The Proposition (26 page)

Emma picked that moment to come back with the
baby. She surveyed the two of them before speaking. “What’s going
on?”

“I wanted to dance with Aidan, and he won’t,”
Mary admitted.

Aidan gritted his teeth. “And I clearly
explained to her that I was here with you.”

“One little dance wouldn’t hurt.” Emma then
titled her head up at him—giving him a sickeningly sweet smile. “I
don’t mind, if you don’t.”

Oh no, she had not just sold him out to her
horny cousin. He knew she must have some motive for doing this. It
was some way of getting a dig at him for not making them more of an
official couple—to illustrate he was more available or something.
That or he was just way too paranoid about her motives.

“Fine,” he muttered, as Mary jerked him by
the hand and dragged him to the dance floor. Thankfully, it was an
upbeat song, so he wouldn’t be forced to press up against her. He
had no idea how to dance like the music called for, and by the look
of pure amusement radiating on Emma’s face, he knew he was making a
fool of himself. He was going to get her back for this if it was
the last thing he ever did.

When the dance ended, he forced a smile.
“Thank you, Mary.”

“Anytime, hot stuff,” she replied, smacking
his ass. She gave him a wink before hurrying off to join a gaggle
of girls in the corner.

“What the fuck?” he muttered under his
breath.

“Still up for a dance, stud?” Emma asked.

“Considering your cousin just mauled my ass,
I’m not really feeling it.”

Emma giggled. “Oh please? I wanna dance with
my man.”

The music turned over from a fast breakdown
to a sweet ballad. Aidan reluctantly let Emma wrap her arms around
him. “I’m sorry you got molested,” she said, gazing up at him.

Aidan snorted. “Whatever. I just can’t
believe you pawned me out like that to her. I thought there would
be a catfight when you saw us talking.”

Emma rolled her eyes. “I’m not that
jealous.”

“Oh really?”

She grinned. “Besides, when I was changing
Emma Kate, I heard some of the girls saying they had bet Mary she
wouldn’t have the balls to dance with you. I figured I should let
her win big tonight.”

Aidan threw his head back and chuckled. “I
cannot believe they were doing that.”

“You’re a good-looking older man, why
wouldn’t they?” She wrapped her arms tighter around him. “Back in
the day, I might have even put a little money on getting to dance
with you.”

His lips nuzzled her neck. “Babe, I’m yours
for free anytime, anywhere.”

“Hmm, I just might have to take you up on
that,” she replied.

After swaying to another slow song, they
returned to their seats as the band appeared to be taking break.
The lead singer, who Emma had introduced as Dave, took the
microphone. “I just want to take a moment while all my friends and
family are here to make a big announcement. Yesterday, I asked
Laurel, the love of my life, to marry me, and she said yes!” Dave
said.

While the crowd erupted in bellowing cheers
and whistles, Aidan felt Emma tense beside him. Although she
plastered a beaming smile to her face, he could tell her cousin’s
engagement bothered her. It didn’t take much for him to understand
why. He knew that even though she was thrilled to be having the
baby, she still wanted what Laurel had—love, commitment, and a
sparkling diamond on her finger. Aidan wondered if he was the man
who could give Emma that or if she was just wasting her time
believing he could.

“Now, I’d like to take a break for a few
minutes and dance with my lovely fiancée.” His gaze searched
through the crowd until it honed in on their table. “Em, would you
come up and do the honors?”

If Emma had tensed before, she went
absolutely rigid at the prospect of singing. “No, no, no! I haven’t
sung in so long.”

“That’s not true. You regaled Mason and me
with your vocal stylings a few months ago,” Aidan argued.

Emma shot him a death glare. “I think there’s
a hell of a lot of difference singing a baby to sleep in the
privacy of my own bedroom than in a barn full of people!” she
hissed under her breath. She then shook her head at Dave. “Really,
I couldn’t.”

A tall, leggy blonde came bounding up behind
them. It didn’t take Aidan long to deduce she was Laurel. “Oh
please, Emma, sing
Cowboy Take Me Away
! You were singing
that the night Dave and I met!”

Aidan brought his lips closer to Emma’s ear.
“Go on. You know you could knock their socks off singing in the
shower.”

She jerked away to stare at him, her mouth a
perfect o of surprise. “Really?”

