The Proposal (12 page)

He bobbed his head. “Yep, at least until I know you
and Noah are out of the woods.”

Her frustration evaporated a little at his
sincerity. “Okay, okay, I’ll sit down while I get dressed.”

After she padded into the bathroom, she happily tore
off the hospital gown and then threw on the yoga pants and long sleeve shirt
Casey had brought. She then slid her somewhat swollen feet into the size bigger
tennis shoes she recently had to purchase. She pulled her long hair back into a
ponytail.

When she was done, she came out to find a nurse
waiting with a wheelchair. She eased down in it while Aidan grabbed the bag
Casey had brought along with her purse. The nurse then wheeled her down the
hallway to the elevator. “Make sure you read your discharge papers about what
to do and not to do. It also indicates when you need to go back to see your
doctor.”

Before Emma could respond, Aidan replied, “I’ll make
sure she does.”

The nurse gave Aidan a big smile. “I bet you’re
going to take very good care of her.”

“Yes, ma’am. I’ll be giving her lots of TLC.”

When Emma cocked her head at him, he winked. Once
they got to the lobby downstairs, the nurse said, “We’ll wait here while your
husband goes and gets the car.”

Emma made a slight strangled noise while Aidan
skidded to a stop. “Um, okay,” she finally squeaked.

Aidan cut his eyes over to her before jogging out to
the parking lot. It didn’t take him long to return with the car. “Good luck,”
the nurse said before she closed the car door.

“Thanks,” Emma replied. She quickly buckled her seat
belt and turned to Aidan. “Okay then.”

As they pulled out of the parking lot, Aidan said,
“There’s someone else who is very anxious to see you.”

“Oh?”

He took his gaze off the road and grinned at her.
“Beau.”

Emma laughed. “I hope you brought him home last
night.”

“I thought his home was your house?”

“His original home.”

“Ah, then yes, I did. Of course, he kept circling
through the rooms looking for you.”

“Poor baby.”

“I’m sure he’ll be more than ready to share your bed
and your leftovers when you get there.”

She grinned. “I hate sleeping alone, so I’ll be
thrilled to have him as my bed buddy again.”

Aidan opened his mouth to say something but then
closed it.

“What?” she asked.

“Nothing.”

Since she sensed his comment dealt with offering his
services as her bed buddy, she decided to drop it. When they turned on Aidan’s
street, Emma’s chest clenched as she was enveloped by a mixture of both happy
and painful memories. As he pulled into the driveway, she couldn’t help but
flashback to the night she had found both his car and another’s.

When he killed the engine, he glanced over at her.
“Why don’t you sit tight while I go unlock the door, so you don’t have to
wait?”

She shot him a look. “Aidan, I think I can stand for
two seconds while you open the door.”

“Fine,” he grumbled.

She couldn’t believe how extreme he was taking her
bed rest. One minute it was infuriating and the next it was endearing. She just
hoped her hormones would allow her to appreciate him rather than verbally berate
him.

The next thing she knew Aidan had moved like
lightning from the car and through the garage, so by the time her slow-moving
form reached the door, he had it unlocked and opened. “Nice footwork, Speedy,”
she remarked.

“You’re welcome.”

Beau came yipping into the kitchen. “Hey boy, did
you miss me?” He whined and then nudged her belly. “Aw, we’re both okay. I just
have to take it easy,” she informed him.

“Speaking of taking it easy, let’s get you on to
bed.”

“You’re so bossy,” she replied as she padded down
the hallway.

When she entered Aidan’s bedroom, she gasped. The
quilt Grammy had made her when she was a little girl was draped over the bed
while the antique silver framed pictures of her parents sat on the nightstand.
Her glider and ottoman rested to the right side of the bed. She turned back to
him, unable to hide her surprise. “Did Casey suggest this?”

“No,” he murmured.

Her heartbeat broke into a wild sprint. “You mean,
you did this? For me?”

