Page 110 of The Emma Special

“Oh, it is.” Summer raised her hands above her head in a long stretch. “Thanks for letting us hang out. We’ll get out of your hair now. Best of luck with the kitchen.”

“You haven’t even seen it. You sure you want to commit to that?” Emma asked.

“I’m all in, baby. It sounds like you and the girls had fun.”

“We did. I really owe you big time for cleaning up the mess.”

James leaned closer until his warm breath heated her neck. “If you can wait five minutes for me to get a shower, you can put the aloe on me and we’ll call it even.”

A little giggle escaped from her throat before she could contain it. “That’s not the punishment you think it is.”

James gave her a wink as he backed away. “Five minutes.”

Oh goodness. Her mouth was dry. What were words? “Uh huh.”

As soon as James disappeared into the hallway, Summer shoved Emma’s shoulder. “Girl, that was⁠—”

“So hot,” Allison finished.

“I approve of his reaction to the mess,” Summer said.

“He hasn’t seen the mess yet,” Emma reminded her.

“Doesn’t matter. He passed the test,” Allison said. “Now, go rub that man down so we can go play in the woods.”

Daniel stopped in the doorway holding the shop vac and looking like a deer in headlights.

Allison pointed a manicured finger at him. “You didn’t hear the context.”

Daniel continued on to the kitchen without a word.

“Daniel’s not as bad as you make him out to be,” Emma said.

Allison lifted her chin and straightened her shoulders. “Whatever. This is about you. Not him.”

Summer lifted a hand. “Actually, it’s about me. I have a thief.”

Allison pulled out her phone and tapped on the screen. “I need to change clothes. I’m sending the prep list to the chat.”

“Prep list? What kind of prep do we need to do for a stakeout?” Emma asked.

“Emma, you’re in charge of snacks. Nothing with a strong smell. Summer, do you have charcoal masks we can wear?”

Summer scoffed. “It’s like you don’t know me at all. They’re amazing for your skin. It should be fine to leave them on longer than the recommended twenty minutes.”

“Wait, I’m feeling a little under prepared,” Emma said.

“No, no. We’re prepared,” Allison promised.

Katie jogged into the living room and grabbed her purse before making a bee-line for the front door. “Look out, snipe. Here we come!”

Emma blew out a breath, feeling like a squirrel having dodged three lanes of traffic. She wanted to believe her friends. But her doubts had thick barbs.

Why was it always easier to find evidence against their words? If she stopped working so hard to earn James’s love, who would catch her if her friends were wrong?

Chapter 31

Emma Orders A Fire