32. Aaron
My heart pounds as I stand outside Pretty in Petals, a bag of takeout from Emma’s favorite deli clutched in one hand. The events of the morning—my public declaration, our win as “Team EmRon”—still feel surreal. But this moment, right here, feels more important than any of that.
I take a deep breath, steeling myself before I knock on the back door. No answer. I try the buzzer next, hearing its cheerful zzzz! echo inside. Still nothing. Worry creeps in, but I push it aside. Her car’s here; she has to be inside.
“Emma?” I call out, turning the doorknob. It’s unlocked, so I step inside, the familiar scent of flowers enveloping me. “It’s just me. I brought lunch.”
I hear rustling from the front of the shop, then Emma’s voice. “I’m up here! Come on in. ”
Relief washes over me as I make my way through the back room, past buckets of freshly cut flowers and the humming of Sir Chills-a-Lot. I find Emma at the front counter, misting a bouquet of sunflowers and daisies. She looks up as I approach, and my breath catches.
She’s beautiful, her blue eyes bright, a few stray wisps of hair escaping her braid. There’s a smudge of dirt on her cheek, and all I want to do is brush it away with my thumb before I kiss her, kiss her, kiss her.
I still haven’t kissed her, and I’m dying a little more with every moment that goes by.
“Hey,” I say, suddenly feeling shy despite everything that’s happened today.
“Hey,” she says back, a small smile playing at the corners of her mouth. “Is that from Sal’s?”
I nod, holding up the bag. “Turkey club for you, pastrami on rye for me. And that sour cream potato salad you love.”
Her smile widens. “You remembered.”
“Of course I did.” I set the bag on the counter, my eyes never leaving hers. “Can I kiss you now?”
A blush creeps up her cheeks, and she looks down at the flowers she’s arranging. Then she sets down the mister, and I sweep her into my arms. She giggles, and as she fists her fingers in my collar, I lower my mouth to hers and kiss her.
Oh, yeah. I’ve missed this so much, and this connection between us is so much more than physical. She completes me in a way I didn’t know wasn’t whole.
I know now, and I know I need Emma in my life.
She pulls away. “Aaron, about what happened at the park?—”
“Mm?” I love the shape of her next to me. I love the warmth from her body, and the way her perfume mingles with that of the lilies and roses and dahlias surrounding us. “You closed today. All day?”
“All day,” she says. “I just wanted a day to myself.”
I back up a little. “I can leave you to eat.”
“Don’t you dare.” She gives me a mock glare and picks up the bag from Sal’s. “Let’s go eat on my consultation couch.” She leads me to the back of the shop, where she locks the door there and then goes into a tiny room between her office and Sir Chills.
I’ve never been in this room, and I smile at it from the doorway. Emma’s put a beautiful flower arrangement on a tiny table beside a single loveseat. Across from that, a credenza stands against the wall, where a binder rests. A mirror hangs above that, making the narrow room seem bigger.
She sighs as she settles onto the couch and opens the bag. “Pastrami on rye for you.” She holds out the sandwich and looks up to me. “I couldn’t say it at the park, but I’m in love with you too.”
I take the two steps to the other half of the loveseat and sit beside her. As I take the sandwich and unwrap it, her words move through me, then circle back and start to sink in.
“You’re in love with me,” I say.
“That’s right.” She beams at me. “I swear I was going to talk to you today. Maybe not from the stage, with a mic, as the Small Business Association president…” She cocks her eyebrow at me and sinks her teeth into her sandwich, clearly asking me how I came to be the SBA president. But that’s another story for another day.
“I’m sorry,” I blurt out, because I can’t eat until the words come out. “I’m so sorry, Emma. I never should have walked away from you.”
She blinks, surprise evident on her face. “You’re not the one who needs to apologize.”
“I acted too rashly,” I say. “My mother says it’s in the Stansfield genes, and I should’ve waited until I’d calmed down.”
“I’m sorry too,” she says sincerely. “I let my fears get the best of me. I pushed you away without even realizing it, and I was so mean that day in the park.” Tears fill her eyes as she takes my hand in hers. “I’m sorry. I was just frustrated. I didn’t want to end things with you.”
“My mind runs a million miles a minute sometimes.”
She nods, but she doesn’t go on. She’s quiet for a moment, her gaze dropping to our intertwined hands. “I was afraid of getting hurt,” she admits. “Of loving you so much that it would destroy me if you left. ”
My heart clenches at her words. “Because of your parents?”
She looks up at me, her eyes shimmering with unshed tears. “I have a hard time trusting people, but I trust you, Aaron. I do.”
I thread my fingers through hers. “I know you do.”
“I love you too, Aaron, and it scares me a little bit.”
I press a kiss to her forehead. “Being scared is okay,” I say. “I’m terrified I’m going to let you down again. I’m not perfect, Emma. I’m going to mess up sometimes. But I promise you, I will always fight for us.”
A tear slips down her cheek, and I brush it away with my thumb. “I promise too,” she whispers. “No more running away. No more letting fear win.”
