The Proposition and The Proposal: Katie Ashley
The Proposition (book 1)Add to Goodreads Buy: Nook/Kindle
With her thirtieth birthday looming, Emma Harrison finds her biological clock clanging and the elusive knight in shining armor yet to appear. She’s running out of options, especially after her gay best friend backs out from being her sperm donor. Of course, there’s always a sperm bank, but Emma fears a donor mix-up might impregnate her with the spawn of Satan.
Resident company womanizer, Aidan Fitzgerald, is used to always getting what he wants, especially in the bedroom. When Emma spurns his advances at the company Christmas party, he's determined to have her no matter what it takes. After Aidan learns of Emma's predicament, he is quick to offer a proposition that will benefit them both. He will father Emma's child, but she must conceive it with him naturally. Not one for hook-ups or casual sex, Emma is reluctant to take him up on his offer, but his charm, coupled with her intense desire for motherhood, wins out.
Soon their baby-making sessions become more than just physical. Aidan can't seem to walk away from her while Emma begins to wonder if Aidan could be the one. But can Aidan leave his past behind to become the man Emma needs him to be?
Resident company womanizer, Aidan Fitzgerald, is used to always getting what he wants, especially in the bedroom. When Emma spurns his advances at the company Christmas party, he's determined to have her no matter what it takes. After Aidan learns of Emma's predicament, he is quick to offer a proposition that will benefit them both. He will father Emma's child, but she must conceive it with him naturally. Not one for hook-ups or casual sex, Emma is reluctant to take him up on his offer, but his charm, coupled with her intense desire for motherhood, wins out.
Soon their baby-making sessions become more than just physical. Aidan can't seem to walk away from her while Emma begins to wonder if Aidan could be the one. But can Aidan leave his past behind to become the man Emma needs him to be?
I did not review this book when I read it before, perhaps because it left me heartbroken and flabbergasted. I had not read about there being a cliffhanger. So imagine me shocked and disillusioned when I got to the end. So by that point, I knew , I was going to re-read it when book 2 came out.
I have to say I loved it more this time. I think Katie Ashley writes with such a fun, sarcastic sense of humor. Aidan and Emma have such witty rapport, inside jokes, and you cannot help but giggle at such unique nicknames such as twatwaffle and douchnozzle.
The whole set up for this book was so unique. A woman with her biological clock ticking who needs a sperm donor. A hot, successful, manwhore who was rejected by her once is happy to help in order to get what he wants...her in bed.
"Here's my proposition. I offer to father your child, and you in turn, promise to conceive it with me naturally."
"A MWF sex schedule? How efficient."
But what I really liked about this book was how Emma and Aidan started to slowly find ways to spend more time together and how their relationship just progressed in a natural way to be "more".
"I'm glad to hear I'm coming up a little in your esteem. I would hate to have our future child scarred because his mother thought his dad was a heartless, sex-fiend asshole."
It wasn't for the fact that Emma wasn't deeply in love with Aidan. She was just too afraid of scaring him away. Their entire relationship was such a fragile balloon that she was afraid would pop at any moment.
I loved how gentle Emma tried to be with Aidan knowing that he is a total commitment-phobe and would easily run scared. It was good to see Aidan feeling vulnerable and unable to actually believe that he could feel the things he was feeling. Their love story was sweet and wonderful until Aidan's big mammoth fear set in.
He loved Emma. Fuck. He absolutely and completely loved her with every fiber of his being. And that very fact scared the hell out of him.
Commitment-phobic men always screw up and I knew bad things were coming. And by the end, yes I wanted to tie Aidan up and beat him over the head with my kindle yelling "stupid, stupid douchenozzle!". I kept trying to scroll my kindle pages hoping that was not really THE END. Seriously? I mean seriously?! sigh... Then the wait for book 2 The Proposal began. There were several release dates mentioned, but thankfully it is finally here!
But fate intervenes when premature labor forces Emma on strict bed rest for two weeks. Aidan steps forward with a shocking proposal. To prove his love and commitment for her and their unborn son, he will take a leave of absence from work to care for her around the clock. Vowing to guard her heart, Emma reluctantly agrees.
While she is touched by Aidan’s attentiveness and tender loving care, Emma is thrown for a loop by the amorous attentions of ER doctor, Alpesh “Pesh” Nadeen. Pesh is everything Emma could ever want—successful, stable, and ready to settle down and be a husband and father. Pesh wants nothing more than to win Emma’s heart, but she is not sure she’s able to give it.
Her heart may still belong to the very man who broke it—the one who is so desperately trying to win her back.
"I swear to God and all that's holy I wish I could take it back."
I was happy that The Proposal continues our story just a few weeks later. Aidan is doing what I hoped he would...begging doing whatever he can to try to rectify his mistake. I actually felt bad for him pretty early on because it was obvious he was trying his best to beg but now he is on the receiving end of being pushed away. I loved seeing him stepping up and trying to be what Emma needs him to be: a support, a caregiver, a father, and significant other. The fact that he knows what he wants and is not afraid to fight for it shows the growth he has made from the first book.
"I'd give anything and everything in this world to redeem myself with you. Just please, please give me the chance."
"I'm sorry , Emma. I'm so sorry for breaking your heart. I'm sorry for being an utter prick and being afraid of my feelings for you. Most of all, I'm sorry for screwing up the perfect life we had..."
But he gets a taste of his own medicine in more ways than one in this book. Not only is he being held at arm's length since she is now afraid to commit to him, but also Emma has a hot Doctor Pesh aka Dreamy McBollywood willing to step right into Emma's life. So this time I wanted to shake Emma for being incredibly stubborn, call her a hypocrite, and yell "Emma Please NO! Just step away from the "Indian food carrying, Opera Loving Hottie!" As sweet as Pesh is (and I will be happy to read the next book The Pairing featuring him), I was TEAM AIDAN all the way!
"Feel us, Emma. It's right here, and all you have to do is accept it."
"No, I will NOT leave you alone. I want to be with you, Em. I want to be with you every fucking moment of every fucking day!"
"Don't ever think Noah's in the way. He will always be the string that ties us together. He's our love growing inside you. He may not be the reason why I fell in love with you, but he's the reason why I got another chance at life"..."You saved me Emma."
I was thrilled that despite some rough times, we finally got to the good stuff about 3/4 of the way through. And we were not left waiting to see what happens next with this couple and the baby. It is refreshing for the happiness to really be part of the story and not just a blurb in an epilogue(although I liked the epilogue too.) They just made my heart melt.
I have to say I laughed, I teared up, and was left smiling. I think Aidan and Emma were a wonderful couple because they had so much loss in their lives, went through so much together, but found the sweetest love in the most unlikely of circumstances.
"There is going to be good times and bad times and heartache and joy. Don't ever think that your love isn't as strong or as beautiful as anyone else's. It's the love that goes through the hardest trials and survives that is worth having."
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