"Baby, you're gonna love it."
7
Calvin
"Really?" I asked, placing my hands on my hips as I surveyed the cart. "I said we could buy paint, Em, not the whole fucking store."
"It's just a few things," she protested.
I'd been gone for less than five minutes to get some paintbrushes, and in that time, she'd managed to add a rug, colourful bedding, picture frames, and a meerkat print shower curtain to the six pails of paint.
I held up the curtain. "Do we need this?"
"Yes. The mirrors in our bathroom freak me out."
I dropped it back in, knowing this was a battle I was about to lose. And that knowledge fucking delighted me. This whole evening, the car ride, the shopping, the fucking meerkat print shower curtain, all of it. I couldn't describe how fucking happy I was, and all over a trip to Home fucking Depot.
But it's more than a trip. It's the spark in Em's eyes, it's the smile on her lips, and it's the knowledge that you – you jackass- haven't fucked this up.
"You done?" I asked, enjoying her delight.
"Mm. Maybe." She glanced down an aisle, then shook her head. "We can come back, right?"
"Of course."
"Okay." She patted the side of the cart. "Then let's get this paid for. I'm hungry."
The woman at the checkout laughed as she swiped our purchases. "New house?"
"No," Emily replied happily. "Just redecorating."
The woman reached over, scanning the paint cans. "Hope you kids have a great time. Redecorating is fun, but good lordy, it can be messy."
Em hip-bumped me, shooting me a flirty smile. "I can handle dirty."
I slung an arm around her shoulder, pulling her in to nuzzle her neck, making her laugh. "Yeah, you can."
I paid and then led us out, navigating the cart through the car park. We chatted as we loaded purchases, chatted as we got in the car, and laughed as I drove us through town to the main street that ran parallel to the marina.
"Wow," Em murmured, her head turned to look out her window. "This has changed."
"A family purchased the marina last year; they're looking to redo it. But Main Street has slowly been upgrading for a while."
I turned into a rare vacant street spot, easing to a stop. We climbed out, and I came around, swinging an arm around her shoulders and guiding her down the street.
"Do you remember Ella Bronze?" I asked, trying to figure out how long it had been.
Em shook her head.
"Well, Ella is a local business owner. She started up the Bronze Horseman a couple of years ago with her co-owner, Anika Sharif, who's the chef. It's pretty successful. Her fiancéonly moved to town this past year, but he purchased the marina and is planning upgrades."
Em tipped her head back, raising an eyebrow. "Are you normally this interested in local businesses?"
I hesitated, wondering how much to reveal.
"Normally, no," I admitted, deciding to start our new life off with honesty. "But in this case, yeah."
"In this case?"
