[Meet Your Match 01.0] Prejudice Meets Pride

by Rachael Anderson

  Wait. Kevin’s mind cranked into overdrive, taking an idea and turning it into the perfect solution. Why hadn’t he thought of it before?

  His fingers gripped her shoulders. “Emma,” he said, trying to keep his voice quiet. “What you did for Adi and Kajsa—will you do that to my office?”

  Her eyes widened before lowering to his chest, where her finger traced a seam on his shirt. “I think it’s time you stopped trying to save me. Knights in shining armor belong in the room with the fairies—not out here with me.”

  Hearing a noise behind him, Kevin glanced over his shoulder to where Sam stirred on the couch. He took Emma by the elbow and steered her down the hall and outside, where they could talk on her front porch without fear of waking anyone. He shoved his hands in his pockets and stared down at her. “I’m not trying to save you. I’m trying to save my office.”

  Emma let out a snicker. “If you wanted me to believe that, you shouldn’t have put me over data entry. I know for a fact that you’re not hurting for new business.”

  She’d misunderstood. “That’s not what I meant.”

  “Then what did you mean?” Emma’s eyes were filled with amusement, as though they were having a fun little scrimmage and she had no intention of backing down.

  Kevin brushed his fingers through her soft curls, letting his hand come to rest at the base of her neck. “When you finished that room, how did Kajsa and Adi react?”

  “They liked it.”

  “I think you’re being modest. I think they loved it. I think it’s now their favorite place to play, and they probably fight over whose turn it is to swing.”

  Emma shrugged. “I do wish there had been room for two swings.”

  “Exactly,” said Kevin. “Right now, my office is just a plain, boring pediatric dental office. I’m honest and good at what I do, which is the only reason my patient list keeps growing. But do you think those kids look forward to coming? Do you think they’re excited to walk into that office, have people poke around in their mouths, drill holes in their teeth, and make their mouths feel funny?”

  Emma chewed on her lower lip, saying nothing.

  “Don’t you see?” Kevin said. “I want my office to feel like Kajsa and Adi’s room. I want it to be fun and imaginative—a place kids are excited to visit because it’s cool. Not a place they have to get dragged through the door.”

  “I never once saw anyone being dragged through your door,” Emma finally said.

  “But do they look excited to be there?” said Kevin. “Do they race toward the door?”

  A rueful smile appeared on her face. “I think you’re forgetting something.”

  “What’s that?”

  “You’re a dentist.”

  “True.” Kevin chuckled, then leaned against a post on her front porch and folded his arms. “Which is why I need all the help I can get. Will you do it?”

  She didn’t immediately say no, which Kevin took as encouragement, but she wasn’t saying yes either. She looked torn.

  Since Kevin knew that adding “The job pays really well” wouldn’t help his argument, he simply sent her a pleading look and said, “Please? For me? You do owe me.”

  It was Emma’s turn to laugh. “But you said we were even.”

  “That was before I gave you the kiss of all kisses,” he countered. “Now you’re back to owing me.”

  “Oh really.” Emma moved toward him and ran her finger across his chest, swirling it around like she was doodling. “What if I evened things up again by kissing you back?”

  Kevin liked where this was headed. “I don’t know. That was some kiss back there. It will be tough to beat. My guess is that it will take both.”

  “But you just said we’d be even if I agreed to do the job.”

  “That was before I knew you were willing to negotiate. Now it’s going to take more. Maybe even two kisses.”

  Emma stopped doodling and poked him in the chest. “You’re not playing fair.”

  “It’s up to three kisses now,” he said. “No, wait—make that four. Possibly even five. If I were you, I’d hurry before it becomes six—”

  Emma grabbed a fistful of his shirt, pulling his mouth to hers. She gave him six kisses in quick succession, then tried to draw back with a “There,” but Kevin’s arms wound around her waist and stopped her from going anywhere.

