Page 41 of Trouble Me
“That, my friend, is blue,” Amelia stated, an amused tone in her voice.
Emma sighed and swiped at her brow. She wasn’t blind. She could see the damn wall wasn’t gray. Crouching down, she read the color on the can. “Pewter sky. That’s what I ordered.” She glanced up at the wall. “What the hell happened? It doesn’t look anything like the sample.”
Amelia tilted her head to the side. “I like it. It’s a soft and neutral color. Plus, it brightens the room, actually.” She glanced around at the furniture covered by plastic in the middle of the room, her lips pursed. “And this is one room that could use some brightening.”
Emma couldn’t disagree. It had been her mother’s bedroom and after she’d passed away, she hadn’t been able to bring herself to do anything with it. She’d decided it was past time to get started on small renovation projects.
She stood up straight, twinges of pain running down her back—another daily reminder to help stay sober—and looked at the wall again. “You’re right, I like it too. Besides, it’s probably one of those colors that looks different with furniture and lighting.” She picked up a paint brush and bumped Amelia’s shoulder with her own. “Wanna help?”
Amelia shook her head. “I’d love to but I got that date.” She lifted a hand that held a pair of sparkling gold stilettos. “I just came to raid your closet of awesome shoes for tonight.”
Emma rolled her eyes, but smiled and dropped the paint brush. “Fine. I’ll walk you out.” As she started out of the room, she glanced back to her cousin. “And what do I get out of helping you with shoes?”
“I’ll give you all the details about the great sex,” Amelia said after a pause, following Emma down the hallway to the staircase. “No, I’d better not do that. I know it’s been a while for you.”
Emma nearly tripped down the stairs before catching her footing. Thank God, Amelia wasn’t really a mind reader, although her astuteness sometimes made Emma wonder. “Yeah.” She cleared her throat and tried to calm her racing heart. “It’s been a while.” That is, if Amelia’s version of a while meant less than twenty-four hours.
If the situation between Emma and Shane were different—meaning, if he wasn’t her boss—she would have told Amelia all about it. And about the slippery slope she found herself trying to solidify.
“Seriously though, Em,” Amelia said when they reached the foyer. “I will help you paint next time.”
Emma gave her cousin a one-armed hug in deference to Amelia’s clean clothes versus her once-was-black-and-now-it’s-pewter-sky T-shirt. “I know. Just giving you a hard time. It’s a small thing, the painting, but every little bit helps.”
Amelia’s eyes widened, pulling away. “Did you get the mortgage thing straightened out?”
Emma held up crossed fingers. “I’m getting close. If that art piece sells in the next week, I’ll have all I need. And having the job at KVN is helping me keep things afloat otherwise.” She sighed, her heart dropping when she thought about how long she’d need to save for renovation costs. “Still, it’s going to take some time before I can get to that point.”
“Emma, I really wish I could help you financially.” Amelia’s face was as serious as Emma had ever seen. It made her heart melt to know that Amelia had that much faith in her.
She held up a hand. “No. It’s fine, Ame. I wouldn’t take it from you even if you had it. Your mom already offered to help me and I refused. I have to do this on my own.” Emma smiled and breathed deep, the calm of working it out herself spreading through her limbs. “It’s part of the steps.”
“I’m so proud of you, Emma. We all are.” Amelia gave Emma’s hand a squeeze before releasing it. “I gotta go. I’ll bring the shoes back tomorrow,” she said, opening the door.
On the other side of the threshold stood none other than her boss. And newly minted lover. And damned if he didn’t look yummy enough to climb like a tree in his well-worn jeans, navy-blue T-shirt that skimmed his muscles, and the sexy as fuck brown leather jacket.
Shit. Emma would’ve given anything to have the floor open and swallow her at that moment.
“Well, hello, Shane.” Amelia gave Shane a megawatt smile.
“Good afternoon, Amelia. A pleasure to see you again.” Shane returned Amelia’s smile with one of his own. It sent Emma’s hormones into overdrive, and shorted out her brain, making her forget about her state of disarray.
“Likewise. Please come in. I was just leaving.” She turned to Emma, mischief dancing in her eyes. “Call me tomorrow, cousin.”
Emma nodded and resisted the urge to shuffle her feet. “I will. Have fun tonight.”
“Oh, I will.” Amelia bobbed her eyebrows and waved her fingers. “Bye!” she called out, and shut the door behind her, leaving Emma and Shane in the foyer together.
Emma wrapped an arm around her middle. “I’m sorry about that. Her.” She rubbed her bicep, wanting to curl up in a ball to hide her sloppy appearance from him. “And excuse how I look. I was painting.”
Shane grinned and walked closer to her. His eyes skimmed from the ponytail piled on top of her head to her black sweatpants, which also bore gray-blue accents that matched the wall upstairs. Hell, even her bare feet had a sheen of spatter on them. She was a hot mess.
“I think you’re adorable as hell.” He stopped in front of her, and with his index finger, gently lifted her chin until she met his eyes. “Hello, Emmaline.”
Damn it, she couldn’t stop the warmth that spread through her when he said her name. She smiled. “Hello, Shane.”
His lips brushed over hers in the lightest of kisses, but the zing ricocheted around her body and landed squarely in her lower belly, causing her thighs to clench.
Shane lifted his head. “There’s more where that came from, later. First,” he held up a cardboard tray she hadn’t noticed when he arrived. “Hot chocolate. You like chocolate, right?”
