The Engagement

Chapter Two

The taxi dropped her at the front entrance. She hurried in from the weather, rushing to the front desk to find which floor maternity resided on. An elevator ride up five floors with a mother and two crying children forced her to rethink the adorableness factor of babies. She sent a quick prayer above thanking the Lord that it was Ashlyn in that hospital bed and not her.

Following the signs to the waiting room, she found a comfortable area filled with her friends. The only one missing was Deacon. Gathering Ashlyn still labored, she dropped into a chair next to Andrea. And uttered a curse, realizing she left her gift back at the shop.

"Nice to see you too."

Rolling her eyes at Alex, she gestured to his ornate flower arrangement. "You do know, those flowers are for funerals, right?"

He stared at them. "They looked nice. It was all I could find on quick notice. The gift shop it closed."

"Give the guy a break, Emme."

She smiled sweetly at Benton. "I don't know why you look so calm. You're next."

Andrea slapped her shoulder. "I am not pregnant. Knock it off, Em."

She dropped her bag on the floor. "Any word?"

Alex shook his head. "Not yet." Gesturing to a garbage can, he added, "Should I throw these away?"

"No. They're pretty. No one will know unless someone tells them."

Pretending Andrea wasn't sending her silent messages, Emme slipped from her coat. "I won't say a word." She bounced up and down in her seat. "I can't wait to see the baby."

"I don't know why. They look like little old men." Since Alex's thoughts so echoed her own, Emme didn't correct him. "And they cry and poop too much."

Twisting in her seat, Emme shoved him. "Stop ruining the moment."

"What? I'm just being honest."

"You're just being an ass."

"I could walk around with a halo above my head and you'd still call me an ass."

She tossed her hair. "Probably."

"Stop fighting, you two." Andrea mediated. "Do I need to sit between you?"

Emme twisted away from Alex. "No."

Why was it, every time she got near Alexander Bishop, she couldn't help but take a chunk out of him? The man got under her nerves like no other. He took her back to her days of long skirts, pigtails and braces. Two years older than her and Deacon, he always seemed more mature in ways she didn't appreciate. The man slept his way through Seattle, and had no qualms about owning up to it. She could even venture to say he felt proud of his accomplishments.

Growing up, he and Deacon were joined at the hip. Wherever Deacon went, Alex seemed not far behind. By virtue of their family connections, she spent one too many summers with the boys. Alex was merciless in his teasing of her, pulling her hair and calling her 'metal mouth'. She spent too much time being shy and hating her looks, so when the braces came off, the pigtails went down and she gained curves along with some confidence, she had her brother's teach her to fight. The following summer, she put Alex on his knees and he called her 'Rocky' from then on.

Wherever Alex flashed his dazzling smile and flaunted his blonde, good looks, girls fell under his spell. She lost count of how many girlfriends he went through as a teenager. Now, he didn't even bother with relationships, as far as she could tell. He was never with one girl for very long, and the ridiculous part was, none of them seemed to mind. Even her cousin Nici wasn't immune to his charm. She seemed to forget her intelligence and dignity. If Emme hadn't threatened Alex with death if he ever so much as hinted at wanting to sleep with Nici, she didn't doubt her cousin would be among those calling themselves Alex's ex-lovers.