  “I don’t think so,” he murmured, before stifling her giggles by dragging her against him and deepening the kiss. Kevin forgot what time it was, forgot that he had to be up in only a few hours, and forgot about Sam and the girls sleeping behind the closed front door. All he knew or wanted to know in this moment was Emma.

  When he finally let her up for air, her fingers clenched around his neck in an attempt to keep him close, the way she’d done the night at the park. It took every ounce of will power not to take her in his arms and kiss her again. He raised his lips to her forehead, rested them there for a moment, then forced his body to take a step back.

  Emma looked up at him with large and trusting gray eyes. All amusement was gone, and in its place was an intensity that Kevin completely understood.

  “I’ll do it,” she said finally, quietly. “For you, I’d do anything.”

  Sam eyed the charcoal pencils with misgiving. “Are you sure we can’t use colored pencils today? Black-and-white still-life drawings are kind of getting…” Her voice trailed off.

  “Boring?” Emma guessed, because she knew exactly how Sam was feeling. She’d felt it too—many times.

  “I was going to say ‘old,’ but boring works too.”

  Emma laughed. “I know, and I’m sorry. But today I have a surprise for you. We’re not doing a still life today. We’re doing a landscape. Tada! Aren’t you excited?”

  “Yay,” Sam said, with zero enthusiasm.

  Emma laughed again, then put her arm around Sam and guided her to the chair. “You need to learn values and edges before you try to add in color. Otherwise it’s like being asked to play Beethoven’s fifth when you’re just starting to learn piano.

  Sam looked up with a pained expression. “Is that another way of saying that color won’t come for a very long time?”

  “All I’m saying is that you need to be a little more patient. You’re a gifted artist, Sam, and you’ll get there soon. I promise.”

  “Okay,” said Sam. “Let’s make a boring drawing of a landscape then.”

  “That’s the spirit,” teased Emma as she pulled out two drawing papers, a grayscale value chart, and a black and white picture of a barren field with trees, mountains, and sky in the background. “So, if we were to number this value chart, white would be number one, this light gray box is two, then so on all the way down to number ten, which is black. Got it?”

  “Got it.”

  “Now, in all landscapes, there are four major areas that receive different amounts of lights. You’ve got the sky, which is always the brightest. Then comes the ground, the sloping areas next, and finally the upright stuff, like trees and bushes. Those are the darkest because they receive the least amount of light, especially at the base. See?” Emma held the value chart over the picture, pointing out how the skies fell between one and two on the value chart and the trees were more like nine or ten.

  “Aunt Emma, Aunt Emma, it’s Uncle Kevin,” said Kajsa, thrusting Emma’s phone in her face.

  “You answered my phone?” said Emma.

  “It’s Uncle Kevin,” she said, as though that explained everything and made it okay.

  Emma smiled and lifted the phone to her ear, willing her heart to stay calm. It was only a phone call. “Hello?”

  “I have that little girl wrapped around my finger, don’t I?” said Kevin.

  “Almost as tight as she has you wound around hers,” teased Emma.

  “Missed you today,” he said. “There were no triplicate entries in the database, no mixed up appointments, and no—”

  “You’re a brat, you know that? It’s been weeks since I’ve messed
up.”

  “Still missed you.”

  Although Emma’s heart warmed, she shot a hesitant look Sam’s way, feeling uncomfortable having this conversation in front of her. “Yeah, me too,” she finally said.

  “You missed you, too?”

  “You know what I meant.”

  “I rarely know what you mean.”

  Emma laughed. “Will you get to the point? I’m in the middle of an art lesson with Sam.”

  “A boring lesson,” Sam inserted loudly. “Your conversation sounds much more interesting.”

  “Ah, so that explains it,” said Kevin. “You don’t want Sam to know you missed me.”

  “I’m beginning to think that I haven’t,” muttered Emma.

  This time Kevin laughed, and the sound made Emma’s stomach flip over. “Okay, okay, I’ll get to the point. I was just calling to let you know that I’m going to be a few minutes late picking you up. I have some things I need to take care of before I take off.”

