The Proposal

“Keep talking that way to me, and I’ll quit eating.”

She gritted her teeth. “I’m glad to see you’re still impossible.”

He winked at her as he finished off his third piece of bread. She twisted her napkin furiously in her lap. “You act like you’re the only one who’s been suffering.”

Aidan’s face perked up. “You mean, you’ve missed me?” he asked, his voice vibrating with emotion.

“Of course I have! How could you even ask such a thing?”

His shoulders sagged. “I just figured when you wouldn’t talk to me that your hate won out over anything else you felt for me.”

“My hatred for you does fuel a lot of my emotions.”

“Touche,” he replied, tipping his beer up.

“Somehow you forget that what should have been one of the happiest days of my life was trampled and spat upon by the man I loved and the father of my child!”

Torment pulsed in Aidan’s eyes as he slowly removed the bottle from his lips. “Jesus Em,” he muttered.

His pained expression overwhelmed her, and her chest rose and fell in harsh pants. Finally she found her voice again. “I’m sorry, but it’s the truth. Trust me, I may look more put together than you, but I’m not. I’m just as much a wreck on the inside. I can’t shut down this time like when I lost Travis or my mom. I have Noah to think about.” A bitter laugh rumbled from her chest. “So you may think the last three weeks have been hell on you, but you can rest assured they have been for me just as much if not more!” Snatching her napkin from her lap, she dabbed the hot tears that pricked the corners of her eyes.

Aidan’s chin trembled. “I swear to God and all that’s holy I wish I could take it back,” he whispered.

He reached out for her hand, but Jenny appeared with their salads. Emma’s emotions suddenly switched gears, and she felt terrible that their outward animosity had scared the other waitress off. For a few minutes, they didn’t speak. It seemed too much had transpired between them to say anything else. By the time Emma had daintily cut her lettuce, drizzled on her dressing, and taken a bite, Aidan had scarfed down his entire salad.

Emma’s fork paused in midair at the sight of his fingers plunging in and out of his mouth. His tongue licked and sucked off every last bit of dressing. Assaulted with memories, her body trembled as she remembered what those fingers and that tongue felt like. Feeling enflamed, she tried looking anywhere but his delicious mouth. What is wrong with you? The last thing on earth you should be thinking about is sex with Aidan! The hormonal pregnancy roller coaster ride she was on seemed hell bent on careening off on a sex crazed course.

When he met her gaze, his hollowed cheeks flushed. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to act like such a caveman.”

“N-No, it’s okay. I’m glad to see you eating so well. You’re obviously very hungry.”

He gazed up at her through his long lashes. “But too stubborn to admit it, right?”

She swallowed her bite of salad. “You never can admit what you should,” she said softly.

“I know,” he grumbled, as he snatched the last slice of bread.

She sighed. “I meant what I said about you needing to shape up. You have to take care of yourself. I don’t like the excessive drinking—it worries me for your health and safety. Regardless of what we are or aren’t, you’re still going to be a father. I can’t have a drunk in my--” she paused. “I mean, in our baby’s life.”

His tortured gaze held hers as he chewed. “So I can still be in Noah’s life, just not yours?”

Not knowing how to respond, she pushed her salad around with her fork. “Em?” Aidan pressed.

“I would never keep you away from Noah if you truly wanted to be a part of his life.”

Jenny interrupted them by bringing their plates. “Everything okay so far?”

Emma forced a smile at the almost loaded meaning of the question. “It’s delicious thank you.”

“I’d like some more bread,” Aidan said.

Jenny nodded. “I’ll take care of it.”

They fell into silence again. “You need to eat your salad,” Aidan finally said.

“Oh, so now you’re telling me to eat?”

“You’re supposed to be eating a lot of green, leafy vegetables for the folic acid.”

She arched her brows in surprise. “And just how do you know that?”

Through a mouthful of baked potato, he said, “What to Expect While You’re Expecting.”

Her heartbeat thundered in her chest so loud she was sure he could hear it. “You actually read the book I gave you?”

He bobbed his head as he shoveled in a bite of steak. “Read some others too,” he muttered between chewing.

She stared at him in disbelief. When he finally looked at her and not his plate, he grinned. “So eat your salad.”

Pursing her lips, she glared at him for a moment before picking up her fork. Once she filled her mouth with an enormous bite of lettuce, she mumbled, “Happy?”

“Mmm, hmm. Eat your steak too. Noah needs his protein.”

Emma snorted exasperatedly but did as she was told. When she cleaned her salad plate, Aidan clapped for her. She laughed in spite of herself. “I don’t think two people have ever been so obsessed with one meal,” she mused.

“I guess we both benefit from having someone take care of us.”

“Maybe,” she murmured.

After pushing his empty plate out of the way, Aidan’s expression grew grave. “I need to tell you the truth about what happened with Amy.”

“I already know.” At Aidan’s puzzled expression, she replied, “Becky told me about how you tried for a year to get her back. How you became an alcoholic…had to go to therapy. It really doesn’t affect us.”

Aidan cringed. “Yeah, well, that’s only half of the story.”

A chill ran over Emma, causing her to shudder. “What do you mean?”

“Only Amy, Pop, and I know the real truth.” He downed the rest of his beer and shook the bottle at the waitress as she passed by.

“So tell me,” Emma prompted.

“After all of our years together, Amy was desperate for us to get married.” He drew in a ragged breath. “She was so desperate that she went as far as to try to trap me into marrying her.”

The world tilted and spun around Emma. “You mean…”