She stared at him until Marty shuffled a little. “You ready to eat some lunch? Maybe I can give you the ten-cent tour afterward if we have time.”
“Sure.”
He led her through a doorway and into a large, airy kitchen. The cabinets were a gorgeous maple, the countertops granite. Several large windows lit the room nicely, which was good because the walls were a relatively dark shade of yellow. On one end of the kitchen was an alcove with a table, four chairs, and floor to ceiling windows.
“You okay with eating cold chicken picnic-style?” he asked.
“Is there a better way?”
“No, ma’am.” He grinned at her.
* * *
Marty watchedEmma long enough to see she chose a chair by the wall of windows before going to the fridge. He pulled out cold fried chicken, potato salad, and two bottles of lemonade. He also snagged a bag of Hawaiian rolls from the counter. After getting a couple of plates, he went to the table and set everything out.
He pointed to the box of chicken with a fast food logo on it. “Don’t let the box fool you, I clearly made this chicken from scratch.”
The sound of her laugh washed over him as he filled his plate and sat down in a chair next to hers. “Thanks for agreeing to come with me and staying for lunch.” He popped a piece of chicken in his mouth. “There’s still a lot we don’t know about each other, but this was something I’ve been wanting to tell you about but didn’t know how to go about doing it.” There were a lot of things she still hadn’t told him, like why she refused to go to church. Surely she’d open up on her own eventually.
“I get that.” She took in the room as she sipped her lemonade. “I mean, it’s for different reasons. But I was nervous about you coming to my house and seeing how…not fancy it is. I think there’s something about letting someone into your home that makes you feel vulnerable in a way.”
“Exactly. Many people make assumptions based on a person’s wealth—or lack of it. I’ve too often seen what kind of first impression that makes, and I want my friendships with people to be genuine.”
“One could argue that it isn’t completely genuine if you’re holding a big part of yourself back.”
Marty cringed at her words. “True. But if you’d known I had money when I started working at the gym, would you have viewed me the same way?”
She paused a moment. “No. I would have seen you as a rich guy who probably never had to work a day in his life…in addition to being a womanizer.” She gave him a pointed look along with a smile.
Marty laughed at that. “Ouch. See, at least I avoided half of that impression by keeping my financial situation to myself.” He offered her a roll. “What about that second half?”
Emma rested her elbow on the table and her chin in her palm as she considered his question. “I’d say you’ve been upgraded to confident and overly outgoing.”
“I’ll take it.” He admired the way the sunlight from the windows accented her hair and helped her green eyes to pop. Suddenly, he imagined eating breakfasts together. Laughing as they fixed dinner. Sitting in the living room by a roaring fire in the winter, his arms around her. The images were so clear it was like looking through a photo album.
He cleared his throat, desperate to redirect his thoughts. “So, after seeing how large this kitchen is, are you still up to helping me paint it on Saturday?”
She nodded immediately. “Absolutely.” She pointed at the walls. “What color are you replacing it with?”
“An off white. I think it’ll make the kitchen brighter.”
“I like that. I think it will, too.” She took another drink of her lemonade. “So I have to ask. How did your grandfather make his money?”
“Are you familiar with Clearwater Chocolates?”
“I am.” Her eyes widened. “That’s your grandfather?”
Marty laughed. “Well, it was. He used an old family recipe as the base for the candies, built the company from the ground up, and made them famous. When another company wanted to buy him out, he sold it for a fortune.” He’d heard the story dozens of time growing up. “My dad once asked him why he didn’t want to keep it in the family. My grandfather said, ‘I’ve worked my fingers to the bones since I was fourteen. Now I can give you and your mother everything you could ever need. It’s my turn to enjoy simply living.’ He invested, enjoyed retirement, and lived life to the fullest.”
“Wow, he sounds like an amazing man. And smart.”
“He really was. I learned a lot from him, and I owe a lot of who I am to what both he and my dad taught me.” He smiled at Emma. “What about you? Do you have any grandparents still living?”
“No.” Emma looked a little sad. “I never really got to know my dad’s parents. My mom lost her dad when she was a little girl, and then my grandma passed away when I was ten.”
“Wow, that’s rough. I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay. I feel bad for my mom. She’s lost so much.” Emma shrugged. “I guess I’m hoping Dale—her boyfriend—will bring some joy to her life. She deserves to have something good happen.”