  “I’m just sorry you have to pick me up.”

  “I’m not. And don’t worry. We’ll stop by the store afterward to get Sunshine a new battery, not that she’ll live long enough to get your money’s worth.”

  “Hey, don’t jinx it.”

  He chuckled. “Be there around seven. Sam still okay to watch the girls?”

  “Only if you let me get back to her art lesson.”

  “K. See you soon.”

  “Can’t wait.” Emma set down the phone, unable to wipe the giddy smile from her face.

  “Somebody’s in love,” said Sam in a sing-song voice, wearing a giddy smile of her own.

  “What? No I’m not.” The words came out completely unconvincing, so Emma tried again, “We’re just good friends.”

  “Yeah, and I love drawing in black and white,” said Sam dryly. “C’mon, tell the truth. I saw you kiss him in the hallway last night, and that was the opposite of a friendly peck.”

  “You saw us?”

  “You weren’t exactly quiet when you came in.”

  Emma’s cheeks flamed. What would Becky say if she found out Sam had seen that? “What do you know about kissing, anyway?”

  “Enough to know the difference between a kiss on a cheek and full-on making out.”

  “I am so telling your mother you just said that,” said Emma, not that she really would. “She is going to ground you from boys until you’re twenty.”

  Sam wiggled her eyebrows. “Feel free. I already told her, and she said she’s taking you out for ice cream to celebrate when she gets back. She wants to hear all about it firsthand.”

  Becky had already heard? Who else knew? Justin? Probably. That family had no secrets, apparently.

  Sam opened the desk drawer and pulled out Emma’s colored pencils, then held them up. “Aren’t people in love supposed to let other people they love do whatever they want?”

  “I told you, I’m not in love.” Emma snatched the pencils away, shoved them back in the drawer, and pointed to the charcoals. “Now stop being cheeky and get to work.”

  Sam sighed, then picked up a medium shade of gray. “I bet Kevin would let me draw in color,” she said under her breath.

  Nervous anticipation buzzed through Emma as she waited for Kevin to unlock the door to his office. This was the type of job she could only dream about doing before now. Very few artists could turn painting into a career, so she’d always set her sights on teaching. But now Kevin had given her yet another gift—a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to get paid for doing what she loved. She couldn’t wait to get started. This was her thing. Her talent. She would come up with an amazing design, and everyone—especially the kids—would love the end result. And even if it wasn’t amazing, nothing could be worse than the bland white walls Kevin had going on right now.

  Her pen tapped against her lower lip as she examined the waiting room. Good size, large windows, and some cool architectural details that included the circular reception desk. And that aquarium, with so many of the fish from Finding Nemo—beautiful. Emma could easily use that as her inspiration. In fact, it was perfect. Under the sea. Not too masculine and not too feminine. Bright, colorful, and cheerful. It would make all the children—and parents—feel like they’d donned a snorkel and a mask and were hanging out in the crystal blue waters of the Caribbean.

  Yes, this was definitely her thing.

  “What kind of timeframe are you thinking?” she asked. “It’s going to be tricky with the girls’ schedule, but I could come in some nights and weekends if—”

  “No,” said Kevin. “I don’t think that’ll be necessary. I have a conference the first week in November, so the office will be patient-free for five days. You can work while the girls are in school. Or, if that doesn’t give you enough time, I can watch them in the evenings when I get back.”

  Emma loved that he thought of the girls—and her. He’d just taken away the one drawback to this project, and she could have kissed him for it. Actually, she would kiss him for it. Later. “As long as I have everything ready to go, five days should be enough time.”

  “I’m also planning to give you an advance.”

  When Emma opened her mouth to argue, his fingers rested against her lips, shushing her. “It’s what any professional would expect for a job like this, Emma. It isn’t a handout, it isn’t a favor. It’s just smart business.”

