The Pairing (The Proposition #3)(22)

“Yes of course. What else would I want to do?”

When she replied, “Have sex,” a flush entered his cheeks.

“That is not what I meant.”

“And that’s a pity.”

His brows furrowed. “Whatever do you mean?”

“You and I…we want different things. You want to date and get married again, right?”

“Yes, that is something I desire very much.”

She shook her head. “But I don’t want to be in a serious relationship right now with you or anyone for that matter. I’m certainly not ready to get married anytime soon. I just wanted to have some fun with someone.”

Pesh frowned. “I don’t think I understand.”

“What I want from you is the same thing I wanted last night. Just sex,” she answered honestly.

“You don’t want to date me…you only want to have sex with me?”

If the situation hadn’t been so dire, Megan might’ve laughed at the horrified expression on Pesh’s face. He appeared absolutely floored that she could ever think of only using him as a sex toy. Finally, when she gathered herself together, she shook her head. “I’m sorry, but that’s the way I feel.”

She braced herself for some sort of wrath out of him or even a lecture. What he did was even more surprising. He gave her a sad smile. “And I’m sorry you feel that way because I would have really enjoyed getting to know you better.” Without another word, he opened the door. Always the gentleman, he waited for her to go through first.

Tucking her head to her chest, she bypassed him to walk to the car. Once again, he appeared to open the car door for her. “Thank you,” she murmured.

He nodded before walking around the front of the car. Without another word to her, Pesh cranked up, and then began backing down the driveway.

The ride to Aidan and Emma’s was only twenty minutes, but it seemed to take an eternity. The painful silence hung heavy around her. Pesh didn’t look at her. Instead, he kept his gaze firmly on the road ahead of them.

When he pulled into Aidan and Emma’s driveway, Megan felt her stomach clench. She wished there was some way to make things right between them. But she had a feeling she had gone too far and said too much. As he put the car in park, he turned to look at her. “Thank you for the ride,” she said.

“You’re welcome. It was my pleasure.”

“Most of all, I want to thank you for taking care of me last night. You truly went above and beyond. I can never thank you enough.”

“You don’t have to thank me. I’m glad I was able to help you.”

Nibbling on her bottom lip, she finally allowed herself to say what she was holding back on. “I wish things could be different,” she said softly.

When she dared herself to look at him, she found him staring intently at her. “I’m sorry, too. Take care of yourself. Okay?”

She bobbed her head. “The same to you.” With trembling hands, she fumbled for the door handle. When she was finally able to open the door, she stumbled out onto the pavement. As she made her way up the driveway, she could feel Pesh’s eyes on her. The car remained parked as she climbed the porch steps and rang the doorbell. She hoped that Noah was already up, and she wasn’t waking the household.

Aidan threw open the door. “Megan? What the hell?” he asked.

His question and concern caused her to burst into tears. “Why are you crying?” Aidan demanded.

“It’s a long story.”

He glanced from her out the door to Pesh’s car. His expression darkened. “Did Pesh hurt you?”

“No! Of course not.”

“If he’s made you cry, I don’t care whether he’s Noah’s godfather or not. I’ll punch his lights out!”

She grabbed his arm. “Stop it, Ankle! It’s not him, it’s me. It’s all my fault. Okay?”

He stared at her in surprise. “What happened?”

“Give me some coffee and a chance to calm down, and then I’ll tell you everything.”

Although his expression was skeptical, Aidan nodded, and then started to close the door. Megan stole one last glance of Pesh as his car started reversing down the driveway. She hoped for her sake and his it was the last time she would have to see him.

Chapter Seven

Megan nervously tapped her thumbs on the steering wheel of her car. Her clinical placement had come through, and she was now on her way to make her introductions to her preceptor, the nurse who would supervise her. Although she had initially been disappointed in not receiving Grady, she was still excited to be doing the last part of the journey to becoming a nurse. She was also grateful she hadn’t received the night shift that some of her fellow nursing students had. She would have rarely been able to see Mason if she had to sleep during the day and work at night.

She pulled into the parking lot of the Wellstar ER and eased into the first space she found. After turning off the car, she grabbed her folder of paperwork along with her purse and headed inside. She stopped at the front desk. “I’m not a patient. I’m a clinical student here to see Kristi Parkman.”

“Go on through,” the receptionist said, before she buzzed open the Authorized Personnel Only door. Breezing inside the heart of the ER, Megan couldn’t help feeling excited. She couldn’t wait until she got her feet wet by working with patients.