Page 10 of Winter Love

“Ah ok, mon ange. When will we see you, Lukas? And how are Paxton, Rhett and Felicity?”

“I’ll drive down in a couple of weeks. And then Emma and I will drive back together. They’re all doing well.”

“I’m so happy for you both. Tell them we can’t wait to see them too. We’ve missed all of you.”

“Welcome back to the family, Lukas,”Emma’s papa, Reynaud says.

“Thank you, Mr. Rousseau.”

“Lukas…”Juliette gives an exasperated sigh.

I laugh as Emmanuelle talks to her parents, sisters and brothers. Their family is like ours, they’re all very close and I know they’re going to miss her. I need to make sure they know that they’re always welcome here. They took all of us in when we needed it the most. Reynaud and Juliette remind me of my parents. They are loving towards each other and make sure each of their five children know they’re loved. At first they made me miss my parents even more. But after a while, it felt like my parents sent them to us to help us move on.

Emmanuelle’s family is the reason that I started making flavored popcorn. The first night I met her family, they came to Wintervale and I wanted to impress them so much. That night I cooked a three-course meal. I made stuffed mushrooms for theappetizer, my mom’s recipe for lasagna and crème brûlée for dessert. After we had dinner, we set up the outdoor projector in the backyard like we did growing up. Because it was still winter, we set up a tent and heated it. We watchedThe Santa Clausand I made my first flavored popcorn. I took inspiration from dessert and made a crème brûlée powder to put on the buttered popcorn. It was the best night I’d had since before my parents died. And that was the night Reynaud and Juliette said that no matter what, my siblings and I had a home with them. That our parents raised us to be wonderful adults and they wished they could’ve met them.

Chapter Five

Lukas

It took exactly three weeks for for Emma to pack her things up and move to Wintervale. She was able to do the transfer, but she has to go through the academy here and then apply to my station. Which isn’t a bad thing, she’s going to do great. My captain has already said that she has a place in our house.

“Oh my god, this is crazy!” Emma laughs as she tries my newest flavor.

“I told you Lukas is the flavor master. Tastes like a snickerdoodle cookie, right?” Felicity laughs.

Emmanuelle is nodding and smiling as she shoves more in her mouth. Then she looks at me as she smiles and licks her fingers.

Watching Emmanuelle lick her fingers is driving me fucking crazy. I lean on the counter and will my dick to stop pointing at her. She smirks at me and I squint at her—she knows exactly what she’s doing. Tease.

“Are you at the academy today?” Felicity asks Emma as I continue to squint at her.

“I am, it’s actually been super fun. All the new recruits make me really excited to get through it and back to fighting fires.”

“I’ll drop you off on my way to the store.” I say to Emma as I kiss her.

“Can I get a ride too? I don’t feel like driving.” Lissy asks.

“Of course. We should leave soon, then.”

After we drop Emma off, Lissy and I head to the store. Our grandparents opened this store fifty years ago when they moved to Wintervale. They were originally from the Netherlands and made the move right after my dad was born. When my grandparents retired, they went back to the Netherlands. They come and visit us once a year, and my grandmother never understood why I broke up with Emma. She’s so happy we’re back together. They’re planning a trip to come see us this summer. I’m hoping that Emma and I will be getting married while they’re here.

When I was in Storyville helping Emma finish packing, I talked to her papa. I asked for Emmanuelle’s hand in marriage. He asked me if I was sure this time, and said that there wouldn’t be another chance if I hurt her again. I assured him that this is it. She’s my future and I won’t let her go again. He gave me his blessing and then I went to her maman and asked her. She started crying, saying she knew one day we would find our way back to each other. They made me promise that we wouldn’t elope. That we would have a big, family wedding. I didn’t tellthem that I’d like to do it this summer. But I don’t think they’ll mind.

Emmanuelle

I’ve been in Wintervale with the love of my life for a month now. When I’m not at the fire academy, I work at the store, filling in wherever I’m needed. Today I’m doing inventory in the grocery area while Lukas is on shift.

As I’m doing inventory, I look up and panic rises in my body. I think I saw my ex walking in the store. But it can’t be. I haven’t seen him in over a year and I hope I never see him again. His name is William and we dated for a few months. The night I had decided to take it a step further and spend the night with him, we got into a huge fight. He ended up hitting me because I refused to cook him dinner. I was stupid because I forgave him for that night. He swore up and down that he’d never lay a hand on me again. And for the next month, he didn’t.

Then one night we ran into a guy I went to school with. We all hung out together at the bar and had a really fun night. William even seemed like he liked Justin. After spending the night with him, I was getting up to head home. I couldn’t stay over because I wanted to get home and get a few hours of sleep before I had to go to work. Just as I was saying goodbye, he pinned me against the wall and started choking me. Telling me that he knew that I was headed to Justin’s house. I don’t even know why he thought that. He ended up hitting me and slamming me against the wall as I tried to get out of his grip. I begged him to stop and somehow got him to calm down, going so far as to have sex with him again. I didn’t know what he would do if I said no. I cleaned myself up and of course he came into the bathroom and triedto hold me, telling me he was sorry. That I made him feel like I wanted Justin and not him. That it made him crazy…because he loved me so much. If I knew one thing, it was that you don’t hit someone you love. Ever.

I knew then that I was done. I didn’t love him and I knew that he wouldn’t stop hitting me. This was the second time and it was worse than the first. When I got home, I blocked his number. He tried to come to my station and talk to me. But I told my crew that I didn’t want to see him and they made sure he knew I was done. I never told my family anything about him. They knew I dated him, but I told them that it just didn’t work out. My papa and my brothers would’ve found him and beat him if they knew.

But I swear that was him I saw. Why would he be in Wintervale?

Chapter Six

Emmanuelle

---