  When she didn’t try to argue, his hand dropped from her lips, but he was still standing close. Too close. The smell of soap, mixed with a hint of something spicy, invaded her senses, clouding her thoughts.

  “I’ll also give you a company credit card that you can use to buy all the supplies you’ll need. Then once you’re finished, I’ll pay you the rest.”

  Why didn’t he seem ruffled by her close proximity? It wasn’t fair. Emma took a step back to put some distance between them. Then she pulled out a measuring tape and handed Kevin the end, gesturing for him to hold it against the far wall.

  “What do you think of an Under the Sea theme?” she asked as she wrote down the measurement.

  “You want to paint fish all over the walls?”

  “Something like that, yeah.”

  “I don’t know.” He held the tape against another wall, and she pulled it taut, writing down another measurement. “Won’t that be overkill with the aquarium? I was thinking more of a fantasy type thing—like you did for the girls. Only less girly. You know, dragons, ogres, princesses in towers, magic carpets, unicorns?”

  Emma smiled. “And your aquarium would hold what? Dragon food? Or did you want to throw in a few mermaids to tie it in?”

  Kevin eyed the tank as though considering his options. “We could always get rid of it. It’s kind of a pain to keep up anyway.”

  “It would be more of a pain to remove it,” she argued. “Besides, it’s beautiful and colorful, and what kid doesn’t love watching those pretty fish dart around in there? It makes Finding Nemo come to life. And with fish on the walls as well—it’ll look awesome.”

  Still not looking entirely convinced, Kevin finally shrugged. “I guess I’ll have to trust your judgment on this. Under the sea it is.”

  “That was easy.”

  Kevin’s mouth pulled into a half smile. “What can I say? I’m in an agreeable mood today. The way I see it, the sooner we figure out a game plan, the sooner I get to kiss you again. Unless you’re okay with taking a quick break.” He started moving toward her.

  She held out a hand to stop him. “No, not yet. You have to stay over there. I can’t think when you’re too close.”

  “Close is a relative term,” said Kevin, stopping in front of her. “How close is too close?”

  She pointed her pen at him. “That’s too close. Now back off and let me think for a second.”

  Kevin chuckled and dropped down on the couch, resting his hands behind his head. “Better?”

  “Yes.”

  Emma considered the room once more, letting idea after idea flow through her mind. She dism
issed some, mulled over others, and built on the few that remained. Finally, she smiled. “What would you think about building a wall in that corner?”

  He frowned. “A wall? Are you serious? Why?”

  “Nothing major, just a small one set at a forty-five degree angle.” Emma walked over and pointed to where she was talking about. “It’ll make a fun little hidden area back here that the kids will love. I’ll paint it to look like a sunken ship, and you can hide your little bookcase and Lego table behind it.”

  “The Lego table is about to go bye-bye,” said Kevin. “I took your advice and bought one of those train tables. It should arrive any day now.”

  “Really?” Emma liked that he’d taken her advice. It felt good. Like she was finally giving back.

  “It was a good idea.” Kevin leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knee. “So a ship, huh?”

  “Yeah.” Emma nodded. “Like an old, rotted pirate ship with portholes and an anchor and everything. What do you think?” She could see the hesitation in his expression—the concern that she was thinking much bigger than he was. “You did say I could do whatever I wanted.”

  “I was talking about murals, not… building walls.”

  She plopped down next to him and grabbed his hands. “C’mon, we can easily get it done this weekend.”

  An eyebrow lifted. “When you say we…?”

  “I mean you and me.”

  “That’s what I was afraid of.” He shook his head slowly, as though she made life so much more complicated than it had to be. “Emma, I’ve never built a wall in my life.”

  “I have,” she said. “All we’ll need is a dozen two-by-fours, some sheetrock, mud and tape, a sanding block, and a few cans of texture.” She tapped her foot against the hard, carpeted floor and pursed her lips. “And we’re going to need a framing gun and a concrete nailer.”

  Kevin’s eyes widened as if to say That’s all? “Are you sure about all of this?”