The Proposal (28 page)

She drew in a deep breath and stepped forward into
the aisle. As everyone rose out of their chairs for her entrance, her gaze
honed in on Aidan’s as he finally took her in.

His mouth gaped open while his blue eyes widened.
Her breath caught at his reaction. Instead of the cocky grin she expected at
her appearance, surprise filled her when Aidan’s eyes shimmered with tears. Her
heart shuddered and then restarted. In that moment, all she wanted was to
power-walk up the aisle so she could get to him and throw her arms around him.
She couldn’t imagine ever loving him more than she did in that moment.

An eternity seemed to pass before she reached his
side. Aidan swept the tears from his eyes with the back of his hand. Although a
shaky smile flashed on his face, emotion raged in his blue eyes. Without
thinking, she let go of Granddaddy’s arm and wrapped her arms around him. “Oh
Aidan,” she murmured, squeezing him tight.

“Emma, I’m almost speechless. I mean, you’re like
nothing I ever could have imagined.” He sucked in a ragged breath and shuddered
in her arms. “You’re like a fucking vision.”

Once again, a flashback filled her mind of the night
she met him for their first baby-making session. He had crossed the crowded
hotel lobby, kissed her, and then told her those words. “God, Em, I love you so
much it hurts,” came his pained whisper in her ear.

“I know. I love you so much, too.”

The minister cleared his throat. “I don’t believe
we’ve gotten to that part yet.”

Remembering where she was and how she was totally
blowing the carefully scripted plan, she jerked away. “Oops,” she replied, a
warm flush filling her cheeks.

Laughter rang through the crowd. Stepping back, she
slipped her arm once again through Granddaddy’s. “I’m supposed to give you
away, Emmie Lou, not have you run away as fast as you can,” he quipped.

She smiled at him through her tears. “You’re never
giving me away, and you know that.”

“I wouldn’t have it any other way, Baby Girl.
Especially not with you carrying that fine, strapping great-grandson of mine.
He’s gonna need a man to teach him a few things.”

“Granddaddy!” Emma hissed as Earl winked at Aidan.

The minister once again cleared his throat. “Dearly
beloved we’re gathered here today in the sight of God to join together Aidan
Patrick Fitzgerald and Emma Katherine Harrison in the bonds of holy matrimony.”
Emma began to tune the minister out and drown herself in the smiling image of
Aidan before her.

She barely noticed when Granddaddy officially gave
her away and left her side to go sit with Grammy. She even had a hard time
focusing on her cousin, Dave, as he sang a twangy rendition of John Lennon’s
Grow
Old Along With Me.
There was no one for her in that moment but Aidan—the
man who had made all of her dreams come true.

Emma jolted back into reality when the minister
called her name, and she then repeated her vows as he prompted her. “I, Emma
Katherine Harrison, take you, Aidan Patrick Fitzgerald, to be my lawfully
wedded husband. To have and to hold, from this day forward, for better or for
worse, in sickness and in health, for richer or for poorer until death us do
part.”

In a booming voice, Aidan repeated his vows with
complete and total assurance, which made Emma’s heart flutter. He then took her
wedding band from Patrick, his best man, and slid it onto her finger. “With
this ring, I thee wed.”

When she glanced up at him, he winked at her, and
she couldn’t help grinning at the glimmer of his cocky side rearing its head.
She took his ring from Casey and slipped it on his finger and repeated the
words.

They then turned to the minister who smiled. “By the
power vested in me by God almighty and the fine state of Georgia, I now
pronounce you husband and wife.” He gave Aidan a pointed look. “You may
now
kiss your bride.”

“About time,” Aidan replied before bringing his
hands to cup her face. His lips met hers in a chaste, yet passionate kiss.
Thunderous applause echoed around them as Aidan pulled away.

Linking her arm through his, they started down the
aisle and down the hill to the barn to celebrate.

***

As Dave and her cousins’ band perfectly harmonized
the lyrics to her first dance song, Emma swayed in Aidan’s arms. Glancing up at
the canopy of twinkling lights, she couldn’t believe how Marie and her team had
transformed the barn into a winter wonderland. It was utterly breathtaking, and
she couldn’t help sighing with contentment at how perfect everything had turned
out.

Working on their tight schedule hadn’t been easy,
but Grammy, along with her aunts and cousins, had whipped up a meal better than
any catering company. Just the thought of the delicious BBQ she had consumed
sent a small burp escaping from her lips.

With his blue eyes twinkling with amusement, Aidan
gazed down at her. “Excuse me,” she peeped.

“Eat a little too much?”

“Maybe.”

“Damn, it was good.”

“It was, wasn’t it?”

“Yes. Everything has been good. Well, this song
could be a little better.” Aidan wrinkled his nose. “How in the hell did I let
you talk me into John Denver for our first dance as man and wife?”

“
For You
is a beautiful song. Did you even
bother listening to the lyrics? It’s about how the rest of my life is for you
and you alone!”

Aidan grinned at her outrage. “You’re right. It is a
beautiful song. And Dave is knocking it out of the park. But still…”

“And just what would you have preferred?” Emma asked
as the last chords of the song finished.

Before she could press him again, Dave interrupted
her thoughts. “Our next song was especially picked out by Aidan. He wanted Emma
to know how much the lyrics mean to him and their relationship. So Em, here’s
You
Save Me
.”

Emma gasped as she jerked her gaze from Dave to
Aidan. His signature cocky smirk curved on his lips. “You really did that?” she
asked as Dave began singing the Kenny Chesney classic.

“Yes, I did.”

As she stilled in his arms, she let the familiar
lyrics echo through her mind. She felt Aidan’s breath warming her cheek. “And
it’s the truth, Em. You do save me. I would still be lost if you hadn’t come
into my life, and I thank God everyday that you gave me another chance to show
you how much my soul cries out for you. There will never be anyone else for me
in the world.”

