Page 33 of Marrying Emma

Just in case you’re really there, God, I could use your help. I’m not sure what to do.

13

As promised, Marty brought in a box of donuts on Monday morning to celebrate Caleb’s ninja competition results. By the time he got to the gym, Emma’s car—or rather her mom’s—was already in the parking lot.

He stepped into the gym and didn’t see either Emma or Caleb until they both came out of the office area. “Good morning,” he greeted. He handed the box to Caleb. “Congratulations again, man. They had a few clips on the gym’s social media. That last run was killer.”

“Thanks.” Caleb lifted the box with a grin.

“I’ll go grab us some paper towels,” Emma volunteered and jogged toward the storage room.

When she returned, Marty made sure Caleb got his donut before holding the box out to Emma. She immediately spotted the two chocolate donuts with sprinkles.

She smiled at Marty. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

Caleb took a big bite out of his maple donut and nodded approvingly. “Yep, that’s the way to start a Monday. Did anything exciting happen over the weekend for you two?”

“My mom started dating,” Emma offered. “So that was weird.”

Caleb laughed and looked at Marty. “And you?”

“I finally bought the paint for my kitchen.” Marty twirled a finger in the air in mock excitement. “So now you know what I’ll be doing this weekend, too.”

Caleb polished off his donut and used the paper towel to clean his fingers. “You want some help?”

“Are you serious?” He hadn’t expected anyone to offer. Truthfully, he was dreading the project. But if he had company, it wouldn’t be as bad. “That’d be awesome.”

“Sure. If you’ll have the paint, rollers, and brushes ready, we can get it knocked out pretty fast.” Caleb retrieved another donut from the box.

“I appreciate that, thank you. I can even have some pizza delivered at lunch. Maybe we can get started around nine. Would that work?” Marty was actually looking forward to it now.

“Yep, that sounds good.”

Emma cleared her throat. “I’d be happy to help, too, if you could use another hand.”

Marty hadn’t expected her to offer. He wanted to jump at the chance to hang out with her on the weekend, but that would mean she’d see his house. Letting that news come as a shock when she drove up wasn’t a good idea which meant he needed to come clean about his financial status before then.

She must have taken his hesitation to mean he didn’t want her there. “It’s all good. It sounds like you’ll have plenty of help.” She threw her paper towel away and turned to get ready for the gym to open.

Caleb gave Marty a pointed look, but Marty didn’t need the push. “Emma, wait.” He jogged after her. “I’d like your help on Saturday.”

“Are you sure?” She shifted her weight from one foot to the other. “I wasn’t trying to be pushy. Just being…friendly.”

“And having my friend there to help me paint my kitchen would be awesome. Thank you for the offer.”

“You’re welcome.” Emma offered him a small smile.

Marty watched her get to work, his mind racing. This meant he had less than five days to tell Emma the truth.

The whole situation remained on his mind throughout the day until he finally made a decision. After class that evening, he caught Emma in the parking lot before they headed home. “Hey, I have a favor to ask of you.”

She looked surprised but gave him a nod. “Shoot.”

“Keep your lunch open tomorrow. I want to show you something.”

Emma opened her mouth like she was going to say something and closed it again. “What is it?”

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