Page 104 of The Golden Scoop

“Yet I’m still married to someone entirely foreign from the industry.”

My head tilts. It’s true, but Julia also learnt to stay away from the internet from early on. Emma works for a magazine. Good lord, it barely gets more invested than that.

“She can smell bullshit from a mile away,” Harrison adds.

“Comforting.”

“It should be. If she’s with you, it’s because she sees something genuine,” he says. The ache in my chest loosens a little. “Emma doesn’t scare easy.”

“And what about the article?

“Don’t give her a lie to write about,” Harrison says, as the gate rings again.

We wait for the girls out by the porch. They climb out of Emma’s jeep laughing and shrieking about something before their eyes land on us.

Then I take her in.

Overalls.

Emma in overalls looking like every fantasy I’ve accidentally built over the last two years.

Jesus Christ.

Julia leans over and whispers something in Emma’s ear, making her blush the sweetest shade of pink.

I was worried she’d push me away like she did with the paparazzi. Instead, she’s a girl on a mission. She stomps straight to me and melts right into my chest, not a single care in the world.

“Matt and Emma sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G,” Harrison sings.

We both turn to him, and Emma’s glare is sharp enough that he raises his hands in surrender.

“Well,” I tell her, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear before cupping her cheeks, “if the song says it…”

Our lips meet halfway.

It’s unhurried, familiar… and dangerous.

Because the second she kisses me back, every single civilized thought leaves my body. The kind of kiss that makes me want to cancel the entire night and lock the door.

Apparently, she has more self-control than I do because Julia cheering us on while Harrison drags her inside is enough for Emma to pull back before things get too explicit.

Her fingers hook into the front pocket of my jeans for one final kiss, enough to completely ruin me for the rest of the night.

Trivial has always been women vs. men. That was before clear, solid couple lines were drawn in the sand. Tonight, it’s us against the Harrisons. Slightly terrifying, considering Emma turns into a different species when winning is on the table.

The game quickly settles into chaos. You wouldn’t be able to tell the girls are best friends from the trash talk coming out of their mouths.

Emma plops down on the floor next to me and I have to physically stop myself from staring at her too long. According to Harrison, I have hearts in my eyes. He doesn’t say it out loud, but I can read his expression as if it’s my own.

Instead, I focus on the board. Between her impressive knowledge of sports, entertainment, and science, and my random bursts of geography, history, and literature facts, we manage to collect the colored pie pieces in record time.

I roll a four and make it to the center for our final question. Julia picks history.

“Which Spanish explorer is famously credited with leading the first expedition to sail around the globe?” she asks. “Juan Sebastián Elcano, Ferdinand Magellan, Christoper Columbus, or Hernán Cortés.”

Emma turns to me—fast. We are now in a life-or-death situation.

“Okay, Matthew,” she says. “We can obviously rule out Columbus and Cortés. I think the other two were involved, but the question specifically asks for the first.”