The Pairing (The Proposition #3)(25)

Staring at him in surprise, Megan replied, “You’re serious?”

“Of course.”

She slowly shook her head back and forth. “Okay, go on.”

“Once we finished wine and dessert, I would then want to take you somewhere you’ve never been—”

“Like your bedroom?” Megan interjected with a smirk.

“I do believe you’ve already been there before.” The teasing faded from Megan’s expression, and a flush entered her cheeks. “May I continue?”

“Yeah,” she murmured.

“I would want to be with you to experience something you never have before—an art gallery, an opera, a musical. Anything that would bring wonderment and excitement to your face.” He gave her a small smile. “And it would mean all the more that I was getting to share it with you.”

He watched with almost mild amusement as she processed his words. Most likely she had never had a man speak to her the way he was, and it was certainly affecting her. Feeling like it was time to go in for the kill, he asked once again, “So, will you have dinner with me?”

Pesh leaned forward expectantly as Megan opened her mouth. They were interrupted by the sound of Emma’s voice. “Oh thank God. I’m so glad you two are on .”

Her anxious tone was the only thing that could have torn Pesh’s attention away from Megan. He glanced from Emma to Aidan, who was grimacing and rubbing his head. “What happened?”

Emma replied, “He fell and hit his head,” at the same time Aidan grunted, “Nothing.”

Megan stepped forward and went over to Aidan. She gasped as she surveyed him. “Ankle, your pupils are huge!”

Pesh took his penlight out of his coat pocket and went to Aidan. As he flashed the light into Aidan’s eyes, he grimaced. “Yeah, they are. What exactly happened?” He made sure to direct his question to Emma since she appeared to be the only one being honest.

“We were at my OB’s for our first ultrasound.”

Pesh’s eyes widened. “Ultrasound…you’re pregnant?”

“Again?” Megan questioned by his side.

The concern for Aidan on Emma’s face washed away and was replaced with a beaming smile. “Yes, I’m eight weeks.”

“Why didn’t you say something at dinner Sunday?” Megan asked.

“Well, I only found out two weeks ago, and we wanted to wait to tell everyone until we had the first ultrasound.”

Megan’s blonde brows creased. “So what does the ultrasound have to do with Ankle hitting his head?”

Emma pursed her lips and cut her gaze over to Aidan. “Would you like to tell them?” When he shook his head and then winced, Emma sighed. “When they hooked me up to the fetal monitor, they thought they heard two heartbeats. At the word ‘twins’, Aidan passed out and hit his head on the counter and the floor.”

While Pesh quickly turned a laugh into a cough, Megan wasn’t so tactful. She burst out laughing. “You seriously passed out during the ultrasound?”

Aidan scowled at her. “In my defense, it wasn’t quite the ultrasound yet.” At Megan’s continued laughter, he shrugged. “It was pretty mind-blowing news.”

“Oh Ankle, honestly.”

Aidan turned to Pesh. “So am I going to stand around all day getting shit, or are you going to examine me?”

Pesh nodded. “Of course. Your pupils are definitely a matter of concern.”

Glancing at Emma, Aidan said, “Just wait for me here.”

“Okay.”

Pesh motioned for Aidan to go into the first examining room. As soon as the door closed behind him, Aidan lunged for him, grabbing the lapels of his white coat. “I need a vasectomy. Today.”

Pesh fought the urge to laugh at the absurdity of the situation as well as Aidan’s desperation. “Okay, let’s get you to sit down. You’ve obviously been through a lot of trauma in the last hour.”

Aidan plopped onto the examining table. He buried his head in his hands and groaned. “What a f**king nightmare of a day.”

“Does your head hurt?” Pesh asked.

“A little.”

“Any nausea?”

“Maybe.”

Pesh furrowed his brows. “What do you mean, maybe?”

Aidan raised his head. “If you’re asking if I’m nauseated now, the answer would be no. I’m not. But on the other hand, if you’re asking if I get nauseous thinking about the fact that Emma could have been pregnant with twins, and I would have had three kids under two and in diapers…” Aidan shuddered. “Then yeah, I get really f**king nauseous, and the room starts to spin a little.”

Easing down on his stool, he rolled over to Aidan. “Take a deep breath for me, okay?” Aidan’s chest expanded as he inhaled and exhaled. “Again,” Pesh instructed. After a few cleansing breaths, Pesh cocked his head at Aidan. “Better?”

“Yeah, a little,” Aidan croaked. He jerked his hand through his hair. “Are you going to get me a referral for a vasectomy?”

Pesh held up his hand. “I’m confused. If you know that Emma isn’t having twins, why do you want to have a vasectomy?”

“Because twins run on both sides of our families. Pop was a twin, and Emma’s uncles are twins. It’s like we have a genetic bull’s-eye hovering over us. We can barely be in the same room without conceiving, so it’s just inevitable that she’ll get pregnant again, and then I’ll have four kids…maybe even five.” Aidan swallowed hard as some of the color drained from his face. “I can’t be a baby making machine.”