The Proposition (The Proposition #1)(57)

“You’re afraid because of my past I might not be able to stay monogamous?”

“Yes,” she whispered.

He sighed. “I can understand why you feel that way, Em. But I was serious when I told you I wanted to try for more with you. I can’t make any sweeping guarantees, but I at least want to try. I like you. I like spending time with you, even outside the bedroom.”

Emma knew that what Aidan was offering was huge for him. It felt like nothing to her, but after all, she wasn’t a commitment phobic womanizer. The fact he hadn’t gone on some exotic sex tour of India or hooked up with someone in the Delhi office meant he was honestly trying. She stared into his eyes. “I can accept that.”

“And I would assume you aren’t on the look-out either, right?”

Emma couldn’t help the contemptuous snort that escaped her lips. “Do you even have to ask? Besides, the last time I checked being pregnant didn’t put you on Maxim’s Hot 100 list.”

He rolled his eyes. “There you go putting yourself down again about your sex appeal. You always so oblivious to the effect you have on other men.”

“Yeah right.”

“You didn’t even realize the night I got in from India and met you at O’Malley’s, I almost got in a bar fight with all the men who were ogling you.”

“Seriously?” Emma asked.

“How can I get it through your head how f**king sexy you are?”

She pointed at her expanding bump. “This is sexy to you?”

“I could care less if you have a belly or not, Em. You are the one who makes yourself sexy, not a body. It’s not even the way you looked in that luscious lingerie you had on earlier. It’s the way you swayed your h*ps and shook your ass in front of me, knowing it would drive me insane, or the way you sucked me off with total abandon.”

Heat filled Emma’s cheeks at his words while warmth pulsed through her veins at the sincerity in which he spoke them. “So you’re still going to be rampant for me when I’m nine months pregnant, maybe thirty pounds overweight, and swollen up like a Goodyear blimp?”

Aidan chuckled. “Yes, I will.”

“Hmm, we’ll see about that one.”

Just as Emma was settling down to go to sleep, Aidan asked, “So our definition of more is merely not dating anyone else?”

“I think that’s a pretty good start. Don’t you?” Even though she wanted everything and more with Aidan, she didn’t want to scare him off. She thought it best to continue with relationship baby-steps and work her way up to the really big ones like moving in together or dare she even hope and dream, marriage.

“I suppose so. I mean, we’re already spending all our time together. No need to work on that.”

“I agree.”

“So we’re good with our ‘more’?” Aidan asked.

Even though she wanted to cry, scream, and rail that she hated their definition of more, she merely smiled. “Yeah, we’re good.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

Two Months Later

Soaking in the oversized tub, Emma eyed her swollen feet with disgust. She had thought she wouldn’t have to face the particularly unattractive side effect of pregnancy until she was much farther along. But as she moved out of her first trimester into her second, her feet had started going under daily transformations. Since she had spent most of the day on them doing back to back advertising presentations, they were worse than usual.

Beau lounged on the tile in front of the tub, snoring slightly. With Aidan traveling out of town every other week with his Vice President status, Beau had become as much her dog as his. She picked him up from Doggy Daycare, and he helped pass the lonely nights without Aidan by sleeping by her side.

Emma had just rewarmed the water for a longer soak when Beau raised his head up. After giving a yip, he ran to the bathroom door. “Oh, I bet Daddy’s home from New York,” she said. As Beau wiggled all over and swung his tail to and fro, Emma couldn’t help sharing his excitement.

“Em?” Aidan’s voice bellowed from the hallway.

“In the bathtub,” she called.

He threw the door open and grinned broadly at her. “Hey baby!” Beau yapped at Aidan’s heels as he started over to the tub. He gave her lingering kiss before turning his attention to Beau.

“How was your trip?” she asked, as he scratched Beau’s ears.

Aidan groaned. “The same ol’ shit.”

She wrinkled her nose. “Which means the same ol’ shit of leaving back out of here next week, right?”

“Unfortunately yes. I guess that’s what they pay me the big bucks for.” He eyed her bubble bath covered form. “Isn’t it a little early for that?”

She giggled and pulled one of her legs out of the water. “I suppose it is, but I thought I would soak awhile to make my swollen pregnancy clown feet go down.”

Kneeling down, he took her foot in one of his hands and kissed the instep. “I’ll massage them for you when you get out.”

Emma cocked her eyebrows at him. “Uh-huh, and what do you want in return for such treatment?”

Aidan chuckled. “Who said I wanted something in return? My Baby Mama’s feet are swollen, so I feel a responsibility to make things better.”