The Proposal (18 page)

“Nope. Everything has been fine.”

He smiled. “Such a blessing to hear. I’m sure once
you’re off bed-rest in the next week, you can look forward to a happy and
healthy remainder of your pregnancy.”

“That’s what I’ve been hoping and praying for,” Emma
replied.

Pesh patted her hand reassuringly. “Just believe
it.” He then put away the wand.

Emma glanced down at her sticky belly. “Do you mind
grabbing me a hand towel from the kitchen?”

From his medical bag, he produced a towel. “I always
come prepared.”

She laughed. “Well, thank you then.”

“While you get cleaned up, I’ll go get us some
plates and silverware.”

“Sounds good.”

As Emma swiped herself clean of the jelly, she heard
Pesh opening and closing cabinets. He had started into the living room when a
bang at the basement door caused him to jump and almost drop everything. His
wide-eyes met Emma’s as scratching and howling persisted at the door. “Is Aidan
keeping someone hidden in the basement?”

She giggled. “That would be our…um, well, Aidan’s
very spoiled dog, Beau.”

Pesh nodded as he set down the plates. “Want me to
let him out?”

“I guess so. I wasn’t quite sure how he might react
to you.”

“Animals usually love me, so we’ll see if I can win
him over.” When Pesh opened the basement door, Beau came bounding in. He raced
over to Emma and licked her hand. “Hey good boy.”

Then his ears perked up, and he swung around to take
in Pesh. A low growl erupted in his throat. “No, no, Beau. Pesh is our friend,”
she said, grabbing his collar.

Pesh slowly walked over to the couch. Tentatively, he
stuck his hand out for Beau to smell. After Beau took it in, he still stared
hard at Pesh. “I would almost think Aidan had warned him about me before he
left tonight,” he mused.

Emma laughed. “He’s usually really good around
strangers, but I was afraid this might happen with Aidan gone.”

“He’s just being a good, territorial dog. Since he
doesn’t know me, he’s protecting you and the baby.” Pesh tilted his head to the
side. “Hmm, let’s see if I can make friends.” He dug his hand into one of the
bags. “Let’s see if a piece of Samosa might seal the deal.” He reached out to
Beau with the piece of what looked like a tortilla.

Beau glanced back at her. “It’s okay. You can have
it.” Reluctantly, he inched forward and snatched the bread out of Pesh’s hand.

“What exactly is that?”

“It’s a wrap of potatoes and spices.”

“Oh jeez, then he’ll be in heaven. He loves potatoes
almost as much as his daddy does.” When she realized what she had said, she
couldn’t fight the flush filling her cheeks.

“So while I get things unpacked, do you want to tell
me what happened with you and Aidan?”

Emma grimaced. “Do I have to?”

“Not if it’s going to upset you. I would never want
to cause you any pain.”

She groaned. “No, I guess it’s only fair that you
know what you’re dealing with.”

“Or what I’m up against?”

“I guess,” she murmured.

“So, you and Aidan were dating, you got pregnant,
and he couldn’t commit?” Pesh suggested, as his hand delved into one of the
bags.

Oh God. How could he be further from the truth? “Not
exactly.”

Pesh drew his attention away from the containers he
was taking out and looked at Emma. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have asked.”

“No, it’s just at the hospital when I said it was a
long story, I wasn’t kidding.” After drawing in a deep breath, she proceeded to
tell Pesh everything from the start of wanting Connor to father her child to
Aidan’s betrayal.

When she finally finished, Pesh shook his head.
“You’re right. That was a really long story.” At his teasing, Emma smacked his
arm playfully, and he grinned. “Thank you for sharing that with me. I know it
couldn’t have been easy unburdening yourself of all that pain.”

Emma cocked her head at him. “Do you always talk so
proper—so worldly?”

“My parents like to say I’m an old soul. I guess
that’s why I sound the way I do.”

“Were you the oldest?”

