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Luke raised an eyebrow. “To be continued?”
“Mm-hmm.” Emma nodded.
Luke kissed her once more and turned to the hall. “Where’s his leash? I’ll take him out so you can finish here.”
“Hanging up next to the front door,” Emma called out, turning back to her treats.
She heard Luke grab the leash and attach it to Riley’s collar before they bolted out the back door. From the kitchen window, she watched them take off down the beach.
By the time Luke and Riley returned, Emma had started another batch.
“You’re baking more?” Luke asked, brushing his feet off on the mat before walking into the kitchen.
“Yeah, I’ve got a ton of orders to fulfill this upcoming week, so I need to get another batch in before I stop.”
A grin formed on Luke’s face. “You know what would make this entire process go faster?”
“What?”
He reached over, grabbing an apron. “Not sure how much help I’ll be, but tell me what I can do here.”
Emma beamed at Luke. “You’re amazing. Thank you,” she said, touched by his thoughtfulness. “So first you mix the pumpkin puree, and after you’re done with that, you can get to work on stirring in the peanut butter and cinnamon.”
He chuckled, walking over to the bowl Emma pointed to. “Yes ma’am.”
She was delighted by Luke’s helpfulness as they worked together. He took directions from her with ease, making sure he was doing things correctly. They kept finding ways to make each other laugh as they brushed up against each other in her small kitchen. Soon they had finished enough batches for half of the orders that week, and Emma would be able to deliver them all after school tomorrow.
“You do all this by yourself?” Luke asked as they started cleaning. “Even after working full time?”
“Well, yes, but I’ve thought about hiring someone to come help me once in a while. I just haven’t gotten there yet.”
“You’ve got a great thing going here,” Luke said. “And I think you should hire someone. If you had someone doing this, say, eight to ten hours a week, you could put out twice as much product, and reach out to more pet stores in the area with the time you’d save.”
Her face lit up. Chad had never shown an interest in her business.
“I should just hire you.” She wrapped her arms around his waist and rested her chin on his chest.
“Now that’s an idea, but I’d never let you pay me.”
“What if I paid you in kisses?”
“Hmm. We might be able to work something out then.” Luke dipped his head, taking his first payment.
Emma giggled as she rested her head against him, listening to the sound of his heartbeat. “Are you hungry?”
“I am, but I don’t know if I’m up for cooking after all that.”
“Me either—pizza?”
Luke grinned. “You read my mind. Let’s get a veggie one with the Violife cheese. The reviews said it was really good.”
“You’re so thoughtful.”
Luke’s consideration took Emma by surprise once again, like at the restaurant last night. She loved that he was willing to try new things and embrace her beliefs, unlike her ex-husband. Chad often ridiculed her choices, mocking her in front of friends for not eating “real” food, knowing well that it was a deep conviction for her.
Her thoughts drifted to why’d she let him mistreat her for so long. It was probably the fact he had gotten into her head and destroyed her self-worth with his hurtful words. Not all at once, but a slight here and there, and over the years, it had compounded to where she had forgotten her own value.
She was glad those days were over.
