddered as he thought of how he had gotten corned by each of his sisters throughout the afternoon. Although they hit him at different times, their message was a unified one. He was thirty-two years old, and it was time for him to settle down and carry on the family name. It had been a living hell. “I just escaped an hour ago.”

Blake furrowed his brown brows. “You mean, there wasn’t any good booze at the party to at least take the edge off?”

“Yeah, but if I had started downing it like a lush, that would have just given my sisters more ammunition to give me shit about. Not to mention my dad would have joined in on the tirade as well.”

“Then I guess it’s time you started drinking heavily. Why don’t you head on over to the bar and get us both another Scotch?” Blake suggested.

“I may make it two for me and one for you,” Aidan grumbled.

“Pace yourself buddy. The night is young.”

Aidan bobbed his head and once again weaved in and out of the crowd. He was almost to the bar when someone jostled into him, causing him to lose his footing for a moment. He whirled around to see a vision before him. He had seen and screwed beautiful women before, but she was something altogether special and enticing. Her alabaster cheeks flushed with embarrassment, and she was hiding her face behind a shroud of her fiery auburn hair that fell in waves down her bare back. And damn if she wasn’t wearing an emerald dream of a dress that hugged her ample curves like a second skin. He loved red heads, but most of all, he loved red heads in green. Something about the color brought out every perfect feature they had.

“Are you okay?” he finally asked.

She nodded her head furiously. “I’m so sorry. My heel got caught in the carpet for a second. That’s why I bumped into you.”

He gave her his best sultry smile. “No harm done.”

“Once again, I’m sorry,” she said.

Before he could stop her, she spun around and headed for the other side of the room. As he watched her retreating form, he shook his head and fought the urge to adjust himself with the heat pooling below his waist. Now there was an interesting development. She was just the kind of woman he would enjoy taking home and ensuring she screamed his name over and over when she came. The shy guise she had going on stoked his interest because he could pretty much bet that with the color of her hair, she had a fiery personality to match it.

After grabbing up the two Scotch’s, he headed back to Blake. Two of his other work buddies, Chris and Oliver, had joined Blake. “Hey guys,” Aidan said with a beaming smile.

Blake gave Aidan a quizzical look as he took his glass. “Did you throw back a couple more of these?”

“No why?”

“Because you have a bounce in your step that you didn’t five minutes ago.”

Aidan chuckled. “That’s because I found the woman I’m spending the night with.”

“Damn, you work fast. Who is she?” Chris asked.

“She’s a fiery redhead in a green dress that I’m going to enjoy spending hours coaxing the inner hellcat out of.”

Oliver moaned. “Emma f**king Harrison.”

Aidan widened his eyes. “Really? You could identify her just by that measly description I just gave you?”

Crossing his arms over his chest, Oliver said, “Long ass legs, fabulous tits, green eyes, long red hair and kinda shy?”

Aidan choked on his Scotch. “Yeah, that’s her.”

Oliver shook his head. “Good luck with that one, bro. She works on my floor, and half of the dudes there have tried to hit that and struck out.”

Gulping down the last of his drink, Aidan only grinned. “Oh, I do like a challenge. I usually come harder at the end of the night.”

Chris and Blake snorted with laughter. “Only you, man,” Blake replied.

“You gotta admit that the chase is hot,” Aidan argued.

Chris shrugged. “Not when I’m horny as hell like I am tonight. I’d rather them just fall over with their legs open.”

“Whatever, man,” Aidan said, craning his neck through the crowd. Finally, he spotted his emerald hottie. “What did you say her name was again?”

“Emma.”

“Thanks. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go work on getting Emma to pry her lovely thighs apart for me.”

“Good luck. You’re going to need it,” Oliver said.

Aidan only shook his head. He never needed luck to seal the deal with a woman. He had his looks, his sex appeal, and his personality. So what if a few inept PR guys had struck out with Emma. He wouldn’t.

***

Chapter Four

He was staring at her again…and smiling. After catching the very handsome guy she had bumped into earlier eyeing her across the crowded room, Emma had vowed not to look in his direction again. Instead, she had tried focusing on the conversation between Casey and the other girls from her floor. But when she’d peeked up through her eyelashes, she’d caught him looking. He didn’t seem embarrassed by the fact he was openly staring at her. So she had finally gotten up the courage to give him a shy smile back.

And that was the game they had been playing for the last five minutes—stealing glances and smiling at each other.

“Who are you grinning at?” Casey asked.