Pesh nodded. “Yes, you could say I’m the classic
oldest child stereotype. My baby brother…well, he’s a whole other story for
another day.”

Emma laughed as Pesh started pouring out some soup
into a bowl. She sniffed appreciatively at the bowl. “Hmm, what’s this?”

“Rasam or tomato soup.”

She took a tentative bite. “That’s really good.”

“I thought you might like it. It’s very healthy too.
Good for digestion.”

Emma laughed. “The restaurant should hire you to do
PR for them.”

“You think?”

She nodded. “I should know. I mean, I do work in
advertising.”

After taking in a few spoonfuls of the soup, she
eyed another container Pesh was opening. At her apprehension, he said, “Just
take a bite of the Daal Makhani.” When she gave Pesh a skeptical look, he
laughed. “Trust me. It’s good for you. It has a lot of protein and fiber in
it.”

The moment she thrust the spoonful into her mouth
she knew she had made a mistake. “That’s hot.”

“Seriously?”

She bobbed her head while waving her hand in front
of her mouth. “I guess I should have mentioned I’m kinda a wuss when it comes
to spicy foods.”

“Oh, well, then. Why don’t you skip out on that and
take the Butter Chicken instead.” Pesh put some orange looking chicken on her
plate.

“So tell me about your family,” Emma said. It was
hard to talk considering her tongue was still enflamed.

“Well, my father came to America with his parents
when he was just a teenager. He wanted to leave India behind and become
Americanized.” Pesh shook his head. “He even changed his name to Charlie.”

“Really?”

Pesh grinned. “Yes, no one I know except my mother
and my late grandparents called him by his real name.”

Emma pushed her fork around the plate, uncertain of
what to eat next. “What about your mother?”

“She’s the reason why I’m not completely
Americanized, or have a name like Bill or something.”

Emma giggled. “I can’t quite see you as a
‘Bill’…William maybe, but definitely not Bill or Billy.”

“Me either.” Pesh wiped his mouth with his napkin.
“She came over to marry my father when she was just eighteen. They had known
each other as children, but it was very much an arranged marriage.”

“Oh,” Emma murmured. She took a tentative bite of
the lesser of the spicy evils. “Was your marriage arranged?”

“No. In fact, Jade was the first non-Indian girl I
ever dated.”

“Was your mom angry?”

He bobbed his head. “At first. But Jade very much
wanted to acclimate herself to my life and my customs. Over the years we dated,
she slowly grew on my mother.” He grinned at Emma. “As for my father, the
traitor to his culture, the thoughts of a blonde hair, blue eyed
daughter-in-law was a dream come true!”

Emma laughed. “I can only imagine.” When she glanced
up from her plate, she saw that Pesh’s expression had turned serious. “What?”

“I can only imagine he would be thrilled with an
auburn haired beauty with sparkling green eyes.”

Her fork clattered noisily onto the floor. She and
Pesh both leaned over to retrieve it, and they ended up bumping heads. “Oomp,”
Emma muttered. She brought her hand to her head and rubbed her aching hairline.

“I’m sorry I upset you,” Pesh said softly.

“You didn’t upset me. It’s just that…” She nibbled
her lip, unsure of how to proceed. “When you say things like that, I feel like
I’m leading you on. I don’t want you to get hurt.”

“Emma, I am a grown man. I’m fully capable of taking
care of myself and my feelings. I’m also well aware of how plain you’ve made
your intentions to me.”

She shook her head. “Then why bother wasting your
time on me if I’m all closed off?”

“That’s the same question one might pose to Aidan.
Why should he bother pursing you after what he’s done and how you still feel
about him?” He gave her a hesitant smile. “Because you’re worth fighting for.”

“Oh God,” she moaned. She covered her face with her
hands.

“Did I say something wrong?”

From behind her hands, she replied, “Oh no. That’s
the problem. You never say the wrong thing. Everything you say and do is
absolutely wonderful.”