He nodded.

“Okay, okay, I’ll do it.”

Another cheer went through the crowd when
Emma rose out of her seat. As she climbed onto the stage, Aidan
leaned forward in his chair. He couldn’t wait to actually see her
perform.

Emma’s shaking hand took the microphone off
the stand. She cleared her throat a few times before speaking. “I
think you all know I haven’t sung professionally in two years, so
you have to believe me when I say that only pure and true love
could get me on this stage. It’s the love I feel for Dave, who over
the years has been like a brother to me, and it’s the love between
him and his sweet, beautiful fiancée that makes me able to sing
this song for you.” Her gaze went to Dave and Laurel who were
already wrapped in each other’s arms, waiting expectantly on their
song. “This one is for you.”

The twang of the rosin coming across a
fiddle’s bow coupled with two guitars echoed through the barn.
Aidan watched as Emma’s nervousness faded away the moment she heard
the familiar chords. With complete confidence, she brought the
microphone to her lips and began singing. The room filled with
people melted away, and for Aidan, it became only the two of them.
Pinching his eyes shut, he let her velvety voice wash over him. He
didn’t care if the lyrics were about a cowboy sweeping a woman away
from the big city into the wide-open spaces of the country. He just
focused on the immense pride that filled him at her
performance.

When she finished, applause and cheers roared
through the room so loud they stung Aidan’s ears. Emma flushed a
deep crimson, but a beaming smile filled her face. She curtsied
prettily. “Thank you,” she murmured.

“Now sing
Sweet Dreams
, Emmie Lou!”
Earl shouted.

Emma shook her head furiously as she started
to put the microphone back on the stand. “No, Granddaddy, I’ve sung
enough for one night.”

Earl stomped his foot on the sawdust floor.
“Emma Katherine Harrison, your granddaddy wants to hear some Patsy
Cline, so sing
Sweet Dreams
!”

Aidan couldn’t help chuckling at the
stalemate between Emma and her grandfather. “Uh-oh, Em, he’s
calling you by your full name. Better do what the man says,” he
called.

She shot him a murderous look before turning
back to her cousins. “I assume you guys remember
Sweet
Dreams
?”

Dave, who had rejoined the stage, held up his
hands. “Oh no, this one is all a cappella, little cuz.”

Pointing a finger at them, Emma said, “I just
want you to know I’m going to hurt each and every one of you for
this!”

The boys laughed heartily as they shuffled
off the stage. Emma turned back to the crowd and pointed her finger
then at Aidan. “That goes for you, too.”

He grinned. “I’ll happily take whatever you
want to dish out. Now make your granddaddy happy and sing.”

When Aidan glanced over at Earl, he nodded
and smiled at him. Maybe he was really off the hook…or at least his
dick was. He settled back in his chair and focused his attention on
Emma.

The moment Emma began singing the old country
song a hush fell over the barn. If she had been good on
Cowboy
Take Me Away
, she was hitting this one out of the park like a
grand slam. Closing her eyes, she belted out the lyrics with such
feeling and emotion that Aidan noticed tears sparkling in several
people’s eyes.

Aidan’s enjoyment began to fade when Emma got
to the second verse. A haunting, aching quality entered her voice
as she sang Patsy’s lyrics about never wearing the ring of her
lover or having him reciprocate her love. His chest tightened at
how so much of the song could relate to him and Emma. He wondered
if she often had sweet dreams of a life together with him—one that
might never come true.

Thundering applause jolted him out of his
thoughts. Emma had finished singing and now half the room were on
their feet cheering for her. She flushed and grinned. “Thank you,”
she murmured into the microphone.

Dave and her other cousins joined Emma back
on stage. Each one hugged and kissed her before picking up their
instruments. They started up a song as she came back to join him.
“So what did you think?” she asked breathlessly.

“Absolutely amazing.”

Emma beamed at his compliments. “Really?”

He nodded. “You were spectacular singing to
Mason, but damn…you were like American Idol good up there.”

She giggled and kissed his cheek. “Thanks.”
After eyeing the couples on the dance floor, she turned back to him
with a pleading look. “Want to dance again?”

He groaned. “If we must.”

