The Proposal (21 page)

When he started to pull away, she gave a cry of
protest. “Feel us, Emma. It’s right here, and all you have to do is accept it,”
he murmured against her lips.

Her eyes opened, and she gazed up at him. “Emma, I
l—”

The sound of the doorbell cut him off and snapped
her out of his spell. “Oh God,” she moaned. Her hands dropped from his neck to
push against his chest. “Let me go.” When he still held her tight, she brought
her panicked gaze to his agonized one. “Please, Aidan.”

His arms dropped limply from her as his shoulders
drooped in defeat. “Fine. Go to him. I hope he can give you what you obviously
don’t want from me. But don’t think for one minute that you’re not doing the
same thing I did. You’re running away from happiness and trying to calm your
fears with someone else.”

He then turned and left her alone in the bathroom.
Feeling lightheaded, she gripped the countertop. Tears pooled in her eyes, but
she fought to keep her composure. She heard Aidan open the front door and ask
Pesh inside. She glanced in the mirror and grimaced. Her kiss with Aidan had
smeared her lipstick. “Just a second!” she called.

“Take your time,” Pesh replied good-naturedly. Emma
was sure he was just being polite considering the fact Aidan was there.

Once she finished adjusting her make-up, she grabbed
her purse and hurried down the hallway. Pesh stood in the foyer with his back
to her. His hands were thrust into his pockets nervously playing with his keys
while Aidan was nowhere in sight. She cleared her throat. “I’m so sorry I was
late.”

He whirled around and then drank in her appearance.
A bright smile curved on his face. “You look so absolutely gorgeous that any
man would be a fool not to instantly forgive you.”

“Thank you,” she replied. She couldn’t help noticing
how handsome he looked in his dress coat that hid the suit and tie he was
wearing underneath. A cream colored scarf was draped around his neck. “You look
very nice yourself.”

“Thank you. I appreciate that.” He glanced around
the foyer. “Where’s your coat?”

“Oh, just one second.” She started for the closet by
the kitchen when Aidan appeared, clutching her formal dress coat in his hands.
“You don’t want to forget this. It’s supposed to be down in the 40’s tonight. I
don’t want you or Noah catching a chill,” he said.

She started to reach for it, but he held it out to
put it on her. Turning her back to him, she faced Pesh. His jaw clenched as she
watched Aidan slide the coat up over her arms and onto her shoulders. “Thank
you.”

“You’re welcome.” Aidan’s fingers lingered on her
until she finally stepped away from him.

“I guess we better go. We don’t want to miss our
dinner reservations,” Emma said to Pesh.

“Good seeing you again, Aidan. Tell your father I
hope he’s taking good care of himself.”

“Yeah, same to you. I’ll tell Pop you said hello.”

Emma couldn’t believe that Aidan was practically
being cordial. But when they reached the front door, he called, “Take care of
my girl.”

Pesh’s hand froze on the doorknob. “Um, I will,” he
muttered before he jerked the door open for Emma. Once it closed behind him,
Pesh exhaled noisily.

“I’m so sorry for that,” Emma began as they started
down the stairs.

“It’s okay. I would probably have reacted the same
way.”

“Seriously?”

Pesh nodded as he held open the door of his Jaguar.
“If someone was trying to encroach on the woman I loved, I’d probably be less
than civil.”

“But you’re not encroaching. He knows we’re just
friends.” Emma couldn’t help noticing that Pesh flinched at the word
friend
.
“We are still friends, aren’t we, Pesh?”

A smile forced its way to his lips. “Of course we
are.”

Uneasiness crept into the pit of her stomach. Her
expression must’ve alerted Pesh to her feelings because he said, “Emma, if you
don’t feel comfortable about tonight or leaving Aidan, we don’t have to do
this. I would never, ever want to do anything that makes you uncomfortable.”