I lean in, pressing my forehead against hers. “I missed you so much.”
“I missed you too.” Her breath brushes against my skin. “Every day. Every minute. Every second of every minute of every day.” I pull back slightly, meeting her gaze. Then I close the distance between us, capturing her lips with mine. The kiss is soft at first, tentative, but it quickly deepens. I pour everything I feel for her into it—all the love, the longing, the promise of a future together.
When we finally break apart, we’re both breathless. Emma’s cheeks are flushed, her eyes bright, and I’ve never seen anything more beautiful.
“Wow,” she says, a grin spreading across her face .
“Yeah,” I agree, unable to stop smiling. “Wow.”
She tugs on my hand, pulling me to my feet. “Come on,” she says. “I want to show you something.”
Curious, I follow her out of the consultation office and into the main part of the shop. She leads me to the front corner opposite of where I found her, where a small table is set up with various tools and flowers.
“What’s all this?” I ask.
“Your next dare.” Emma picks up a potted plant—a succulent—and hands it to me. “This is going to be your section of the shop. A male perspective for what male customers would like to get for anniversaries, birthdays, landmark dates, whatever.”
“A male perspective?” I take the succulent and look at it. “Honey, I gotta be honest, I don’t think any male ever thinks, Gee, I wish my girlfriend would get me a bouquet of succulents.”
“One,” she says with a measure of spice in her voice. “You never make a bouquet of succulents. They exist on their own.” She takes the plant back from me and sets it on the table. “Two, if you don’t want to accept the dare, fine.”
I look at her. “You think I’m going to back away from a dare?”
Her eyes shine like sapphire stars, and she cocks her hip, clearly daring me to accept—or reject—her dare.
I pick up the screwdriver sitting on the table. “Where did you get this? ”
“Aisle five,” she says matter-of-factly.
“That did not come from my store,” I say.
“Yes, it did.”
I grin at her and sweep her back into my arms. “I accept your dare, Miss Newberry, but I have one for you too.”
“Do tell, Mister Stansfield.”
“I need you to come into my office and make it look like that consultation room.”
A look of horror crosses her face, and I start laughing. “I mean, if you don’t want to accept the dare…”
“How dare you?” She gives me a little shove, and I take an extra-large step backward, laughing again.
She joins me, the combined sound echoing through the shop. It feels good to laugh with her like this, to be silly and carefree and together.
As our laughter subsides, I take her hands in mine. “In all seriousness, though,” I say. “I don’t want any more misunderstandings between us. I want us to talk to each other, even when it’s hard.”
Emma nods, her expression turning serious. “Me too. I promise to be more open with you, to tell you when I’m feeling scared or insecure.”
“And I promise to listen,” I say. “To really hear you, not just try to fix everything.”
She smiles, reaching up to touch my face. “That goes both ways, you know. I want to hear about your fears and doubts too. ”
I lean into her touch, closing my eyes for a moment. “Okay,” I agree. “No more holding back.”
When I open my eyes, Emma is looking at me with such love and tenderness that it takes my breath away. “So,” she says. “What happens now?”
I grin, pulling her closer. “Well, I was thinking we could start by finishing our lunch. Then maybe we could take a walk through the park—our park now, I guess.”
“I like the sound of that,” she says. “ Our park.”
“And after that,” I continue. “I thought maybe we could head over to my place. I’ve been looking at Sir Chills’s user manual, and I think I can make him stop humming so aggressively.”
Emma’s eyes light up. Her eyes scan my face. “Sir Chills?”
“If we’re going to be together long-term, I thought I better figure out how to get along with your fridge.”
“You can start by not calling him a fridge.” She gives me a fake glare, but I’m just so happy to be here with her.
“I’ll make you dinner,” I say, hoping that will entice her to come back to my house and fill it with life again.
“Grilled cheese and tomato soup?”
“Yes.”
Emma grins, linking her arm through mine as we head back to her consultation couch. “Sounds perfect to me. ”
As we finish eating and start cleaning up, Emma looks at me with a mischievous glint in her eye. “So, Mr. Small Business Association President,” she says. “When were you planning on telling me about that little development?”
Heat creeps up my neck. “Ah, yeah. About that…”
She laughs and leans into me. “I’m so proud of you, Aaron. You’re going to be amazing at it.”
I pull her close, marveling at how perfectly she fits against me. “Thank you,” I say softly. “I can’t do anything without you. You make me want to be better, to do more.”
Emma looks up at me, her eyes shining. “That goes both ways. You inspire me every day.”
I lean down, capturing her lips in a soft kiss. When we part, I rest my forehead against hers. “I love you, Emma Newberry.”
“I love you too, Aaron Stansfield.” She sighs. “Now, how about that walk in our park?”
I grin, stand up, and take her hand in mine. “Lead the way, honeybee.”
Oh, boy, I think Aaron and his fake bad boy vibes - and the way he and Emma can trade jabs - is my new favorite thing! I hope you liked them too! Leave a review for them here!