Page 74 of The Emma Special

Not decent! Didn’t matter if she was covered. He would know that she was naked underneath.

Except, wasn’t everyone always naked underneath their clothes? Peaches and pixies, James was absolutely naked without his casual jeans and form fitting T-shirt. She’d never seen him in jeans before.

She liked him in jeans. And with bare arms. They were tan with freckles that climbed up his bicep. Was she ogling arms now? What was wrong with her?

“Mind if I sit here?” James pointed to the end of her bed. “I have something important to ask you.”

“Oh, you don’t want to sit in the chair over there? It’s not so naked—nearer. Not so near. Nevermind. Sit, yeah. It’s good. Wherever.”

His fingers rubbed against his palms, and he turned slowly one way, then the other. “You know… maybe we can talk out there? Table? You just woke up. I’m so sorry for barging in. That was… presumptuous of me. You take a minute and come out whenever you’re ready.”

Emma drew her lips between her teeth and nodded as the man began to notice the pink, purple, and fluffy wonderfulness of her girly room.

He closed the door with a firm pull, and she was left to panic on her own.

Scrubbing her face, Emma tried to wake up her brain. He said he had something important to ask her. Which was incredibly more stressful than if he had asked the thing outright. Just ask! Why the build-up?

Up. She needed to get up. Thankfully she had a loose pair of sweatpants to ease over her legs. Dressed—bra included—and hair somewhat presentable, she managed to work the door open with crutches.

“Hey. Can I get you anything to drink?” The polite words made her feel better. Even if she wouldn’t be able to follow through on them. “Need a water? Or sweet tea? I can fix you a coffee. Oh—” The dining table was set for two with plates filled with tacos.

“I assumed you hadn’t had lunch yet. I know you like tacos.”

“I do, thank you.” She hadn’t had breakfast either, and her mouth began to salivate at the spicy scent of seasoned beef.

He helped her to her chair and brought a second one forward so she could elevate her leg.

The food almost distracted her from the reason James was here. “Are you bribing me again? The last time I ate this food you conned me into working past midnight.”

He pushed her plate a smidgen closer to her. “Not a bribe… I thought you might be hungry.”

Putting down the taco she’d just picked up, she rolled her eyes. “Okay, spit it out. What’s up?”

“I know how to get you on my insurance.”

She tipped her head. “Really?”

“Marry me.”

Emma stared at him for a moment. The words didn’t make sense. They hung in the air, alone and out of place. “Oh, please. You had me there for a minute.” She shook her head with a laugh while taking her first bite.

“Emma, will you please marry me for my insurance?”

She paused mid-chew then swallowed the huge lump of food. “Are you for real? I can’t tell with you sometimes. You’re so serious most of the time and sarcasm flies over your head because you’re this literal facts man. So when you say ‘marry me for my insurance’ I want to throw this taco in your face and ask you not to tease me.”

“Please don’t throw food at me. Just commit insurance fraud with me.”

“You don’t have to be dramatic. I’m not wasting good food. Why would I waste it by throwing it at you? Besides, you think we have maids to come in here and clean it up?” She scooped some salsa from the to-go container and added it to her taco. “My mom and I used to joke that we’d ring for the maid. It was always really funny to me. I think she started it when I was like five. We’d finish dinner and she’d sigh and shove her plate away saying, ‘You go on to bed now, I’ll ring for the maid to clean this up.’ I’d laugh so hard I’d fall out of my chair. I was the maid, of course, so it shouldn’t have been so funny.” Emma shrugged and took another bite. “Still kind of funny to me though.”

She’d polished off her first and was reaching for another taco when James put his hand on her arm.

“Emma.” He opened her hand and dropped a diamond engagement ring onto her palm.

She gasped and jerked her hand away, the ring clinking to the table. “What are you doing?” The question popped out of her mouth in a breathy panic. “What are you doing? James, what are you doing?”

He moved out of his chair and knelt beside her. “Emma Lynn Glass, will you marry me?”

“What are you doing? Get up! Get up, get up, get up.”