The Proposal (22 page)

“Okay, we’re ready,” Pesh called to the driver.

“Yes, Mr. Nadeen.” With a crack of the reins, the
carriage lurched forward, sending Emma collapsing back against Pesh’s chest.

As she pushed herself off of him, Emma asked, “How
does he know your name?”

“If you want a carriage ride after ten, you have to
hire one.”

“You hired a carriage ride for us?” Emma questioned
incredulously.

“Yes, well, at the time, it seemed like a good
idea—another way for me to woo you. Of course, that was before I picked you up
and experienced the whole scene with Aidan.”

Emma ducked her head. “I’m so sorry.”

Pesh’s fingers tenderly cupped her chin, forcing her
to look at him. “Please don’t apologize. I’m just happy to have had this lovely
evening with you.”

At his earnest expression, Emma smiled. “So am I.
And thank you for being so understanding.”

“It’s my pleasure.”

They took in the sights and landmarks while the
traffic and people bustled around them. To combat the cold, she snuggled closer
to Pesh. He momentarily tensed before wrapping her in his arms. Although she
hated herself for it, she couldn’t help noticing how he felt entirely different
than Aidan. He was taller, more muscular. She felt almost tiny wrapped in his
embrace, even with her ever expanding belly.

“Emma,” he whispered.

She jerked her head off his chest to stare up at
him. The intense longing burning in his eyes took her off guard and sent the tiny
flickering within her to start crackling and building. Before she could stop
herself, she leaned forward, giving Pesh the invitation he sought.

His warm lips brushed tentatively against hers. When
Emma didn’t pull away, he pressed them harder. Ever the gentleman, he didn’t
try to deepen the kiss by seeking entrance for his tongue. Instead, he pulled
away to stare into her eyes. The flickering had sent flames shooting below her
waist, and she brought her lips back to his. This time she slid her tongue along
his lips. Pesh gave a moan low in his throat before darting his tongue against
hers.

In that instant, Emma couldn’t get close enough to
him or get enough of him. Her hands were in his hair while she shifted to
almost sit on his lap. She whimpered in frustration when Pesh’s hands came to
her shoulders to push her back. “Emma, no.”

“What?” she muttered through her haze.

He shook his head. “This isn’t you. It’s your
hormones.”

“Wait, no. That’s not it at all.” She gazed up at
him. “Trust me when I say, you’re a really, really good kisser.”

Pesh chuckled. “And in five minutes, you’re going to
hate yourself and me, just like I do right now.”

“Why?”

“Because I feel like a giant jackass for even
putting the moves on you considering you’ve just come off bed rest, we barely
know each other, and your emotions are with someone else.”

She blinked a few times, taking in his words. Then
her hands flew to cover her face. “Oh God, I just acted like a complete and
total slut, didn’t I?” Emma moaned.

“No, you didn’t.” When she peeked at him, Pesh gave
her a sheepish grin. “Besides, you have your pregnancy hormones to blame. I
should have known better.”

She reached out to take his hand in hers. “It’s not
just the hormones that make me want you, Pesh. You’re an amazing man—handsome,
strong, compassionate, giving of yourself and your heart. Any woman in my place
would be willing to drop her panties for you, even if they usually had
morality.”

He laughed. “All this time and who knew I was such a
panty melter.”

Emma grinned. “You need to get out of the ER more.”

“If I had more evenings to look forward to like
this, then maybe I would.”

At his insinuation, Emma stared down at her lap. A
frustrated noise came from the back of Pesh’s throat. Unwrapping himself from
her, he scooted over to the other seat and tapped the driver. “Ed, I think it’s
about time you backtracked and took us back. It’s a little too cold for Emma to
be out this long.”

“Yes, sir.”

For the remainder of their ride, he sat across from
her, and they talked of Atlanta, not what was happening or not happening
between them. Emma felt frozen solid by the time they got back to the car. She
thrust her hands in front of the heater while shifting to enjoy the heated
leather seats.

