The Proposal

“That’s not true,” Emma argued.

“Obviously it is. If you were totally sold on us getting back together, you wouldn’t let Pesh come over, even in a medical capacity. You would have already said you wanted to be with me.”

“I said if it bothered you so much, I wouldn’t let Pesh come over, and you were more than welcome to have stayed here—it’s your house for goodness sake. You could have stayed and seen for yourself that nothing romantic happened between Pesh and me. But you chose to leave.”

“So now you’re trying to act like I left so that must mean I didn’t really care if Pesh tried to make a move?”

“No, that’s not it at all.”

“Once again, everything is all my fault, right?”

Emma rubbed her temples. “Can we please not argue about this? I’m tired.”

“Yeah, well, so am I.” He flung the covers back and stomped from the bed. Emma didn’t bother asking where he was going. The pounding of his feet on the stairs told her everything she needed to know.

Using her fists, she ground the tears from her eyes. Dammit, why didn’t she know what was the right thing to do? Why couldn’t it be clear that she needed to be with Aidan, or she needed to tell him good-bye? Why did she constantly feel like her emotions were yo-yoing back and forth?

At her weeping, Beau appeared and jumped into the bed with her. “Oh Beau,” she sobbed, wrapping her arms around him. He lay stock still, letting her get all of her emotions out. Finally, she fell into an exhausted sleep.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

The atmosphere between Emma and Aidan was strained for the last few days of her bed-rest. Although Aidan brought her everything she needed, catered to her every whim, it wasn’t the same as before. He no longer stayed and watched movies with her. And even with Beau beside her, the bed was cold and empty without him at night.

Aidan was forcing her hand. He felt he had done everything humanly possible to make her forgive him, and now he was done going the extra mile. Whatever happened between them was now up to her. And she was completely clueless on how to proceed.

When she went to see her OB, Dr. Middleton, she was satisfied that everything looked great, and Emma could come off bed-rest and return to work the following week. Although she should have been happier, uncertainty still remained heavy. Did she leave that afternoon and go back to her house? Did she stay and try to work things out with Aidan? Or did she prepare to move to Ellijay to be with Grammy and Granddaddy like she had originally planned?

After she and Aidan got into the car, a tense silence hung around them. Finally after what felt like an eternity, Aidan sighed. “Listen, Em, you’re probably not going to like what I’m about to say, but I feel like I need to.”

“Okay,” she replied hesitantly.

“I know you’re officially off bed-rest, but I don’t think you need to be doing anything really strenuous to start with. So if you’re willing, I’d prefer if you kept staying at my house…at least a little while longer.”

When she turned to stare at Aidan, she saw his jaw clenching and unclenching. He was trying to keep his emotions in check. She knew that meant he really wanted her to stay. That thought made her heart beat a little faster. “Are you sure you wouldn’t mind?”

Aidan tore his glance away from the road to pin her with his stare. “Of course I wouldn’t. Stay a couple more days or weeks.” Then under his breath he murmured, “Stay forever.”

Her breath hitched at his allusion to commitment, but she decided not to press it. “If you’re really sure, then I’d love to stay.”

She gave him a bright smile, which caused a smirk to curve on his lips. “Good. I’m glad to hear it. Now why don’t we celebrate by letting me buy you dinner?”

“No, no, this one needs to be my treat. You’ve already done enough.”

“Hmm, I don’t think I’ve ever let a woman pay for dinner,” Aidan mused.

“Good. You can learn that there’s a first time for everything.”

Aidan chuckled. “All right, Em. Since dinner is on you, let me find the most expensive place possible!”

***

The following night Emma prepared for her non-date to the opera with Pesh. After putting the final touches on her hair, she stood back from the bathroom mirror and took in her image. With its empire waist and wide spaghetti straps, the violet colored cocktail dress came just below her knees. Her nose wrinkled a little at how her straining pregnancy cle**age wanted to spill out of the top. It seemed like she had gone up a cup size in the last few days. She would be sure when she wasn’t wearing her coat to wear her drape.

She hadn’t been dressed up in so long, and she had originally bought the dress to wear to Casey and Nate’s rehearsal dinner since it promised to be a swanky affair. But she was glad to get more wear out of it to the opera.

At the sound of the front door slamming, she cringed. “Em?” Aidan’s voice called.

“I’m in the bathroom.” Like a true coward, she had yet to mention her plans of going out with Pesh. She knew it would cause unnecessary trouble. She had hoped to be able to sneak out before Aidan got home. Leaving behind a note or text that she would be out would have been so much easier than having to face him. But Aidan couldn’t seem to get it through his head that there was nothing between her and Pesh, and at the same time, he had yet to tell her the magic three words she had been longing to hear.

While in her mind she told herself that her opera plans were innocent, her heart raged in fury at her. Deep down, she knew she was hurting Aidan, and that regardless of what he had done to her, that made her a horrible person. She should have told Pesh no the first time he broached the subject of attending the opera, but instead, she gone against her better judgment and agreed.

She was snapped out of her thoughts at the sound of Aidan shuffling down the hall. “I picked up some Chinese on my way in. I thought if you were feeling up to it, we might go to Percy’s swim meet tonight. He really wants us to come. I swear, he’s called me like five times.”

Emma winced at the fact she would not only be disappointing Percy but Aidan as well. He appeared in the bathroom door with a half-eaten egg roll in his hand. He took one look at her, and his mouth gaped open. “I think you’re going to be a little overdressed for the YMCA.”

Warmth flooded her cheeks. “Actually, I’m going to the opera tonight.”