Page 131 of Make Me Swoon

SEVENTEEN

Heath

TEN YEARS LATER…

I parkmy truck in front of our house and smile as I kick the door open and grab the flowers off the seat next to me. I left work early today, anxious to get home to my family.

A lot has changed around here since my minx came into my life. I’ve cut back on my hours at work, handing off more responsibilities to my foremen. We built on to our cabin and then kept building on each time that Emma got pregnant.

After our fourth baby, we both decided that we were done. All of our kids were big and the pregnancies were hard on Emma. I was nervous every single time and when she said she was done I had been relieved. I would never deny Emma something that she wanted but part of me was glad that I wouldn’t have to see her go through labor again.

Emma is still my little minx and she still can’t cook. I even signed us up for a couples cooking class but she hasn’t improved much. Luckily the food usually turns out cooked now but it’s either over seasoned or burnt. It’s become a joke though and I know that Emma loves cooking with me so I make sure that I’m home in time to make dinner every night.

I head up the front steps and swing the door open.

“Daddy!”

I smile as four little bodies launch at me at once and catch them all.

“Hey guys. What have you been up to?” I ask as I kick off my boots and carry them over to the couch.

“Mom’s cooking,” our youngest, Beth whispers at me, her eyes going wide as she says the words and I laugh.

“Uh oh. How’s she doing?”

Our oldest son, Ryker, collapses backward onto the couch, pretending he was poisoned and I grin. Our other son, Michael and our daughter, Rose, join in and I can’t help but laugh.

“Guess I better go help her then, huh?”

They nod at me and I tickle them as I grab the flowers off the coffee table and head off to find my wife. I walk into the kitchen and smile when I see her standing there covered in flour.

“Hey, little one.”

She spins around, her blue eyes wide as she stands in the middle of the kitchen. It looks like a bomb went off around her and I just grin.

“I thought I could surprise you and have everything done by the time you got home. I think I actually got it right!” She says, spinning around and pulling the pie pan off the stove.

I set the flowers on the kitchen table and walk over to inspect the dish. It looks like she made a quiche and it actually doesn’t look too bad. The tops of some broccoli are a little burnt but the eggs look cooked. I grab a fork and take a bite, popping it in my mouth as she waits with a hopeful look on her face. It reminds me of the first time I ate her cooking and just like then, I can’t take that look away from her.

I love Emma and just like then, I would eat burnt, terrible, bland food for the rest of my life if it meant that she was here with me.

“Not bad,” I say, reaching for a glass of water.

“Really?”

“Yeah,” I lie, wrapping my arms around her and pinning her between me and the wall.

My lips meet hers and she smiles against my mouth, wrapping her arms around my neck as I deepen it. When we finally pull apart, we’re both out of breath and she’s grinning at me.

“So, are we ordering pizza then?”

“Yep.”

She laughs and I can hear our children cheering in the living room. She’s not perfect, but she’s mine and I’m so glad that she came to interview with me.

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