“You want something to change into?”
She bobbed her head. “That would be great, thanks.”
“Follow me.”
Emma fell in step behind Aidan as they started down the hallway. She wasn’t too thrilled at the prospect of following him into the master bedroom, so she stopped in front of a wall of pictures. “Are these all of your family?”
Aidan turned back and then nodded. “Yeah, Angie, did that for me. She got all the pictures together and then arranged them for me as a house warming present.”
“She did a great job.” As Aidan dipped back inside the bedroom, Emma continued gazing at the photographs. Aidan was the spitting image of his late mother. Several of the pictures were of his parents when they were younger and older. “I love this one of your parent’s at their 50th Wedding Anniversary. Your mother was so beautiful,” she called.
“Thanks.”
“And your dad is handsome, too.”
“I told you I’d bring some attractive genes to the table!”
She rolled her eyes at his cockiness. “Your dad looks like a really sweet and nice man.”
Aidan poked his head out of the bedroom door. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
Emma shrugged. “I don’t know. I guess I had this impression of your dad being like Hugh Hefner, and you following in his footsteps.”
Aidan laughed as he handed her a pair of navy sweat pants and a white t-shirt. “Trust me, my dad is the farthest thing from Hef. My parents were high school sweethearts. I’m not sure if he ever slept with anyone but Mom. She’s been gone five years, and he’s barely dated at all.”
“That’s so romantic,” Emma gushed.
“Yeah, but he’s lonely. If he’s not hounding one of my sisters, he’s calling me, guilting me to come visit. I know he’d like someone to be there with him all the time, but he just can’t seem to let go of Mom. I keep telling him to move on, but he just refuses.”
Emma grew exasperated at his tone. “Maybe he’s not ready yet. Maybe a love as strong as theirs isn’t so easy to get over as you think,” she countered.
“I guess. But Jesus, he needs to lighten up on the expectations that I should always be at his beck and call.”
Emma threw her hands up in exasperation, unable to hold her temper any longer. “Has he been a good father to you or not?”
“Yeah, of course he has.”
“Then he shouldn’t have to call you to beg you to come by. You should be the one calling him and checking to see how he’s doing. Maybe paying him back for some of the sacrifices he made while you were growing up.”
“I know, it’s just—”
“Trust me when I say this Aidan, he won’t be here forever. I did everything I could for my mother while she was alive, and sometimes guilt still consumes me. I wouldn’t ever want you to be haunted by regrets.”
“Damn, Em, you make me feel like a real ass**le.”
With her anger evaporating, she suddenly felt embarrassed for going off on him. She ducked her head. “I’m sorry. I just know you have a really good heart, that’s all.”
“Then if you believe in me that much, I’ll do better, okay?”
She peeked up at him through her lashes and smiled. “Okay.”
He cleared his throat and motioned across the hall. “You can go change in the bathroom.”
“Thanks. I probably need to wash my face too after my crying tirade. I’m probably a mess.”
“Would you like to take a shower while I fix dinner?”
“Are you insinuating I stink?” she asked, with a grin.
Aidan chuckled. “No, I just thought it might make you feel better. If you want, you can soak in the Jacuzzi tub.”
Emma closed her eyes and sighed. “That would be fabulous.”
“Come on then.”
She followed him into the bedroom. With its light blue walls and white trim, it had an airy, cozy feel. She fought the urge to giggle at what she had imagined of his bedroom—silk sheets, a mirror over the bed, and black or red walls.
It was quite the opposite. An enormous four-poster bed sat in the middle of the room. The only thing that stood out to her was how neat and organized everything was. “You must pay a fortune to your cleaning lady,” she mused.
“I don’t have one.”
“You do all this yourself?”
Yeah, I like cleaning.”
After peeking in the bathroom, Emma mused, “Looks like you’re kind of a neat freak, huh?”
“I might be just a little anal retentive about everything being in order.”
“Hmm.”
“And what’s that supposed to mean?” he asked, sweeping his hands to his hips.
“Nothing.”
“Let me guess. You took a few psych courses in college, and the experts say that most often obsessively clean people are trying to put order into a life of emotional chaos?”
“I didn’t say that.”
He snorted. “You didn’t have to, Dr. Phil. Now if you’re through analyzing me, I’ll let you go and take your bath.”
“I appreciate it.”
After she closed the door behind Aidan, she turned on the water. Slipping out of her clothes, she tried stripping herself of the day’s stress. Once the tub filled up, she turned on the jets. She eased down into the bubbling water and sighed with contentment. She had just laid her head back when the door burst open.