The Party
Prequel to The Proposition
Katie Ashley
Copyright 2013 Katie Ashley Productions
Smashwords Edition
***
***
To the readers and fans of
The
Proposition
***
Glancing at the clock on the car’s dashboard,
Emma cringed. Her pampering day at the spa had run a little late.
Okay, thirty minutes wasn’t exactly a little late. Now it was only
an hour before she and Aidan were supposed to be at his company’s
Christmas Party. Somehow in that hour they were going to have to
drop Noah off at Aidan’s niece, Megan’s, house since she had
graciously offered to baby-sit for them.
When she rolled to a stop at a red-light, she
dug her phone out of her purse. Her fingers flew over the keyboard
as she typed
Five minutes from the house. Hair stylist was
behind. So, so sorry
. She didn’t know how much good trying to
text Aidan would do. Her last few messages had gone unanswered, and
she was afraid to call the house in case Noah was still
napping.
He had surprised her that morning at
breakfast with an early Christmas present—a gift certificate to Spa
Sydell where she could spend the day getting pampered with facials
and massages before having her hair and make-up done for the party.
Now that she was a stay-at-home-mom, she relished anytime she could
have a day just for herself. It had been the most amazing present,
especially since Aidan was spending the day having “man” time with
Noah.
But now Emma didn’t even want to begin to
wonder how Aidan was getting ready for the party with Noah crawling
around and getting into everything. All she had left to do was slip
into her cocktail dress, but when she had left Aidan and Noah
earlier in the day, Aidan was in his ratty sweatpants and hadn’t
showered or shaved.
She whipped the car into the driveway and
eased into the garage. Grabbing her purse, she hopped out and
hurried into the kitchen. Beau met her in the doorway. “Hiya, boy.
Let me guess. Daddy is pissed and not speaking to me?” Beau cocked
his head at her, causing Emma to laugh. “Okay, let me rephrase
that. Where are the guys?”
He wagged his tail before turning around and
heading out of the kitchen. “Okay, I’ll follow you then.” Glancing
into the living-room, she saw the television was on. “Aidan?” she
questioned as she started down the hallway. Beau sat outside the
master bedroom doorway, thumping his tail on the floor. Emma smiled
and patted his head. “You’re such a good boy. Thanks for letting me
know where they were.”
When Emma started into the bedroom, she
skidded to a stop. Lying on one side of the bed, Aidan was sleeping
soundly with his right arm draped over his head. Next to him, Noah
lay in the same position. A smile curved on her lips, and she
couldn’t stop the warmth spreading through her chest at the sight
of the two people she loved most in the entire world. Digging her
phone out of her purse, she tip-toed over to the bed. She snapped
several shots of the mirror images of father and son.
Now she knew why her texts had gone
unanswered. He wasn’t upset—he was dead to the world. Easing down
beside Aidan, she leaned over and kissed his cheek and then planted
a chaste kiss on his warm mouth. “Wake up, sleepyhead. It’s time to
get ready for the party,” she said against his lips.
While Aidan barely stirred, the sound of her
voice caused Noah to stretch his fists over his head and kick his
legs. Emma reached over Aidan’s waist to pick Noah up. Kissing his
cheek, she said, “Hey angel. Did you miss mommy?” His drowsy blue
eyes opened—the same piercing ones his father had. A small grin
formed on his lips, which caused Emma to melt. His tiny hand came
up to brush his fingers over her cheek. She kissed each one of them
before pretending to nibble them, which always made Noah laugh. “I
missed you, and I’m going to miss you tonight, too. But Megan is
going to take good care of you, and you’ll get to play with
Mason.”
Noah cooed in response, reaching for the
strands of her auburn hair that he loved to twist between his
fingers.
At Aidan’s snore, Emma shook her head. “Come
on, let’s wake up Daddy.” She sat Noah next to Aidan. “Go on. Wake
him up,” she instructed. With a grin, Noah immediately reached over
and smacked his hands over and over on Aidan’s chest. “Dada!” he
cried.
Aidan’s eyes flew open, and he gazed wildly
around the room before finally taking in Emma. His mouth opened in
a wide yawn before he spoke. “Now there’s a wake-up call. Just glad
he wasn’t close to my crotch,” he muttered before rubbing his
eyes.
Emma laughed. “Hey, I tried kissing you, but
you wouldn’t wake up.”
With his trademark sexy smirk, he replied,
“Damn, I hate I missed that one.” He started to move closer to her,
but she pushed him back.
“Well, you wouldn’t have missed much with
Noah in the bed, not to mention the fact we’re going to be late to
the Christmas Party.”
“Who cares about being on time? We can just
make an appearance.” Pulling himself into a sitting position, Aidan
stared at her for a moment, drinking in her appearance. “You look
beautiful,” he murmured.
Warmth filled her cheeks. “Thank you. And
thanks again for my early Christmas present. I had the most amazing
day.”
He smiled. “You’re welcome.” He reached out
to tenderly take one of her loose curls between his fingers—he and
Noah both had an obsession with her hair. “I’m so glad you left
your hair down.”
“I did it for you—I know you like it loose
wavy.”
He winked at her. “Just like the first night
I ever saw you.”