The sincerity in his voice made Emma shake her head.
“No, I’m fine. Let’s go.” But the truth was she was far from fine. Her emotions
buzzed and hummed like a swarm of locusts ready to overtake her at any moment.

He nodded, and after she had eased down into the
seat, he closed the door for her.

Once he made his way around the car, he slid inside
and cranked up the engine. He turned to her and smiled. “I’m glad you’ve
consented to come with me tonight. My sister and brother-in-law will be joining
us.”

“Oh,” she murmured at the insinuation of a double
date.

“But Shevta is aware we’re not committed to one
another, so you don’t have to worry about it being strange.”

Yeah, I’m sure she thinks there’s a lot
more between us than you’re letting on—just like Becky did!
  Emma thought,
but she pinched her lips tight. Her fingers went to the hem of her coat, and
she twisted it with nervousness.

Pesh tried filling the uncomfortable silence with
conversation about his sister and brother-in-law. Emma could tell he was very
fond of Shevta, and she sounded like an amazing woman.

“Where are we eating?”

“An Indian restaurant close to the Fox.”

Emma’s stomach churned at the prospect, but before
she could try to put on a poker face, Pesh burst out laughing. “I’m only
teasing you.”

A nervous giggle escaped her lips. “Really?”

He momentarily tore his eyes away from the road to
give her a beaming smile. “I made reservations at The Livingston, so we would
be right across the street and have plenty of time to eat and relax.”

“Oh, I’ve always wanted to eat there. It’s in such a
beautiful, old building with the Georgian Terrace Hotel.”

“I’m glad I made a good choice.”

Emma smiled. “I think one day when I’m not pregnant,
I’ll get up the courage to try Indian food again.”

“Do you really think so?” When she bobbed her head,
Pesh said, “Now that is what I call courage.”

“Actually, you don’t know the entire story and how
true that statement is!”

“Oh, what happened?”

She winced before relating the story of throwing up
on Aidan. Of course, she did manage to leave out a lot of details about what
went on between them that night.

Pesh’s expression turned serious. “I hate to hear
you got so sick. I should have realized mixing all those spices wouldn’t be
good for you—especially if you had such a sensitive palate.”

“It’s okay. Things like that happen,” Emma said as
they eased into the parking lot across from The Livingston.

After turning off the car, Pesh turned to her. “So
we’ll be on the lookout for the blandest food possible tonight to ensure you
don’t have to make a run for the bathroom or throw up in the orchestra pit?”

Emma laughed. “I’m not that sensitive.”

“Phew, good to hear.” He then came around not only
to open the car door for her, but he took her hand to help her up out of the
car.

She cocked her head at him. “You know, I’m not so
enormous yet that I’m having mobility issues.”

He winked. “I know. I just used it as a ploy to get
to hold your hand.”

Emma couldn’t help laughing at the impish grin that
formed on his cheeks. “May I keep it to escort you into the restaurant?”

“I suppose so.”

“Didn’t want you to think I was getting too
forward.”

“I’ll make sure to let you know if that happens.”

When the crosswalk sign turned, they hustled across
the street and into the restaurant. Once they reached the hostess stand, Pesh
dropped her hand. “Reservation for Nadeen,” he said.

The hostess glanced down at her book. “Yes, two of
your party is already here. Please follow me.”

Pesh motioned for Emma to go first, and she fell in
step behind the hostess. When they stopped in front of the table where an
attractive Indian couple sat, Emma drew in a deep breath.

“Shevta, Sanjay, this is my friend, Emma Harrison,”
Pesh introduced.

Emma thrust out her hand to Shevta. “Nice to meet
you.”

Shevta rewarded her with a broad smile as she pumped
Emma’s hand. “The pleasure is all mine, Ms. Harrison. Please sit down.”

Emma shook Sanjay’s hand before eyeing an empty
seat. After helping her off with her coat, Pesh pulled out her chair and then
eased her up to the table.

