Page 40 of Marrying Emma

He’d gone from being attracted to her when they first met to falling head over heels in love with her.

Because that’s exactly what happened. He was in love with Emma. She laughed then, and the sound made his heart constrict. Where was he supposed to go from here? If he told her how he felt, would she pull away? He needed to take it slow, which wasn’t exactly his specialty.God, give me the patience and the wisdom. I can’t imagine not having Emma in my life. Help me to know what to do for her to make her life easier. To let her know how I feel.

“You ready, bro?” Caleb was watching Marty expectantly.

Marty grinned at his friends. “Absolutely.”

They began the first race. While Emma might not be a natural, she picked up on the controls, and they all laughed hard enough to bring tears to their eyes. Marty couldn’t remember the last time he’d laughed this much. It helped that they’d chosen an arena form of race where the three of them could team up against three computer-generated opponents. He figured it would help Emma feel better about her newbie status since they could work together on the goal.

“For the record,” Caleb began, “I may never go back to gaming on a regular television screen again. This is awesome.”

Marty cringed a little. “Yeah, maybe it was a bit extravagant. But it seemed like a perfect use for such a large wall. And it’s great for things like this.” He thought a moment. “Maybe we could make this a regular thing. Pizza and video games.”

Caleb nodded enthusiastically. “That’s a fantastic idea.”

Emma smiled but said nothing. Marty nudged her arm with his elbow. “The more the merrier, of course.”

She dipped her chin in acknowledgment, but there was something in her expression that made him wish they were alone so he could ask her about it. Instead, they started up another group race that kept them busy past when they could start painting again.

Reluctantly, they put the gaming controllers away and headed back to the kitchen. Applying the second coat of paint went faster than the first, and before they knew it, they were washing brushes again and admiring their handiwork.

“This has made all the difference in the world. The whole room looks bigger and brighter now.” Emma seemed pleased. “So where did the original yellow come from?”

“My grandmother.” Marty leaned against one of the counters. “She loved the color. She said it reminded her of sunflowers. My grandfather painted the whole kitchen yellow to make her happy.”

“Did your mom like it, too?”

Marty laughed. “No. She hated it, actually. But she didn’t feel comfortable painting it while my grandfather was still alive. Then they moved to Florida a year after he passed.” While he’d never liked the color, either, it was kind of his mother to suffer with it for so many years out of kindness to her father-in-law.

“It does look great. Why now?” The question came from Caleb.

“Before I bought this place, my mom made me promise to paint the kitchen before they came back to visit so that my future wife would never have to put up with the yellow walls. They said they’re coming here for Thanksgiving, and while that’s still a ways away, I figured it would be better not to keep putting it off. I was hoping to surprise Mom when she got here.” He still remembered the frank conversation with his mom. At the time, he’d made that promise not thinking he’d ever get married or bring a wife home to live in his childhood home. But now… He glanced at Emma and found her suddenly busy peeling some of the painter’s tape from the cabinets.

It was easy to picture her in his home. The fact that she liked the new color in the kitchen made him even more glad he’d not only gotten the job done, but that she’d been a part of it.

Caleb looked at his watch. “Why don’t I help you with some more of the clean-up? Then I’d better get going. I can’t believe it’s nearly five already.”

“Yeah, the day flew by. I appreciate all of your help. Both of you.”

They worked together to haul all of the plastic and paper to the trash, sweep up the mess, and take what was left of the paint cans out to the garage. When they were finished, Marty wrapped up several slices of the leftover pizza and gave them to Caleb. “That way you don’t have to make dinner, either.” He shook his friend’s hand. “I appreciate it. See you tomorrow?”

“Yep, see you then. Bye, Emma.” Caleb smiled and waved as he got in his car.

Marty made sure the gate was open for him before turning to look at Emma. “Are you heading home, too?”

“Probably. The good news is, I’ll have the house to myself for a while. Mom’s going out with Dale again tonight.”

“Oh. How’s that working out?” He tried to imagine what it would be like to watch one of his parents date again, and it was impossible.

“Surprisingly well.” She shrugged. “It’s like they were meant to be together. I can see Mom getting married again at some point. And as weird as that is to think about, I want her to be happy.”

“I’m glad.” He paused for a moment. “You know, you could eat dinner here and watch an episode of NCIS on the big screen…I have plenty of Hawaiian pizza left over.” Marty tried not look too hopeful, but he wanted to spend some more time with her.

Emma looked conflicted. “I probably shouldn’t. I have to be careful how much salt I eat in general.”

“I have salad, too. Hard boiled eggs. We could eat that instead.”

Her eyebrows lifted. Apparently, she hadn’t expected his meal alternative. Would that be enough to encourage her to stay? Or would she insist on going home? Either way, he was thankful for the extra time he got to spend with her today.

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