“Yeah, I did.” Aidan rubbed his neck furiously when
she continued staring at him. “Casey got your essentials and all, but I thought
you needed some things to make you feel more at home here. Even if you say you
aren’t staying long.”

She couldn’t breathe, let alone speak. Oh God, why
did he have to be so amazing? Every time he did something caring and
compassionate, it almost broke her heart, instead of warming it. It was like
throwing it in her face once again that besides the one glaring mistake he had
made, at his very core, he was a good man—one who deserved to earn her
forgiveness.

Emma took a few tentative steps over to him.
Standing before him, she stared into his questioning blue eyes. She leaned in
and gave him a hug. “Thank you, Aidan. This means so much to me.”

He quickly wrapped his arms around her. She closed
her eyes and let the feeling of comfort and even love wash over her. His warm
breath tickled the skin on her earlobe. “I’m glad you like it. I want to do
anything and everything I can to make you happy.”

“Well, this was a wonderfully amazing start.”

“You’re welcome.” She could hear the pleasure
vibrating in his voice.  “So do you want to rest for awhile? Or I could fix you
an early lunch.”

“Actually, I’d kill for a shower. I feel pretty
disgusting.”

Aidan nodded. “I picked up the seat from the medical
supply store. Let me go get it ready for you.”

“Great, I’m going to feel eighty years old,” she
grumbled, trailing behind him into the bathroom. She skidded to a stop at the
sight of her favorite robe hung over the door and all her toiletries and makeup
laid out on the counter.

Aidan put the toilet lid down and motioned for her
to sit. “You don’t need to be on your feet, remember?”

With a sigh, she obliged him and sat down. It didn’t
take Aidan long to get the seat set up. After he turned on the water and
adjusted the temperature, he glanced over his shoulder at her. “Okay then.
You’re all set.”

“Thank you.”

When Emma didn’t move, Aidan’s brows creased in
worry. “You need some help?”

The very thought of him seeing her naked again sent
a stinging rush of warmth across her cheeks. She shook her head back and forth
furiously. “I can handle it.”

“Fine,” he replied. When the door closed behind
Aidan, Emma’s fingers went to the hem of her shirt and then froze. Her gaze
honed in on the shower seat. A flashback of the later days of her mother’s
cancer battle assaulted her. Her mother’s ravaged form trying desperately to
get in and out of the shower flashed in her mind, and she shuddered.

That vision coupled with everything she had been
through in the last twenty-four hours sent her emotions careening out of
control. Most of all, fear still hung heavy around her. It was like a silent
specter in the room, mocking her that her perfect dream of having a child would
actually come true. Just the thought of losing Noah sent a chilling shiver
reverberating through her.

Burying her head in her hands, she wept unabashedly.
Even though she knew she shouldn’t, she let the sobs roll through her. At the
bathroom door cracking open, she froze.

“Em, are you all right?”

“I’m fine,” she replied forcefully, but her wavering
voice betrayed her.

Aidan stepped inside. She tried to hide the
trembling of her body as he tentatively walked across the tiled floor. Peeking
up at him through her fingers, she took in his worried expression at the sight
of her still sitting on the toilet. “Why aren’t you showering?”

“I, uh…”

Kneeling down in front of her, he took her chin in
his fingers, raising her head to meet his gaze. “Em, you’ve got to stop crying.
It isn’t good for you or Noah.”

“I’m sorry,” she whispered hoarsely.

He brought his other hand up to cup her face. “You
don’t need to apologize. You’re here with me now, and everything is going to be
okay.”

Furiously she shook her head. “But don’t you see?
Everything is
not
okay!”

“I know, but—”

“It’s easy to stand there and tell me not to get
upset, but you have no idea what I’m going through at the moment!” she
shrieked.

He cast his blue eyes downward. “I realize that,
Em.”

