The Party (2 page)

With a grin, she said, “Yes, but the
difference in that night and tonight is I’ll be coming home with
you. Unlike two years ago when I said you were the last man on
earth I would
ever
sleep with.”

Aidan chuckled. “What a difference a couple
of years can make, huh?” He leaned over to nuzzle her neck. “You
gotta admit that we’ve made the most of the past twenty-four
months. Not only did you end up sleeping with me many, many
times—”She smacked his arm playfully to which he pulled away and
winked at her. “But you married me, gave me a beautiful son, and
are now pregnant again with my child.”

“With your
daughter
,” Emma teased.

With a groan, Aidan replied, “We’re not sure
it’s a girl yet.” He sighed and shook his head. “But if it is, I
hope she never, ever dates a guy like me.”

“Now stop running yourself down. You’re a
reformed manwhore, remember?”

“That’s right.”

“The past is past, and all we have is our
present and the future.”

“But we wouldn’t necessarily have now if it
weren’t for my notorious past or your rather tragic one.”

Emma smiled. “That’s true. I guess we owe
everything to one party, huh?”

Aidan nodded. “Yeah, we sure as hell do!”

***

The shrill sound of a cell phone ringing cut
through the hazy levels of Aidan Fitzgerald’s subconscious. Rolling
over in bed, he slapped his hand blindly along the nightstand to
find it. Once his fingers made contact, he snatched it, rubbed his
thumb over the bar and brought it to his ear. “Ello?” he murmured
drowsily.

“Please tell me you haven’t forgotten what
today is?” his father’s voice boomed into the phone.

With a groan, Aidan pulled himself into a
sitting position in the bed. He cupped the phone to his ear and
then furiously rubbed the grit and sleep out of his blue eyes.
“Good morning to you too, Pop.”

“I swear on all that is holy that if you’re
hung-over at your godson’s baptism I will personally beat your
ass!”

His father’s words doused him awake. Glancing
over his shoulder, he read out the time on the digital clock. 9 am.
Three hours before he was expected at Christ the King for his
great-nephew’s baptism. Although he was probably the least suited
for the job, somehow he managed to let his niece, Megan, convince
him to take the role of godfather for her baby, Mason. “I’m not
hung-over, Pop. I was just sleeping late. It is Saturday, and not
all of us have bodies that are regulated to military time.”

When his father harrumphed disapprovingly
into the phone, Aidan formed a perfect picture in his mind of his
father’s almost certain indignant expression. He could just see him
gripping the cordless phone tight along with his ramrod straight
posture as his snowy white head of hair shook disapprovingly. “Yes,
I can only imagine you needed the rest after a late night doing God
knows what,” Patrick grumbled.

A smirk curved on Aidan’s lips when he
thought of the previous nights R-rated escapades. Thinking back
didn’t help the morning wood he was already sporting. “Look, I’m
awake, and I’ll be there to pick you up at eleven, which will give
us a whole hour before the service. Okay?”

“You better be.”

“And miss another guilt trip? I wouldn’t
dream of it,” Aidan said before he hung up. He tossed the phone
back onto the nightstand. Burrowing back under the covers, he then
spooned up against the leggy blonde who had been his Friday Night
Fuck Buddy for the last six weeks.

“You have to leave?” Lydia asked with a
yawn.

“Not yet,” Aidan replied, snaking his hand up
to cup her breast.

As her nipple hardened under his touch, Lydia
gave a soft moan. “What was the phone call about?”

He paused in kissing her bare back. “Just my
dad. He wanted to make sure I was awake and sober for my godson’s
baptism today.”

Lydia snorted. “You’re going to be in church
at a baptism?”

“Yep, I’m the godfather,” he replied,
pressing his erection into her naked backside.

Teasingly, she wiggled away from him. “I
thought godparents were supposed to be moral and spiritual guides
for children.”

Aidan chuckled. “Are you trying to say I’m
going to be a bad influence for Mason?”

She glanced back at him. “Come on, Aidan.
You’re the last person on earth who needs to be giving any guidance
to a kid. All you know is drinking and fucking.”

“And I’m pretty damn good at both of them,
aren’t I?”

Lydia giggled. “You and that ego of
yours.”

“Can we please stop talking?”

“Except for dirty stuff?”

“Exactly.” Aidan nibbled his way up her bare
shoulder. “Today is going to be such an emotional hassle. I just
want to forget about all that shit by fucking you senseless. Your
body is always such a good distraction.”

Instead of warming to his touch, Lydia
stiffened. “So basically you want to use me?”

Aidan’s lips stilled on her neck. “No, that’s
not what I meant.”

She whipped her head back to pin him with an
icy stare. “That’s sure what it sounded like.”

He gave a frustrated grunt. “Wow, that’s a
nice 180 on the emotions.”