“I’m sorry you got so cold. I should have realized
the weather wasn’t cooperating for a carriage ride.”

Rubbing her hands together, she turned to smile at
him. “No, I enjoyed it. Everything about tonight has been so wonderful.”

“Hmm, should I take that for a real compliment
considering you’ve been cooped up for two weeks?”

Emma laughed. “Yes, you should. Although you
probably could have taken me to something I hate like a sporting event, and I
would have enjoyed it.”

“Not much on sports, huh?”

Wrinkling her nose, Emma said, “My heart is with the
theater and the arts.”

Pesh smiled. “I’ll have to remember that.”

They had barely gotten on the interstate when
exhaustion set in. The toasty warm car and the fact she hadn’t done so much in
weeks kept her fighting to keep her eyes open. It wasn’t long before she nodded
off.

The car coming to a stop jolted her awake. Her
eye-lids fluttered open to take in Aidan’s driveway. Yawning, she turned to
Pesh. “I’m pretty rude company, aren’t I?”

He shook his head. “I’m surprised you made it as
long as you did. It’s been a big day.”

“Yes, it has.”

“Here, let me walk you to the door.”

As Pesh started around the car, Emma grabbed her
purse. The house was dark as they started up the front walk-way. Aidan hadn’t
left the porch light on for her. She drew in a shaky breath at the thought of
facing him again.

When they got on the porch, Emma turned to Pesh. “I
want to thank you again for the lovely evening.”

Pesh smiled. “It was my pleasure. I hope it’s
something we can do again.”

Emma nodded. “Me too.” She leaned over to kiss Pesh
chastely on the cheek. When she started to pull away, Pesh quickly pecked her
on the lips. And then before she knew it, his lips were moving against hers.
Within a second of them being joined, his tongue plunged into her mouth, and
Emma knew it was all over.

He wrapped his arms around her, drawing her flush
against him. She brought her arms against his chest, but instead of pushing him
away, she slid her hands up to his neck and curled her fingers into his hair.

At her actions, a growl reverberated deep in Pesh’s
chest. Without warning, he pushed her back against the brick wall. As he
pressed himself into her, she could feel the fabric of her dress, along with
her thigh highs, snagging against the rough foundation. But she didn’t care.
She couldn’t get enough of him being close to her. His smell, the way his body
molded against hers, the way his tongue set her on fire as it darted in and out
of her mouth.

All thoughts of any propriety flew out of her head.
The very fact she was making out with another man on Aidan’s front porch should
have immediately doused any desire she felt. But instead, her chest rose and
fell in rapid breaths.

Pesh tore his lips from hers and started kissing
down her neck. Throwing her head back, she murmured, “Mmm, oh Aidan.”

Her eyes flew open as Pesh stilled his lips. A
strangled cry erupted from her throat as she pushed away from him. Oh God, she
had said
his
name. In a moment of pure and electric passion with Pesh,
she had called out
Aidan
. Embarrassed tears stung her eyes as she turned
to flee.

Pesh grabbed her arm. “Wait, Emma.”

“Oh God, I’m sorry! I’m so, so sorry!” she cried, as
tears streaked down her cheeks. She tried pulling away from him to escape
because she couldn’t bear to look at his face.

“Stop it, and look at me!” Pesh commanded.

Emma dragged her gaze off the tiled porch floor and
up to Pesh’s face. “Please, just let me go. There’s nothing you can say that
would make me hate myself any more than I already do.”

Surprise flooded her when he drew her into his
strong embrace. “I don’t hate you, so you sure better not hate yourself.”

She jerked her head back to stare incredulously at
him. “I just called out the man who broke my heart’s name while I was making
out with you!”

Pesh’s expression saddened. “And when I pressed you
back against that wall, all I saw in my mind was Jade, and all I wanted to feel
was her.”

Instead of being angry, Emma’s heart ached for Pesh.
“I’m so, so sorry.”

