The Proposition (The Proposition #1)(27)

“Enough!” she shouted just as the elevator doors opened. The two women waiting to get on gave her a strange look. She ducked her head and then power walked to her office. Grabbing up her purse and bag, she slammed and then locked the door.

Once she got downstairs, she paced around the lobby. Just when she thought about bailing on Aidan to preserve her own sanity, he appeared before her. “Sorry I kept you waiting.”

“Um, no, it’s fine.”

She followed him out the side door to the parking deck. When the keyless entry in his hands flashed the lights of a coal black Mercedes convertible, she gave a low whistle. “Nice car, Mr. Fitzgerald.”

Aidan chuckled. “Thank you, Miss Harrison.”

“I’m impressed I get to be escorted in such style.”

He shook his head. “There you go with that mouth again.”

Emma tossed her bag on the floorboard and then slid across the leather seat. Besides the fact it cost twice as much as her Honda, it was impeccably clean on the inside. Not a crumb or spec of dust could be found while in her car a small village could have been fed by leftover food of grabbing breakfast or dinner on the run.

“Mind if I put the top down?”

“No, please do. It’s beautiful out today.”

Aidan hit a button on the console, and the roof started to retract. As they exited the parking deck, Emma dug in her purse for a clip. After sweeping her long hair back, she closed her eyes and let breeze wash over her.

“Don’t tell me I’m so boring you’re going to sleep on me?”

Emma giggled. “I’m sorry. I was just resting my eyes for a minute.”

They weren’t on the interstate long before Aidan got off on an exit. When he pulled into an older, established neighborhood, Emma turned to him in surprise. “You live here?”

He chuckled. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

She shrugged. “I don’t know. I guess I saw you living in a sleek and trendy apartment building with a swinging bachelor pad.”

“Well, if you want the truth, I used to live in, as you say, a sleek and trendy apartment building, downtown. But then my sister, Angie, who is a real estate agent, convinced me that I needed to stop throwing money away renting and make an investment in some property. Somehow she smooth talked me into to buying in our other sister, Becky’s, neighborhood.” He glanced over at her and grinned. “I think it was more on the pretense of them being able to keep tabs on me, but it evens out because I get a lot of free meals.” He pointed to the left at an enormous two-story colonial with a wrap around front porch. “That’s Becky’s.”

“It’s beautiful.”

“Thanks,” Aidan replied, making another turn. “She needs a big house to keep the monsters in.”

“Monsters?”

“My three nephews.”

Emma giggled. “I see.”

Aidan eased into the driveway of a two-story brick house with white columns. Emma’s jaw dropped at how typically un-Aidan the house appeared. All that was lacking was a white picket fence with toys strewn about, and he would look like a regular suburban husband and father.

After Emma got out of the car, she walked out of the garage and widened her eyes at the emerald green grass and multicolored flowers. “Wow, did you do all this?” she asked, motioning to the immaculately kept lawn.

Aidan snorted. “Oh God no. I can’t grow anything but a little mold in my refrigerator. My dad is the one with the green thumb. Not only that, but he’s retired, so it’s his mission in life to do yard-work for his kids.”

“That’s really sweet of him.” She followed Aidan up the front porch steps and into the house. He punched in the code for the alarm when it started beeping. She tried not to show her surprise as she took in the wide-open floor plan of the living room. Floor to ceiling windows bathed the room in light, and high wooden beams crisscrossed over the ceiling. Considering what she had first thought of him, she expected furniture that was functional, modern, yet cold. Nothing like the warm overstuffed chair and love seat or the antique quilt swept over a couch. “Did you have a decorator?” she asked as she trailed behind him into the kitchen.

“No, I did it all myself. Well, my sisters helped of course. They take it upon themselves to spoil me in all domestic areas.” He turned around and surveyed her expression. “So you like it?”

“Like it? I love it. You’ve gone above and beyond just investing in some property. This is a home anyone would be proud of.”

A slow smile spread across his face. “Thank you. Coming from someone like you, that means a lot.”

“Someone like me?”

He raked his fingers through his hair, stopping to tug at the strands at the nape of his neck. “Oh you know, someone who is real—someone who appreciates a home over a house.”

Emma opened her mouth to respond, but a loud thump interrupted them.

Aidan rolled his eyes. “I should probably warn you about Beau.”

“You have a roommate?”

He chuckled. “Not unless you consider an eighty pound black Lab who eats me out of house and home and snores louder than a bear a roommate.”

“Oh you have a dog!” Emma squealed.

He gave her an odd look. “Damn, I didn’t think you’d be that excited about my old smelly Lab.”