“Well, excuse me that I don’t take too kindly
when a man insinuates that I’m only good for screwing his mind off
of things.”

“That’s not what I meant. But don’t try to
call what this is between us more than it really is.”

She cocked her eyebrows. “And what do you
consider us?”

“We’re fuck buddies, Lydia. What is it
exactly that we do if it’s not use each other for sex?”

“I think what we’ve been for the last six
weeks is a little more than your clumsy summation,” she
snapped.

“Oh Christ, don’t tell me you’re now looking
for an invitation to go with me to my godson’s baptism today?”

“I’m sure as hell not. I was just making
conversation.”

Aidan shook his blonde head. “I can see where
this is going. You think meeting my family will magically make us
more than two people who meet for sex once or twice a week?”

Sliding away to the edge of the bed, she
pulled the sheet against her chest before glaring at him. “You can
be a real asshole, did you know that?”

Aidan threw up his hands in frustration.
“Right now all I know is I’m confused at what the hell is your
problem? I thought we’d been having a lot of fun together, and we
could have some more—specifically before I had to leave for a real
hellish day.”

“We were having fun, but I don’t want to be
used by you, Aidan. No woman likes the idea that she’s just a piece
of ass to be used whenever or however some jackass wants to,
especially when he wants to emotionally check-out for a while. I am
a person, you know, with feelings.”

Oh Fuck. Here it was. The ‘I want more’
conversation that inevitably ruined every good friends with
benefits or hook-up situation he had ever been a part of. Things
had been going so great with Lydia. He’d met her one night after
work at his favorite hang-out, O’Malley’s. They’d done an hour or
so of drinks with the typical mindless get to know you conversation
before going back to her place for the hottest sex he’d had in a
long time.

After the third round of sex when he was
crawling out of her bed to leave, he’d broached the subject of
meeting up once or twice a week. Still in a sex haze, she’d been
more than willing. So for the last six weeks, he’d been well
satisfied by what they had, and he wanted nothing more.

Of course, the problem was that he always
went into every sexual relationship making it clear that he would
not want more. But every single time it got fucked up by some chick
clinging to the desperate hope that they would be the one to tame
him. With hate and loathing for him burning on Lydia’s face, it
would now seem she was about to join the long line of former
flings.

He cocked his brows at her. “So that’s it?
We’re done because you’re suddenly feeling used?”

Lydia tore back the sheet and shot out of
bed. “Get out! Get out of my house, you sorry son of a bitch!”

“Fine, I’ll be happy to,” Aidan grumbled as
he unraveled himself from the comforter. Just as he stood up from
the bed, Lydia threw his pants at him. They smacked into his face
followed by his shirt. “Jesus, I’m going, okay? Trust me that I
don’t want to stay here with you one second longer.”

He jumped into his pants. Her tirade had
doused any desire he had along with his erection. He didn’t bother
buttoning them up or putting on his shirt. He snatched up his shoes
that he had kicked off in the living room before stomping out the
front door.

Unfuckingbelievable.

One phone call from his father had managed to
cock block him with Lydia forever. What was it about chick’s and
meeting families? The last time he had actually dared to bring a
girl around his family was almost six years ago. It had been just
two years after he had broken things off with his former fiancée,
Amy. At the time, he hadn’t thought anything about asking his
newest flame to join him. After all, it was just a harmless
4
^th
of July BBQ—or so he thought. But the moment his
flavor of the month met his mom and dad all she could hear were
wedding bells. Two days later she started referring to them as
“we”, and Aidan stopped calling her. He didn’t do “we”.

He never did and never would.

Well, that wasn’t exactly true. He had tried
monogamy, relationships---even an engagement, but he had been so
badly burned by it that he vowed never again. Seven years later, he
was happy being a confirmed bachelor with no plans of ever settling
down. Even though it seemed to be his family’s mission in life to
get him married, settled, and with a houseful of kids.

Aidan shuddered as he pulled into his
driveway. No way in hell was that ever happening.

***

After taking a leisurely shower and then
shaving, Aidan had slipped on his finest suit before heading out
the door to pick up his father. Just as he expected, Patrick was
already waiting for him in the driveway. “It’s just now eleven,”
Aidan said as Patrick opened the door.

“I didn’t say anything.”

Aidan grinned. “I was just stating facts in
case you tried to say I was late.”

“Do you really think I’m that much of a
crotchety old man?” Patrick mused as he buckled his seatbelt.

“You’re starting to get that way a little
bit, Pop.”

Patrick chuckled. “It must be the fact I’ve
been spending too many Saturdays down at the VFW. Those other
senior citizens are rubbing off on me.”

Aidan grinned. “Yeah, I’m sure that’s what it
is.”

“Did you remember Mason’s gift?”

Fighting the urge to roll his eyes, Aidan
replied, “Yes, Pop. I did.”

“I was just asking. Why are you being so
testy? Not enough sleep last night?”