It was after eleven by the time the last
guest left. Pleasantly exhausted, Aidan dragged himself up the
hillside to the house. After grabbing their suitcases out of the
car, he joined Emma as they trailed behind Earl and Virginia. “Now
Aidan, you’re going to be sleeping here,” Virginia said, pointing
to a bedroom.

He dropped his suitcase in the doorway. It
didn’t take him long to surmise his bedroom just happened to be
next door to Earl and Virginia’s. It was a nice way for them to
keep tabs on him. He smiled back at them. “Looks cozy. Thank
you.”

“Emma, you’re going to be in your mama’s old
bedroom.” Earl then looked pointedly at Aidan. “Way down the
hallway from us.”

Aidan turned a laugh into a cough. It was so
absurd that he and Emma were in their thirties and being treated
like teenagers. “Then I suppose I should say goodnight now,” he
said. Wrapping his hands around her waist, he pulled her against
him. “Sweet dreams, Emma.”

“Sweet dreams to you, too, Aidan,” she
murmured.

And even though he knew Earl wouldn’t like
it, he gave Emma a chaste kiss on the lips. She grinned at him
before saying goodnight to her grandparents. With a final wave, she
went on down the hallway.

Reluctantly, he went inside and closed his
door.

Emma felt she was doing something truly illicit when she tip-toed
past her grandparent’s bedroom towards Aidan’s. Her trembling hand
slowly turned the knob, and she breathed a sigh of relief at
finding it unlocked. Slowly, she pushed it open, trying not to let
its loud creak echo through the hallway. She lamented the fact she
hadn’t thought to grab the WD40 from under the kitchen sink.

Emma found Aidan propped up in bed with
multi-colored paperwork strewn over the handmade quilt. Beau lay
next to him. At the sight of her, Aidan’s eyebrows shot up so far
they disappeared into his hairline. “What the hell are you doing?”
he hissed.

Holding up a finger, she closed the door
behind her before responding. When she turned back around, she
grinned. “I wanted to see you.”

Aidan rolled his eyes. “Jesus, Em, just when
I think my dick is safe from your grandfather’s wrath, you sneak in
here.”

She giggled as she made her way over to the
bed. “Oh come on. You know he’s not going to do anything like
that.”

“I’m not holding my breath.” His eyes roamed
over her practically sheer nightgown. “What do you really
want?”

“Can’t you tell? I want that hot bod of
yours…
bad
!” she teased.

He grunted. “Don’t torture me by saying
things like that.”

“Actually, I thought you might like to go for
a midnight swim.”

“Really?”

Emma nodded. “The pond is just below the
house.”

“Is it safe?”

“Sure, that’s where I learned to swim.”
Nudging his knee with her elbow, she said, “Of course, I wasn’t an
All State Swim Champion, so what do I know?”

Aidan shook his head as he threw off the
quilt. “There goes that mouth of yours again.”

Emma giggled. “So I guess that means you’re
up for it?”

“Yeah, yeah. I’m in,” Aidan replied, stepping
into his tennis shoes.

They crept out into the hallway. Aidan
stepped on one of the creaky floorboards, and they both froze. When
Earl didn’t come streaking out into the hallway with his shotgun,
they continued tip-toeing on into the living room. Emma grabbed a
flashlight out of the table by the door while Aidan unlocked the
deadbolt.

Once they got out onto the porch, they
hurried down the steps and onto the gravel path that wound behind
the house. They barely needed the flashlight with the glowing full
moon illuminating the way. When they reached the long dock, they
were both winded.

Aidan bent over, propping his elbows on his
knees. Once he had caught his breath, he raised his head and took
in the surroundings. “Damn, it’s beautiful out here.”

“This whole area is like the most magical
place in the world,” Emma replied, breathlessly. Stepping closer to
him, she gave him her best coy smile. “You know I haven’t been
skinny dipping with a boy in a long, long time.”

He grinned. “Have you not?”

Emma shook her head. She brought her
nightgown over her head, leaving her completely naked in the
moonlight.

A pained noise erupted from Aidan’s throat.
“Fuck, this whole time you weren’t wearing
any
underwear?”

“Nope.”

“I should have ravished you in the bedroom
then!”

She giggled as Aidan proceeded to tear off
his shirt and boxers at record speed. When he reached for her, she
backed away. “I said skinny-dipping, not defiling my grandparent’s
pond by having sex.”