Pesh laughed. “I’m sorry for confusing you, Emma. I
really am.”

She peeked through her fingers at him. “Really?”

“Well, I could lie and say yes, but the truth is I’m
glad I’m slowly breaking down your walls. I want you to be able to see that
whenever you’re ready and if you really want me, I’ll be here.”

“You would say something like that,” she grumbled.

Standing up, Pesh stretched his arms over his head.
“Okay, I think it’s time for a conversation change and for me to clean up.”

“Oh no, you don’t have to do that.”

“I wouldn’t dream of overstepping your hospitality
by leaving a mess.”

“There you go with that worldly talk again,” she
remarked.

He wagged his finger at her. “Okay, so I talk
worldly. What’s something unique about you?”

“Hmm, well…”

“Oh come on. I know there has to be tons of unique
things about you.”

“Okay then, I’m a singer.”

His dark eyebrows shot up in surprise. “You are?”

She nodded and then told Pesh all about growing up
singing at her cousin, Gary’s, bar.

“You sang at bar called ‘Doc’s’?” Pesh asked, the
corners of his lips turning up in amusement.

“Yes, I did. That was Gary’s nickname.”

“Hmm, I like the irony.”

When Pesh winked at her, she shook her head. “Okay,
so I’m a singer. What’s something else unique about you?”

Scratching his chin, Pesh said, “Well, I own and fly
my own plane.”

Emma widened her eyes. “You do?”

“Yep. Actually, it isn’t entirely my own plane. My
father and middle brother also have their pilot’s licenses.”

“Wow, I’ve never been up in a small plane before.”

“Then I’ll have to take you some time.”

Emma’s heartbeat fluttered at the insinuation. As if
he read her confused thoughts, Pesh grinned. “Are you sure you’re done eating?”

Considering her stomach was already churning from
the mixture of spices and dishes, she knew she couldn’t eat another bite. “I’m
good. Thank you.”

“You won’t mind if I take the left-overs in for the
other doctors and nurses?”

“No, no. Go right ahead.”

Pesh grinned. “So I didn’t sell you on Indian food,
huh?”

Emma laughed. “I think from now on I better stick
with one dish instead of sampling them all.”

Pesh had just finished cleaning up when his pager
went off. “Seriously?” he grumbled.

“What’s wrong?”

“They need me in a little early tonight. Full moon
has all the crazies coming out I guess.”

“Really?”

Pesh glanced up at her and smiled. “Which part? Them
needing me to come in or that a full moon really brings out the craziness in
people?”

She giggled. “Both I guess.”

“Oh yes. Full moon nights in the ER are something
out of a horror movie.”

“Then I’ll keep you in my prayers.”

“Please do.” He glanced at the bags around him. “I
think I’m going to have to make two trips. Be right back.” He grabbed the food
bags and his medical bag and headed out the door. Beau started to follow after
him.

“No boy. Come here.”

He immediately came to Emma’s side. The look he gave
her brought a smile to Emma’s lips. “No, I’m not running off with him. Your bed
buddy and provider of table scraps is staying put.”

Beau wagged his tail at her comment. When Pesh came
back in the door, Beau stiffened. Pesh eyed him as he came around the couch for
the ultrasound machine. “Hmm, guess that Samosa didn’t cement our friendship,
huh buddy?”

Beau proceeded to jump on the couch and lay his head
down on Emma’s lap. Pesh laughed good-naturedly. Wagging a finger at Beau, he
said, “You take good care of her and the Little Man, okay?”

Emma smiled. “He will.”

“Thanks for letting me come over tonight.”

“No, it’s me who should be saying thanks for the
fact you were willing to check on me and for bringing dinner.”

“It was my pleasure, and one I hope to repeat in the
future. But I think I’ll wait until you’re off bed-rest to commence more of my
wooing.”

“Okay, I guess we can do that.”

Pesh stroked his chin in thought. “Do you like the
opera?”