Page 67 of Wilds of the Heart

“No. Just don’t want to have you distracted at the store all day.”

“I dare you to drop the sheet,” she teased.

“It’s not much of a dare, Emily. I’d have you again in a second.”

Her cheeks flushed as she pulled on her underwear, and I ripped my gaze from her, making my way to the bathroom.

Turning on the shower, I let the steam fill up the room as I looked in the mirror.

It was kind of crazy, but I felt completely different… like the person looking back at me no longer had a care in the world.

I stepped into the shower and watched Emily walk into the room. She found some toothpaste, squirted it onto her finger, and started brushing.

She spun around and looked through the steamy glass as suds covered my body. Just like that, I imagined us married, caught up in our morning routine, and my heart filled with actual joy.

As the water trickled over my body, rinsing off the soap, she bent over and finished with her teeth. I knew with certaintythat there wasn’t another woman in the world whom I’d want like her.

Ever.

I turned off the shower, wrapping a white towel around me as I stepped onto the tile.

“I’ll go check on Oscar.”

“Be careful. He’s roaming around somewhere. I opened the door last night after you fell asleep.”

She playfully grimaced and nodded. “I’ll be extra careful. Meet you in the kitchen? I’ll get coffee started.”

I nodded, sliding the towel along my legs as I watched Emily walk away.

It was taking everything I had to not make love to her again. Everything about last night was sensational.

Emily was sensational.

My phone buzzed, and I glanced at it on the bathroom counter. My cousin’s face showed up, and I had to laugh.

He never texted this early.

I rubbed the towel over my head and wrapped it around my body as I glanced at the message.

Congratulations. Amelia said they all agreed she could have the day off.

I laughed, shaking my head. She would kill them. It had to be Mimi. I smiled, texting back. I certainly wasn’t going to confess.

I don’t know what you’re talking about, but do you want to have lunch later?

My cousin didn’t text back, so I walked to the closet, pulled on a pair of jeans, tugged on a T-shirt, and stuffed my phone in my back pocket. It still felt weird not having my grandparents here. It had been years, but there were moments when I thought they’d suddenly appear. We’d all done our best at keeping the house pretty much how they'd left it. My parents had some things in the primary bedroom, and Nina and I each took a spare room for those times when we felt like staying on Marigold.

“Oscar, bad kitty. Bad kitty,” Emily’s voice echoed through the house.

Oh, no. That couldn’t be good.

I dashed out of the bedroom and beelined toward Emily’s voice. She was kneeling down near a Ficus that no longer stood tall. Dirt spilled onto the wood floors and several branches had snapped.

She looked at me. “I am so sorry.”

“Don’t be. It’s one less plant for the caretakers.”

Emily’s chin tilted. “You have a caretaker?”