Jasmine’s arms slip away from me.“Can I have one now, Emma?Can I?”
“They’re still scalding hot, so let’s give them just a moment.Would you like to eat outside?”
“Dad!”Jasmine spins around to me again, the pale blue of her eyes sparkling.“Can we sit outside?Can we?”
“I… I guess, but I might have to clean off the—”
“That’s already taken care of,” Emma says.“Would you like some coffee, Finn?”
“I…” I don’t know whether to laugh or cry.It’s been a long while since a gorgeous woman stood in my kitchen in the morning and asked me if I wanted coffee.Eight years, to be precise.“Yeah,” I croak.
And oh, for the love of… how much bird shit did she have to scrape off the outdoor table and chairs?Whatever I’m paying her isn’t enough.
Wait.I have no idea what I’m supposed to be paying her.I don’t even know if she and Phyllis discussed salary.What kind of lame-ass employer am I?
Emma turns away from me and opens the refrigerator.“Cream, right?”
I can’t believe what I’m seeing.Behind the stainless-steel door is a brightly lit, tidy collection of fresh produce, meats, and dairy products.And zero mold.
Am I even in the right house?
“Yes, thank you,” I manage.
She grabs the cream, retrieves a mug from a neatly organized cabinet, and prepares my coffee.Then she walks over to me with a smile.“Here you go.Enjoy.”Emma looks to Jasmine.“Can you grab the plates and silverware and set the table?”
“Yep!”
Jasmine reaches for the stack of plates and bundle of utensils already set out on the countertop, and I open the sliding screen door for her.I smile down at my happy kid and watch her walk outside.
That’s when I look up at the patio.I don’t even know what I’m seeing.
“I hope you don’t mind, Finn.It’s such a pretty spot out there.”
I turn to find Emma standing not two feet away from me.“Would you please carry the napkins and butter dish to the table?”
I look down to see the things she’s holding in her hands.
We have a butter dish.That’s in addition to our cooling rack, silicone spatula, and omelet pan, I guess.What the fuckelseis hiding in my kitchen that I don’t know about—a US Navy guided-missile destroyer?
“Sure.”When I reach out, my fingertips accidentally brush along the side of Emma’s thumb.It wasn’t intentional.It was a completely innocent split-second of contact, but it felt like something else.
Something not innocent.
She holds my gaze, and I realize that the depth of honesty I see there is enough to drown a man if he isn’t careful.
I’m a former SEAL.I don’t usually worry about drowning.I’ve had to swim for eight hours straight through ten-foot ocean swells, in the black of the night, in shark-infested waters.
And yet I believe that if I’m not extremely careful, I could drown in this woman’s guileless eyes.
Her pretty pink mouth curls into a half smile.
“Uh, let me just…” I nod my thanks and head outside with Jasmine, who’s finished arranging the plates and is already seated, beaming with pride.
“Isn’t the table pretty, Dad?”
“You know what, kiddo?It really is.Did you pick these?”
“Nope.Emma did.”
