HAPPY FOREVER AFTER

Daniel laughed as he stood aside to watch her. Sleeves rolled up above her elbows, she stirred with a look of grim determination. After a minute or two, apparently satisfied things were back under control, she shot him a look.

“Green peppers,” she said.

“Right away” quickly, he scooped the pieces of pepper into his palms and brought them over to her. Leaning over her shoulder, he dropped them into the pan. “Allright?”.Content from NôvelDr(a)ma.Org.

He stayed there, close enough to feel the warmth of her back against his chest. “Is this a takeover attempt, then?” he asked.

“You could call it that, I guess.” she replied. Her hands on the spatula had gone very still. “Or you might think of it as a life saving rescue to avoid death by starvation. Do you mind?” she asked.

“Not at all,” he said truthfully. “Would it make any difference if I did?”

“None at all,” she replied. “What are we doing about the stock?”.

“Stock?” he asked. He locked his arms around her waist, kissed the side of her neck.

“For the bouillabaisse” she said, leaning back into him. “And you are making it very hard for me to concentrate”.

“That’s my intention,” he said.

“No. Your intention is to make bouillabaisse. At least I thought that was your intention”.

Daniel smiled at her. He felt like he had known her for ages, like he knew everything about her.

He took her face between his hands and kissed her. Minutes passed, then he kicked out a chair and pulled her down on his lap and they kissed with an urgency that blotted out everything but heat and sensation. She moved to sit astride him, her hands in his hair, her mouth open to his tongue. Finally she drew back.

“What are we supposed to be doing?” she asked.

“Do we care?”

“Yeah. I think we do” she said. She got up from his lap, lifted the hair off her neck and went over to the stove. “Fish. You were getting fish”.

He handed her several paper packages from the refrigerator. “Shrimp, mussels, and a couple of different kinds of fish. Swimming a few hours ago”.

“Great,” she said. Without looking at him, she opened one of the packages. “They will be really fresh”.

He shook his head to clear the fog of sexual desire.

“There’s something I want to tell you after we eat”. He said.

Emma stared at him. “Is everything okay? You sound serious”

“Well.. It’s kinda serious”

“Owkay… Should I be worried?” Emma asked.

“No… No. If anyone should be worried it’s me. Look, forget about it for now. One thing at a time.”

He moved closer and buried his chin in her shoulder. “Hmmm. I can’t get my hands off you”

She hit his arm with the spatula. “Stay away from me, Mr Rohan” she said.

He smiled. He wanted to kiss her again. Emma grinned at him..

“Fine,” he said. “No more kissing. I mean it. Kissing is verboten. Try it and I will throw you outside.” He flapped his hands at her. “Get over there, far away from me. You are a corrupting woman and I will have none of it. Go on, move. After we have eaten, we will talk.

—————

They sat in the living room after eating. Cuddled on his couch. Watching TV. They looked like an old couple. Emma thought. And once again she reminded herself that they weren’t even a real couple. They had agreed on what they wanted and it wasn’t his fault that she wanted more.

“What are you thinking about?” Daniel asked her. Emma moved away slightly so she could look at his face.

“What?” she asked.

“You have been quiet for a while,” he said. “Everything okay?”.

“Yeah I’m fine,” she replied. “What did you want to talk to me about? The curiosity is killing me”.

Daniel smiled. “What are your plans for next weekend?” he asked.

“Ermm. Nothing much. Same as always. Rest after a long week of work” Emma replied.

Daniel took a deep breath. “I’m supposed to go see my mom and my siblings next weekend and I would love it if you come with me. It’s a family get together thing”

She grimaced. “What?”

“Did you not get what I said? You need me to repeat?” he asked jokingly.

Emma hit him. “I’m serious Daniel. I can’t.”

He froze, unsettled by the deep disappointment slashing him.

“Why not?” he asked

“I don’t know. I just can’t”.

“Look, it’s not a big deal. My mom has been bothering me about the whole dating thing and settling down. So to get her off my back I told her I was into something serious with someone. And now she wants that someone to come”

“So you want me to lie to your mother?” Emma asked.

“No. There will be no lying. You are just going to go with the flow. And besides we have spent enough time together to make anyone believe we are a real couple. We do have something going on even if it’s not exactly what she thinks. No one has to know about our agreement.”

Emma stared at him. This whole thing was just getting more and more complicated. She sighed.

“It just seems like a really big step, Daniel. Real relationship or not. It’s your family and they are all gonna be looking at me and judging me and stuff”

“Oh that’s not gonna happen” Daniel said.

“So they won’t judge me?” she asked.

“Oh they will” he said smiling “I just said that so you would agree to come with me”

“I’m serious, Daniel,” Emma said.

“I know, baby. I know you are. Come on… They are gonna love you. You are a very likable person. It would be difficult for anyone to like you”

“I’m just not sure I can do this. Deceiving your family like that.”

“You won’t be deceiving anybody” he said.

“So who am I going to meet?”

“The whole family” he said. “My mom, my sister, and my brother and his family”

“Wow,” Emma said. “That’s a lot of people”.

Daniel laughed. “Come on. They are not that much. They are just people, not vampires. And I will be there with you. Besides, it’s just for the weekend. Please, do this for me”