“Thank you, but in the future—”
“I promise not to go behind your back and use my PR powers.”
“Well, your PR powers had another unintended consequence.”
“What’s that?”
“I sold the rose.”
“Seriously?!” I squealed and sat up.
He nodded and kissed me. “Well, I haven’t signed anything, but I’m fairly optimistic.”
“I’m so proud of you.”
“I’m so proud of you.” He kissed me. “You came up with this plan and rallied the whole town behind you. I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s a statue of you in the town square this time next week.”
“Well.” I stroked his face. “I didn’t do it alone. I had help.” Dan raised an eyebrow. “I actually had a lot of help.”
“Emma Walters accepted help.”
“I’m just as surprised as you are.” I gave him a sarcastic smirk and fluttered my eyelashes. “But a very wise man with a cute butt told me that asking for help when I need it is a good thing.”
“Sounds like you should listen to this wise man with a cute butt more often.” He kissed me and his smile faded a bit. “So I saw your mum for a bit before she left. How’s that going?”
“I’ll be honest, I have a lot of feelings. I’m happy. I’m angry. I’m grateful. I’m sad. I’m extremely confused.” I chuckled. “But most of all, I’m hopeful. I mean, if you knew my mother, you would know it took a lot for her to come here today, but she did. She did it for me.” I felt a tear spring to my eye. “I know today barely scratches the surface, and we have years of therapy to look forward to, but yeah, I’m hopeful.”
We lay on the floor wrapped in a sheet and each other’s arms for a long moment, enjoying the peace.
“So what do you want to do now?” I asked. Dan looked at me and raised an eyebrow.
“Calm down, lover boy.” I chuckled. “I’m gonna need a little more recovery time.”
Dan picked up a discarded rook and held it out to me. “Rematch?”
“I guess I could beat you again before we go to sleep.” I grinned and started scooping up the pieces.
“Are you planning to put some clothes on?”
“Well, I wasn’t planning to, but if you insist.” I tried to stand, and Dan caught my wrist and pulled me back down to the floor.
“I’ll take my chances.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Pass me the sugar, sweetheart,” my mom called over her shoulder as we stood in the kitchen, almost shoulder to shoulder, in front of a bright red KitchenAid stand mixer. I slid the canister across the counter as I watched her with rapt attention, still in disbelief of this surreal moment. “The secret to a really moist cake is making the perfect sugar-and-butter combination.”
She was teaching me my grandmother’s recipe for yellow cake while we stood in the kitchen of her childhood home wearing aprons that were probably older than I was.
Mom had been staying on the farm with me since the day of the plan, and Dad joined us a few days later. Like me, she couldn’t bear the thought of sleeping in my grandparents’ bedroom, so she and Daddy took my bedroom, which used to be hers anyway, and I unofficially moved in with Dan. We barely let each other out of our sights these days anyway, so it made sense.
I looked over my shoulder to see Dan and my father sitting atthe kitchen table, playing a game of chess. After only a few moves, I could tell that Dan was letting my father win, and it was a little endearing. He caught my eye and winked at me. I blew him a kiss.
Mom and I were baking a cake to celebrate my brilliant, botanically inclined boyfriend closing a seven-figure deal on the patent of his rose.
Once we’d gotten the cake into the oven and Dan had taken way longer than he should’ve to checkmate my father, I excused myself from the kitchen and pulled Dan into my grandfather’s study. I pulled the door shut with a soft click and turned to face him.
“If you’re looking for a quick shag, Emma, I think we should go a little farther away from the kitchen. I don’t think you want your mum and dad to hear your cat noises.” He waggled his eyebrows and grinned at me.
