“Thanks,” Emma murmured, her gaze honing in on the grainy images in her hand.
“So when are you going to tell Big Papa?” Casey asked.
“Oh, um, I guess when he gets in tonight. I don’t want to tell him over the phone or by text or something.”
“You should go surprise him at work,” Connor suggested.
Emma ran her fingers over the ultrasound picture. At any moment, she expected it to evaporate and for it all to have been just a dream. After Casey cleared her throat, Emma bobbed her head. “That sounds like a good idea. From the way he sounded, it could be pretty late.”
Casey pulled Emma into her embrace and then kissed her cheek. “I’m so proud and happy for you.”
Emma grinned. “Thank you.” She squeezed Casey tight. “Most of all, thank you for being my rock through all of this, especially today.” She smiled at Connor. “And you, too.”
“We wouldn’t have it any other way,” Casey replied as Connor nodded. She kissed Emma’s cheek. “Now go on and tell Big Papa the happy news.”
“I sure will!”
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
“I want to thank you all for staying late. I’m thrilled at how everything has panned out, and I look forward to a successful merger.”
As soon as the CEO exited the boardroom, Aidan dug his phone out of his jacket pocket. Glancing down at the time, he grimaced. There was no way in hell he could get across town to Emma’s appointment. Shame echoed through him when he felt relieved at missing the ultrasound. Confirming the baby’s sex made its impending arrival all the more real. Loosening his tie, he fought the choking feeling that continued to plague him. His hand tingled again, and he was right back on the dock feeling the baby move with Emma.
He was rubbing his fingers under his collar when someone cleared her throat. He glanced up to find the boardroom empty except for a stacked brunette who was new to his department.
“I don’t think we’ve been formerly introduced,” the brunette said with an inviting smile. “I’m Heather Donnovan.”
He extended his hand. “Aidan Fitzgerald.”
“Oh, I know who you are,” Heather replied, letting her hand linger on his a little longer than it should have. “You have quite a reputation here.”
Aidan’s eyebrows arched. “Do I?”
She nodded. “Both in and out of the boardroom.”
For the first time in his whole life, Aidan was completely inept at how to handle a woman’s advances. Normally, he would have taken the initiative from the moment she stayed back to be alone with him. But now he was at a total loss for words.
She tilted her head to the right and grinned coyly. “You know I’m new here in Atlanta, so I don’t know a lot of people. Would you like to have a drink with me?”
Aidan’s heartbeat accelerated as the weight of Heather’s question crashed over him. His mind and heart battled against each other. It sent his blood pumping harder and harder through his veins until it pounded like a brass band in his ears. He had been down this road many, many times before. He knew exactly what Heather was insinuating, and it wasn’t just a harmless drink after work.
He could almost taste the need radiating off of her. If he made the move, she probably wouldn’t object to him f**king her right on the boardroom table. The very thought of pushing up her skirt, tearing off her panties and devouring her sent heat stirring below his waist.
And then the image of Emma lounging on her grandparent’s dock, her hand tenderly stroking the belly that carried his child, flashed before his eyes. She loved him, and deep down, he loved her. He shouldn’t take Heather’s offer. No, he couldn’t take her offer.
But then the suffocating weight of a relationship and impending fatherhood once again bore down on him. He had never asked for any of it. All he wanted was to finally get Emma into bed and then move on like he always did. He clenched his teeth. Damn, Emma, for making him want more with her…for making him love her.
No, he would not drown himself in his feelings for Emma. He would get out now while he still could.
“There’s O’Malley’s across the street,” he croaked.
“That sounds wonderful,” Heather replied, her voice a throaty purr.
When he started to walk around the side of the desk, Aidan found himself rooted to the floor. His brain screamed at his feet and legs to pick themselves up, but they refused. It was as if they owed some strange allegiance to his heart and to Emma. At Heather’s puzzled expression, he forced a smile to his face. “Sorry, sitting in meetings like that always makes me a little stiff.”
“In some places that isn’t a problem,” she replied, with a giggle.
He laughed at her innuendo while his legs and feet finally worked. He grabbed his briefcase and started out the boardroom door with her.
Even though Heather chatted non-stop the entire elevator ride down, Aidan didn’t hear her. He bobbed his head at certain points or smiled, and that seemed to be enough to pacify her. All he could do was focus on what he was trying to accomplish. He had to purge Emma from his system, and if it took f**king Heather to do it, then he was going to do it.
He held the door open for her as they swept into O’Malley’s. He cringed at the sight of Jenny behind the hostess booth. At the sight of him, her eyes lit up. Her face started to break into a wide grin, but then she noticed Heather. Her expression immediately darkened, and anger flashed in her usually cool blue eyes.
Aidan cleared his throat. “We need a booth, Jenny.”
She shook her head furiously, causing her blonde ponytail to swish back in forth. “I’m sorry, but we seem to be full tonight.”
Staring past her, Aidan eyed the half empty bar and turned his pointed gaze back on her. “Looks to me like you’ve got plenty of room.”
“No, I’m sorry we don’t. I guess you and your friend will have to go somewhere else.”
Heather clicked towards Jenny on her high-end heels that Aidan wagered probably cost more than Jenny made in a week. He held his breath as Heather surmised Jenny. Then her plump red lips curved into a cat-like smile. “Looks like someone is a little jealous that we’re here together, Aidan. What’s the matter, honey? Are you one of Aidan’s spurned lovers or former one night stands?” Heather ran her acrylic nails up his back, causing him to shudder. “I’m glad to see you live up to your bad boy reputation. I’m pretty much guaranteed an interesting evening now.”