Once they had given their drink orders, Shevta
turned to Emma. “So I understand you’re a big fan of the opera?”

“Oh yes. My mother used to bring me to the Fox when
I was younger. I was only thirteen when I first saw
Aida
.”

“Sanjay and I have had season tickets since we got
married. With his crazy schedule, we haven’t been able to include Alpesh as
much as he would like,” Shevta said.

“I’m so very grateful you allowed me to tag along
this evening.”

With a sly smile, Shevta said, “Oh no, we’re
thrilled to have you.”

Emma shifted in her seat and tried focusing her
attention on her menu and not the growing tension at the table about what she
and Pesh were or weren’t.

***

The rest of dinner went smoothly, and she actually
enjoyed being out with Shevta and Sanjay. Of course, Pesh was his usual
charming self, and she couldn’t help feeling a tiny fluttering in her chest
each time she caught him looking at her or whenever he winked playfully.

Once they finished their meal, they walked across
the street under the flashing lights of the illuminated Fox Theater sign. When
the usher led them to the third row in the orchestra, Emma turned back to Pesh
with widened eyes. “These seats are amazing!”

He smiled as he took her coat. “I’m glad you like
them.”

“Like them? I don’t think I’ve ever been this close.
I’ll feel like I’m back on the stage. Well, not like I was ever on a stage like
this.”

“You were involved in the theater?” Pesh asked as
they eased down into the plush velvet seats.

“Oh yes.” Emma then spent the remaining time before
the lights dimmed regaling Pesh about her musical roles.

From the time the curtain rose, Emma sat mesmerized
in her seat. The costumes, the score, the performances—they were breathtaking
and so much better than she remembered. When the cast came out for their
curtain calls, she clapped until her palms stung and turned red.

As they started up the aisle, Emma felt Pesh’s hand
on her lower back, guiding her from being knocked about in the crowd.
Blustering cold air met them as they pushed through the lobby doors and under
the awning.

“It was very nice meeting you,” Sanjay said.

“Same to you,” Emma replied, shaking his hand again.

Shevta leaned over to whisper in Emma’s ear. “We
hope to see you again soon. I haven’t seen Pesh so happy in a long time.”

At the insinuation, Emma’s chest caved, and she
found it hard to breathe. How could she explain to Shevta that she didn’t
reciprocate Pesh’s feelings, and that no matter how hard she tried not to, she
was only going to hurt him in the end? Or was she only lying to herself by
ignoring the tiny flickering building within her whenever Pesh smiled at her or
did something sweet or thoughtful? With Pesh, she would never have to worry
about unfaithfulness or not being able to say how he felt. He wore his heart on
his sleeve, and he was so old-fashioned, he would never think of cheating.

Finally, she murmured, “Thank you.”

As they waved good-bye to Sanjay and Shevta, Pesh
linked his arm through hers. “So did you enjoy
Aida
again?”

“Oh I adored it! It’s such a beautiful love story,
even the sad parts.”

“You had me worried with all the sniffling.”

Emma grinned. “I couldn’t help it. It’s a mixture of
me being a hormonal ball of mush as well as the fact I always cry in emotional
parts of movies, books or the theater.”

They were about to round the corner to the parking
lot when Pesh stopped. “What’s wrong?” Emma asked.

Pesh motioned to the horse drawn carriage at the
curb. “How about a ride?”

Emma widened her eyes at both the romantic sentiment
and the prospect of getting into the carriage. “I would love to, but...”

“You’re afraid you can’t get up there?”

She furrowed her brows. “How did you…?”

He laughed. “Lucky guess. But have no fear. I’m
pretty sure we can manage it.” He took her hand and put it on the carriage
side. “Now put your foot in the stirrup.” His hands went to her waist and
tenderly hoisted her up. She pulled her other leg up and then pitched forward
onto the seat. “Oomph,” she muttered, as she tried rearranging her dress.

“Are you okay?”

“I’m fine.”