“I think she confirms what I’ve feared for a long
time. We’re just two broken people who aren’t ready for someone else, no matter
how hard we try to force it.” He pushed a strand out of her face. “We’re both
still desperately in love with other people.”

“I want to love Aidan…I mean, I do love him,
desperately at times, but I’m afraid to let myself feel what I do. Your wife
was always true to you. She would have never left you.”

“I’ll admit that what Aidan did still infuriates me
to where I want to inflict bodily harm on him. But he loves you, Emma. He’s
been working his ass off the past two weeks to try to get you to see that.”

“But he can’t even say the words. Every time he
tries, he gets interrupted and then he never makes an effort again!”

Pesh took her chin in his fingers and forced her to
look him in the eye. “I want you to think about this for a minute? What would
you rather have? Words that can be spoken lightly and then taken back so
easily, or would you rather actions?”

A reel of images of Aidan’s behavior over the last
weeks flickered through her mind. He had risked his job to take care of her.
Not to mention, he had cooked everything and anything she wanted, made midnight
runs for bacon and ice cream, massaged her feet while watching chick flick
movies he hated and held her when she had felt despair.

He smiled. “I don’t know why he can’t say the words,
but I know without a doubt he loves you. For most of his life, Aidan probably
loved himself more than anyone else in the world. And now he loves you more.”
His hand briefly touched her belly. “And he loves his son.”

A sob tore through her chest, and she didn’t fight
the tears that came. She threw her arms around Pesh and squeezed tight. “Why do
you have to be so wonderful? You should be mad as hell and turning over
furniture, calling me a tease or something!”

Pesh laughed. “The last thing I am is a hypocrite. I
know exactly how you feel.”

“You’re going to make someone a wonderful husband.”
She pulled away to cup his face in her hands. “I want a wife and family for you
more than you can ever imagine.”

“It’s just not time, yet, Emma.”

She kissed his cheek tenderly. “I’m going to pray
for your heart to open to someone. Jade would want you to be happy.”

Pesh clenched and unclenched his jaw, and Emma knew
he was fighting his emotions. “I know she would,” he whispered.

“Then make two women who adore you proud and find
yourself a wife.”

His mouth fell open as he stared at her. Emma smiled
and nodded. “I do care for you, Pesh. I realize now the feelings I had for you
weren’t entirely romantic, despite my behavior in the carriage or here on the
porch. Regardless of the fact I love Aidan, I can’t help but care for you
deeply.”

“I care for you, too. And I want you to be happy
more than anything in the world.” He leaned over and whispered in her ear, “And
I think that happiness is right inside that door.”

Tears stung Emma’s eyes. Unable to speak, she bobbed
her head in agreement. When Pesh pulled back, he winked at her. “Hurry on in
and make Aidan’s night.”

She gave him a final kiss on the cheek before
digging the keys out of her coat pocket. “Thanks again for everything.”

“You’re welcome.” He then waved good-bye before
hurrying down the porch steps to his car.

Emma’s fingers trembled as she unlocked the door.
Tentatively, she stepped inside the house. Darkness enveloped her as she made
her way through the living room. She was surprised not to find Aidan awake. Her
nose wrinkled as she eyed the beer cans littering the coffee table.

As she took off her coat, something warm and furry
brushed against her leg. “Aw, boy, were you waiting for me to come home?”

Beau whined and nudged her belly. “We’re home now.
You don’t have to worry anymore.” She reached over to scratch his ears.
“Where’s Daddy, boy?”

He yipped and then started for the stairs. With the
way they had left things, she wasn’t too surprised that he wanted to be apart
from her so he hadn’t slept in his bedroom. Taking the stairs one at a time,
she then crept down the hall to the guest room. Beau’s claws clacked behind
her. When she reached the door, she turned back to him. “Stay boy.”

He reluctantly slid down on his paws to lie outside
the bedroom. She smiled at him. “Good Beau.”