She swiped her cheeks with the backs of her hand.
“Every minute, every second, I can’t help thinking of it all falling apart. I’m
so scared something bad is going to happen to Noah. I’ve lost everyone I’ve
ever loved. I can’t lose him, too.” Her chest heaved as another racking sob
rolled through her.

Without hesitation, Aidan drew her into his strong
embrace. She should have shrugged him away. Being close to him when she was so
emotionally broken was playing with fire. But she was so very tired of being
alone all the time and having to bear every burden on her own. Aidan had enough
strength for the both of them, and just being held in his arms sent comfort
pulsing through her.

Grabbing him around the back, she fisted his shirt
in her hands, hanging on for dear life. Aidan’s lips warmed against her ear,
causing her to shiver. “Shh, please, sweetheart. Don’t cry,” he crooned in her
ear. “I’m here for you, and we’re going to get through this together.”

His words reassured her, and for both him and for
Noah, she tried composing herself. When her cries begin to quiet, Aidan pulled
away and stared intently at her. His blue eyes blazed with intensity. “Listen
to me. You have every right to be scared, but I want you to believe me when I
say that Noah is going to be
fine
. He’s blessed with some strong as hell
genes.” Placing his hand on her belly, he smiled. “He’s part Fitzgerald, and
for generations, the men of my family have been known for being tough, scrappy
fighters with a will of iron to survive.”

“Really?” she questioned with a hiccup.

Aidan nodded. “But even more than the fighting Irish
Fitzgerald blood pumping through him, he’s inherited the most amazing DNA from
his mother. She’s the strongest person I’ve ever known.”

His words, coupled with the sincerity in which he
spoke them, caused a burning wildfire in her chest. “Oh Aidan,” she murmured.

He brushed her hair out of her face. “You just have
to keep being strong, Em. That fire that burns so deep within you—the one
that’s seen you through the darkest times—you’ve got to stoke it to burn a
little brighter.”

“I’ll try.”

“Good. I’m glad to hear it.” He rose up off the
floor. “Now come on. All the hot water is going to be gone before you get
cleaned up.”

When he tore his shirt over his head, she widened
her eyes. “What are you doing?”

“Taking my shirt off. I don’t wanna get drenched
helping you take a shower.”

Her head shook wildly from side to side. “I don’t
need your help.”

“You’re exhausted, Em. Just let me help you, okay?”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

“And why not?”

Heat flooded her cheeks. “Because you’ll see me…”

A playful grin curved on his lips. “Have you
forgotten that I’m well acquainted with every beautiful inch of your body?”

She stared down at her hands in her lap. “No, but it
was different then.
We
were different then.”

The feel of his intense stare made her finally look
up. “And it’s different now because I’m not going to devour you when I see you
naked. I’m going to take care of you. There are more levels of intimacy than
just sex, Emma.”

“I know,” she whispered.

“So let me help you.”

She exhaled a defeated breath and nodded. “Will you
turn the chair around, so I’m not facing you?”

An amused glint twinkled in his eyes. “Yes, Miss
Modest, I can.”

“For your information, there’s more of me than the
last time you saw me,” she argued as he adjusted the seat.

He turned around and shrugged. “I doubt that.
Besides, you’re still just as beautiful as the first time I saw you.”

“Always the flirt, aren’t you?” she replied with a
grin.

“Just stating facts, ma’am.” Aidan’s hands then
reached for the hem of her shirt. Instead of protesting, she let him pull it
over her head. His gaze hovered over her cleavage a little longer than it
should have before he tossed her shirt onto the wicker hamper. “Stand up,” he
instructed.

“You’re so bossy.”

“And you’re so damn stubborn,” he countered as he
pulled her pants down.

Left in only her underwear, she shivered. As if to
even the playing field, Aidan’s fingers went to his fly and took his pants off
as well. His eyes met hers as she brought her arms around her back and
unfastened her bra. After it slid to the floor, she wrapped her arms around her
breasts.