“Hi,” they murmured. They seemed almost mesmerized by her presence. It made Emma wonder if they’d ever seen a woman at Aidan’s house before.
She cocked her head at them. “Let me guess. Any chance you guys were named after the Romanic poets?”
The tallest one rolled his eyes. “Yeah, unfortunately our parents have a major thing for boring, stuffy British dudes.”
Aidan gave an exasperated grunt. “What he means to say is my sister and brother-in-law are both English professors at Georgia State.” Pointing to the tallest one, he said, “The thirteen year old with the mouth is John Keats. My middle man, Percy Shelley, is eleven, and George Byron, or Georgie, is five.” He turned back to her. “And guys, this is my friend, Emma Harrison.”
“It’s nice meeting you. Looks like you were all set to swim, huh?”
“Yeah, until Loverboy over here decided to ruin it for us,” John replied, scowling at Aidan.
Jabbing his finger in the air, Aidan practically growled, “Watch your mouth.”
Emma hid her amusement behind her hand. Once she recovered, she said, “In his defense, your uncle didn’t know I was going to have such a bad day today and need some company. But I don’t mind one bit if you guys stay and swim.”
Aidan’s eyebrows rose in surprise. “You don’t?” he asked at the same time Georgie squealed, “Really?”
“Sure why not.”
“All right!” Percy exclaimed before barreling past Emma. John and Georgie were close on his heels.
Emma laughed at their excitement while Aidan shook his head. “I can’t believe you just agreed to have them stay.”
“They’re here to swim, so I highly doubt they’ll even bother us.”
“Famous last words,” Aidan muttered as he ushered Emma back outside.
At the sight of Georgie about to jump in the shallow end, Aidan rushed forward and grabbed him up. “Whoa, whoa, Little Man. Don’t you dare get in without your floaties.”
“But floaties are for babies!” he moaned, writhing against Aidan’s chest.
“I don’t want to hear it.” He sat Georgie down and flipped open a brown storage bin. He pulled out two Power Ranger arm floaties. He slid them up Georgie’s arms. “Your mom would kick my butt if she showed up and you weren’t wearing these.”
Georgie glowered at Aidan before running off and jumping in the pool.
“Uncle Aidan, will you help me with my backstroke again?” Percy asked.
Aidan glanced over at Emma. “You mind?”
“Of course not. In fact, I’d love to see you in action.”
He smirked before leaning over to whisper in her ear. “I’d wear that speedo I promised you, but I think it would freak the boys out.”
She giggled and shoved him away. “Go get your swim trunks, cocky.”
While he disappeared into the house, John swam closer to where Emma was sitting. He propped his elbows on the ledge. “So how long have you been Uncle Aidan’s girlfriend?”
She fought the flush creeping across her cheeks at his directness. “He’s just my friend.”
He gave her a look that said he clearly thought she was bullshitting him. “Wish I had friends as pretty as you,” he said with a grin.
Emma couldn’t help giggling. “Why thank you, John. You’re quite a charmer, aren’t you?”
He puffed out his chest, and Emma could have sworn she was seeing Aidan at thirteen. “The girls seem to think so.”
“Hmm, I think besides your hair and eyes, you may have inherited your flirting ability from your Uncle Aidan.”
Aidan chose that moment to come back outside. He glanced between her and John with a curious expression. “What are you two talking about?”
“How much John looks like you.” She gave Aidan a mischievous grin and winked. “And acts like you.”
Aidan crossed his arms over his bare chest. “John, are you making the moves on my friend?”
John paled a little. “No, I was just talking to her. I mean, you never, ever have girls over here or bring them to Papa’s.”
Now it was Aidan’s turn to get flustered. “Whatever.” He dove into the pool and swam over to where Percy waited expectantly on him. Emma watched as Aidan gave Percy demonstrations and then feedback on his form. In between giving instructions, he would throw a gleeful Georgie in the air and let him splash down.
Emma drew in a desperate breath and tried to still the fluttering of her heart at the sight of Aidan interacting so effortlessly with his nephews. When he pulled himself out of the pool and came striding over to her, she couldn’t help staring in wonder at him.
His eyebrows shot up at her expression. “What?”
“I just never imagined seeing you around kids.”
“Oh yeah, I’m freakin’ Ward Cleaver, aren’t I?” he snorted in response.
“You don’t give yourself enough credit. For some reason, you don’t like to admit how much you care about them.”
“Is that right?”
She nodded. “If you were so anti-children, you wouldn’t have offered to let them come and swim, and you would have let Georgie in the water without his floaties. Plus, you just spent twenty minutes giving Percy swimming lessons.”
Aidan furiously toweled his wet hair, a scowl forming on his face. “Em, I don’t know what you’re hinting around at right now, but I’m never going to be father material, okay?”
“You shouldn’t feel so negative about yourself,” she protested.
Before Aidan could say anything, a shriek came from the pool. Georgie was paddling over to the ladder, tears streaming down his face. Once he got out, he streaked over to Emma and Aidan.
“He held me under!” Georgie cried, pointing at John.
“It was barely a second. Stop being such a big baby,” John replied.
“I-I couldn’t breathe!” Georgie snubbed, grinding the tears from his eyes with his fists.
“Walk it off, Little Man. You’ll be all right,” Aidan said.
His response made Georgie cry harder and earned him a glare from Emma. “What?” Aidan questioned.
“Come here, sweetie,” Emma offered, opening her arms. Georgie quickly scrambled into her lap and then wrapped his arms around her neck. “Shh, you’re okay now.” She turned her wrath on John. “I think you owe your brother an apology.”
John’s eyes widened as he glanced from Emma to his uncle, but Aidan only shrugged. “Um, I’m sorry, Georgie.”