Page 46 of Owning Emma

He held both palms up. “My phone’s on the kitchen island with all my work, Cardigan.”

With the mention of the kitchen, her eyes grew wide. “Oh my gosh, I need to go prepare. They will be here in less than two hours.”

She went to move, and Shaw’s arm popped out and grabbed onto her waist before she could take more than a step. “There is nothing to prepare. The house is clean, the hall is ready, you go shower and relax.”

“But they will be hungry,” she insisted.

“No, they won’t. Royal needed to pick up some papers for us at one of our shops. He mentioned getting him and his guest some breakfast on they way. Calm down, relax.”

Shaw raised an eyebrow. “Guest? That sounds fancy. You never told me there was going to be more than just him!”

I sensed a whole new level of panic hit her and I sighed. “Well, I don’t know the full details yet, so that’s what it is.”

“I need to put out extra towels, find additional pillows, see if I can trudge up some decorative soap for the bathroom. What if they like tea? All we have is coffee. I’ll definitely need to run to the store.”

She was ticking all this off on her fingers as she made the list, and damn it, the girl was impossible. Cute as all hell, but impossible nonetheless. “If we don’t have tea, they will drink coffee. That’s how it works. Royal has been here so many times he can get his own towels, pillows, and . . .” I cringed at the thought. “Decorative soaps.”

“You’re a terrible host.” She crossed her arms before looking down and realizing that Shaw still hadn’t let go of her waist. “You can let go of me.”

“If I release you, will you promise to go upstairs and relax? Your house duties today are minimal. All you have to do is have food ready for the hall tonight and if his guest happens to be female, which I’ll be honest, I know she is . . . you entertain her. It’s not hard. It’s not complicated. It’s not anything to stress and worry about.” Shaw waited until she nodded before he released her, her tiny feet already carrying her toward the stairs. His gaze followed her, no doubt locked onto her behind, just like my own eyes were. “I’m serious Emma, relax! If I have to go monitor you the whole morning I will!”

He turned his eyes back to me. Had he always had those flecks of gold? I cleared my throat. “She’s in rare form.”

He huffed, “She’s been stressing about hosting since she first heard Royal was coming a few days ago. She apparently takes this housekeeper gig seriously.”

“I would have never guessed based off this morning’s conversation.” I leaned my head back on the couch then lolled it to the side. “Are we good?”

He copied my movements, relaxing his head back before looking back at me. “We were never not good. You’re annoying as fuck, but we will always be good.”

I hoped that to always be true. “Hey, want to do me a favor?”

He rubbed his eyes again. “I mean, not really but I will.”

“Don’t let me burn down any buildings tonight. I really don’t want to replace shit!”

He laughed, the rich sound filling the room and making my stomach coil and tighten in an unfamiliar way. “I’ll try, man, but I’ll make no promises.”

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