The Proposition (The Proposition #1)(80)

Sobbing, she turned and fled from the room. Beau followed her out the door, howling and crying right along with her. As she fumbled with her keys, Aidan called several times for her to come back, but she refused. Then he started calling for Beau.

“Go back, boy,” Emma instructed, pointing a shaky finger to Aidan. She flung open the car door, but he still wouldn’t leave her side.

“Dammit, Beau, I said come!” Aidan shouted, stepping off the porch. He stalked over to them and tried dragging Beau back by the collar.

But Beau jerked away. His nose nuzzled Emma’s belly, and he whined. Emma met Aidan’s horrified glance. “Yeah, that’s right. Your dog is even more loyal to me and your son than you are!”

With a defeated look, Aidan hung his head and released Beau’s collar. “Fine, take him.”

“Come on, boy. Get in the car,” Emma instructed. Beau wagged his tail and eagerly hopped inside. Without another look at Aidan, she slammed the door. Squealing out of the driveway, she tried to keep her emotions in check. But it was no use. She got half a block down the road before she had to pull over. Tears blinded her eyes to where she couldn’t see in front of her, and she couldn’t breathe from the sobs raging through her chest.

A knock at her window caused her to jump. Hope ricocheted through Emma that Aidan had come after her. Glancing up, her heart fell.

Becky stood outside the car, peering curiously at her. “Emma?”

Damn. She hadn’t even thought about the prospect of ending up on Becky’s street. The last person she wanted to see was one of Aidan’s sisters. Mortified, she wiped her eyes with the back of her hand and tried to compose herself. Finally, she pressed the button to roll down the window. “Hi,” she said, meekly.

Becky sucked in a breath. “Oh God, he didn’t?”

Tears once again filled Emma’s eyes. Unable to speak, she merely bobbed her head.

“I’m so, so sorry. He loves you, sweetheart. I know he does. The whole family knows it. He’s just being a stupid ass**le.”

Emma hiccupped between a sob. “Tell that to him and the woman he was about to sleep with before I walked in.”

Becky’s eyes widened. “I’m going to kill him,” she muttered through gritted teeth. She shook her head. “And if I don’t, one of the other girls will. God forbid this gets back to Pop.” Becky opened the car door. “Get out. You’re coming inside with me.”

“No, I can’t. I’m a mess. What would I say to the boys?”

“Tate’s got them at movies tonight. It’s just me.”

When Emma continued to hesitate, Becky crossed her arms over her chest. “Listen, you’re coming in the house with me if I have to drag you myself.”

“I’m parked on the side of the street.”

“It’ll be fine.” Becky eyed Beau in the backseat. “What are you doing with him?”

“He wouldn’t let me go.”

Becky snorted. “Whoever said men are dogs missed the mark. Beau’s got true loyalty.”

Emma gave a half-hearted smile. “Tell me about it.”

Becky pulled Emma out of her seat and wrapped an arm around her waist. “Listen, we’re going to order in some Chinese or pizza or whatever you and the baby want. Then I’m going to call the girls. We’re going to have a strategy meeting about Aidan.”

Emma threw up her hands. “And just what do you hope to achieve? Hog tie him and force him to be with me? In case you missed the memo, he doesn’t want me! He’s made that abundantly clear not only by almost screwing another woman, but by not being able to tell me he loves me.”

“It’s not like this is the first time he’s done this, Em. Surely he’s told you about Amy?”

“Yeah, how he wouldn’t propose, and then she caught him with another woman and broke up with him.”

“Did he also tell you how he spent the better part of that year drunk and in and out of therapy because he had a nervous breakdown over what he did to her?”

Emma gasped. “No, he didn’t.”

“Hmm, I guess he also managed to leave out the part where he tried over and over again to get her to come back to him, but she refused? He finally had to give up when she married someone else.”

Emma could hardly believe her ears. Aidan had lied to her about what had happened with Amy. He had never allowed the true depth of his feelings for Amy to be known. “He never told me any of that.”

“I know my brother. He did what he did to you tonight to push you away, not because he wanted to screw another woman. He self-sabotages himself every damn time!” She grunted in frustration. “By the way he acts about relationships, you would think he was raised in some dysfunctional home by crack-heads or something.”

Emma leaned against the car and put her head in her hands. “I don’t think I can handle all this!”

Becky pulled Emma’s hands away, and then stared her in the eye. “You’ve got to decide right here and now if you’re going to fight for him.”

“Me? Why the hell do I have to do the fighting? He’s the one who f**ked up royally!”

“I didn’t say he didn’t. But fighting for him doesn’t mean you’re a doormat and go running back to his open arms, Em. It means you’re willing to put up with whatever bullshit it takes to get him to win you back.”