She groaned. “No, I guess it’s only fair that you know what you’re dealing with.”

“Or what I’m up against?”

“I guess,” she murmured.

“So, you and Aidan were dating, you got pregnant, and he couldn’t commit?” Pesh suggested, as his hand delved into one of the bags.

Oh God. How could he be further from the truth? “Not exactly.”

Pesh drew his attention away from the containers he was taking out and looked at Emma. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have asked.”

“No, it’s just at the hospital when I said it was a long story, I wasn’t kidding.” After drawing in a deep breath, she proceeded to tell Pesh everything from the start of wanting Connor to father her child to Aidan’s betrayal.

When she finally finished, Pesh shook his head. “You’re right. That was a really long story.” At his teasing, Emma smacked his arm playfully, and he grinned. “Thank you for sharing that with me. I know it couldn’t have been easy unburdening yourself of all that pain.”

Emma cocked her head at him. “Do you always talk so proper—so worldly?”

“My parents like to say I’m an old soul. I guess that’s why I sound the way I do.”

“Were you the oldest?”

Pesh nodded. “Yes, you could say I’m the classic oldest child stereotype. My baby brother…well, he’s a whole other story for another day.”

Emma laughed as Pesh started pouring out some soup into a bowl. She sniffed appreciatively at the bowl. “Hmm, what’s this?”

“Rasam or tomato soup.”

She took a tentative bite. “That’s really good.”

“I thought you might like it. It’s very healthy too. Good for digestion.”

Emma laughed. “The restaurant should hire you to do PR for them.”

“You think?”

She nodded. “I should know. I mean, I do work in advertising.”

After taking in a few spoonfuls of the soup, she eyed another container Pesh was opening. At her apprehension, he said, “Just take a bite of the Daal Makhani.” When she gave Pesh a skeptical look, he laughed. “Trust me. It’s good for you. It has a lot of protein and fiber in it.”

The moment she thrust the spoonful into her mouth she knew she had made a mistake. “That’s hot.”

“Seriously?”

She bobbed her head while waving her hand in front of her mouth. “I guess I should have mentioned I’m kinda a wuss when it comes to spicy foods.”

“Oh, well, then. Why don’t you skip out on that and take the Butter Chicken instead.” Pesh put some orange looking chicken on her plate.

“So tell me about your family,” Emma said. It was hard to talk considering her tongue was still enflamed.

“Well, my father came to America with his parents when he was just a teenager. He wanted to leave India behind and become Americanized.” Pesh shook his head. “He even changed his name to Charlie.”

“Really?”

Pesh grinned. “Yes, no one I know except my mother and my late grandparents called him by his real name.”

Emma pushed her fork around the plate, uncertain of what to eat next. “What about your mother?”

“She’s the reason why I’m not completely Americanized, or have a name like Bill or something.”

Emma giggled. “I can’t quite see you as a ‘Bill’…William maybe, but definitely not Bill or Billy.”

“Me either.” Pesh wiped his mouth with his napkin. “She came over to marry my father when she was just eighteen. They had known each other as children, but it was very much an arranged marriage.”

“Oh,” Emma murmured. She took a tentative bite of the lesser of the spicy evils. “Was your marriage arranged?”

“No. In fact, Jade was the first non-Indian girl I ever dated.”

“Was your mom angry?”

He bobbed his head. “At first. But Jade very much wanted to acclimate herself to my life and my customs. Over the years we dated, she slowly grew on my mother.” He grinned at Emma. “As for my father, the traitor to his culture, the thoughts of a blonde hair, blue eyed daughter-in-law was a dream come true!”

Emma laughed. “I can only imagine.” When she glanced up from her plate, she saw that Pesh’s expression had turned serious. “What?”

“I can only imagine he would be thrilled with an auburn haired beauty with sparkling green eyes.”

Her fork clattered noisily onto the floor. She and Pesh both leaned over to retrieve it, and they ended up bumping heads. “Oomp,” Emma muttered. She brought her hand to her head and rubbed her aching hairline.

“I’m sorry I upset you,” Pesh said softly.

“You didn’t upset me. It’s just that…” She nibbled her lip, unsure of how to proceed. “When you say things like that, I feel like I’m leading you on. I don’t want you to get hurt.”

“Emma, I am a grown man. I’m fully capable of taking care of myself and my feelings. I’m also well aware of how plain you’ve made your intentions to me.”

She shook her head. “Then why bother wasting your time on me if I’m all closed off?”

“That’s the same question one might pose to Aidan. Why should he bother pursing you after what he’s done and how you still feel about him?” He gave her a hesitant smile. “Because you’re worth fighting for.”

“Oh God,” she moaned. She covered her face with her hands.

“Did I say something wrong?”

From behind her hands, she replied, “Oh no. That’s the problem. You never say the wrong thing. Everything you say and do is absolutely wonderful.”

Pesh laughed. “I’m sorry for confusing you, Emma. I really am.”

She peeked through her fingers at him. “Really?”

“Well, I could lie and say yes, but the truth is I’m glad I’m slowly breaking down your walls. I want you to be able to see that whenever you’re ready and if you really want me, I’ll be here.”

“You would say something like that,” she grumbled.

Standing up, Pesh stretched his arms over his head. “Okay, I think it’s time for a conversation change and for me to clean up.”

“Oh no, you don’t have to do that.”

“I wouldn’t dream of overstepping your hospitality by leaving a mess.”