Tears welled in her eyes as he tilted her chin to
look at him. His jaw was hard-set with determination. “I mean it, Em.”

“You saved me too,” she whispered.

He kissed her tenderly before pressing his face to
her cheek. “If you would have told me this time last year I would be a married
man with a kid on the way, I would’ve laughed my ass off and called you crazy,”
he mused. When she tensed, he pulled away and smiled. “Boy, I was a crazy
bastard then.”

She returned his smile. “I would have done the same
thing if someone had told me I would not only be married but carrying the child
of the creep who hit on me at the Christmas Party.”

Aidan laughed. “Fate has a funny way of working
things out, doesn’t it?”

“Yes, it does.”

He tightened his arms around her as the song came to
a close. “So why don’t we hurry up and cut the cake, so we can get the hell out
of here and start our honeymoon?”

Emma rolled her eyes. “Are you really that
impatient?”

He grunted. “You cut me off ten days ago. I’m going
to explode.”

“I wanted our first night as man and wife to be
special,” she countered.

A smirk twitched on his lips. “Then let’s make it
special sooner.”

“Patience is a virtue, Mr. Fitzgerald. I’m not going
to miss out on dancing the night away with you because of your libido. Besides,
I want to dance with Granddaddy and your father, and I want you to dance with
Grammy. We’re only going to have a wedding reception once.”

“Okay, okay,” he grumbled.

Leaning in, she whispered in his ear, “I promise
I’ll make it worth your while.”

Aidan chuckled. “You don’t have to promise me
anything, babe. I’m so crazy in love with you I’ll do anything you
ask—including waiting to get laid.”

Wrapping her arms around his neck, she said, “Oh,
who needs poetry when I have you to say romantic lines like that?”

He grinned. “You know I’m one hell of man, babe!”

CHAPTER NINETEEN

As sparklers lit the way through the dark, Emma and
Aidan ran to their car while being pelted with birdseed. Emma only gave the
shaving cream covered and condom decorated Mercedes a fleeting glance before
throwing open the door and collapsing onto the seat. She swiped off the pieces
of birdseed stuck to her hair and dress.

Aidan grinned as he cranked up the car. “Sure hope
we don’t get attacked by a flock of militant birds with all this shit on us.”

Emma laughed. “So how far is it to your buddy’s
cabin?”

“About twenty minutes from here in Blue Ridge.”

With Emma in her last trimester, Aidan had put his
foot down about them flying anywhere for their honeymoon. He had been able to
get a week at a secluded cabin that belonged to one of his work buddies.

“I’m sorry it’s not somewhere exotic like the
Caribbean or romantic like Venice,” Aidan said as they pulled onto the highway.

“After Noah is born, I’m holding you to that Italy
promise.”

“It’s a deal. And since I know you won’t get on a
plane without him, we’ll make the Little Man an international traveler before
he’s a year old.”

“Aw, I love it.” Reaching over, Emma took Aidan’s
hand in hers. “It doesn’t matter where we go as long as I’m with you.”

He brought her hand to his lips and kissed her
knuckles. “I feel the same way babe.”

After taking a turn off the interstate, they drove
along the dark and curvy mountain roads. Glancing at the directions on his
phone, Aidan made a final turn. “Greg had maintenance come out this afternoon
and get things set up for us.”

“Like sex up the place?” Emma asked with a grin.

Aidan grinned. “Maybe. They delivered some food as
well. We’ll go out to dinner a couple of times too if you want.”

“With us out here in the middle of nowhere, how do I
know you won’t hold me hostage as your sex slave?”

Aidan threw his head back and roared with laughter.
“No babe, you’re my wife, never my sex slave.”

“Pity,” she murmured. When he jerked his wide-eyed
gaze from the road to meet hers, she giggled. “Just kidding.”

He exhaled a noisy breath as they turned into the
driveway. Floodlights momentarily blinded her. When Emma stepped out of the
car, she fought to keep her mouth dropping to the ground in disbelief. She
glanced at Aidan and shook her head. “What?” he asked.

“You said your buddy was letting us have his cabin.
That,” she motioned to the giant mansion, “is
not
a cabin. It’s a lodge
at least. I bet it has eight or ten bedrooms.”

“And we can christen every one of them while we’re
here,” Aidan remarked.

She laughed. “Yeah, we’ll just have to see about
that one.”

“Come on. If you think this is amazing, wait until
you see inside.” Taking her hand, Aidan pulled her up the front walk-way and up
the porch steps. Once Aidan unlocked the door, he glanced back at her with a
mischievous twinkle in his eyes.

“Whatever you’re thinking, I can without a doubt say
the answer is no!”

Aidan chuckled. “Come on. I just wanted to carry my
bride over the threshold.”

She couldn’t help rolling her eyes. “Your bride is
seven months pregnant. Besides, you’re supposed to do that at your home, not
your honeymoon destination.”

Ignoring her, Aidan swept his arm underneath her
knees while the other went around her back. She shrieked when he swept her off
her feet before kicking open the front door. “Oomph,” he muttered as he
staggered across the threshold.

Emma burst into laugher at both his determined
expression and his purple coloring. “Don’t go incapacitating yourself before we
can get the honeymoon started, babe,” she teased.

“Yeah, yeah,” he replied as he gently set her on her
feet in the foyer.

“Aw, my hero,” she said, leaning up to kiss him.

He grinned at her. “Go on and explore the ca—”

“Lodge,” Emma corrected.

“Whatever. I’m going to go get our luggage.”

“Be careful. I wouldn’t want a city boy like you
taken off by a bear or a coyote.”