Mom: When are you and Killian getting married and making me a grandma?
Emma groans in frustration as she reads the text.
Are you freaking kidding me?
She goes on one date and her mother is already asking when they're getting married and having kids?
Ugh, so typical.
The woman is so desperate to have her first grandbaby, she's completely lost it.
Emma: We went on one date, mother. I haven't even seen him since New Year.
She sets down her phone and gets back to her work.
Or at least she tries.
She's elbow deep in a case, trying to track down a fugitive she's already spent several weeks searching for when an incoming video chat pops up on her computer screen. Emma reluctantly accepts it, knowing her mother won't stop pestering her until she answers.
"Mom, I'm working."
Her mother furrows her brows in disapproval, studying her ensemble with a critical eye. "That's what you wear to work?"
Emma refrains from rolling her eyes. Her mother always has something to criticize her for. "I'm at home, tracking down a fugitive."
Her mother raised a brow. "You could at least throw on a nice top. Attempt to look like you're putting in some effort."
Emma brings her hands together and chews on the inside of her cheek, refraining from responding to her mother's delightful remark. She's about two seconds away from throwing her computer out the window. And her phone. She takes a breath and plants her hands on her desk. "Is there a reason you called? Other than to insult me?"
Her mother immediately smiles excitedly. "I want you to meet someone!" She turns her phone slightly to capture the man sitting next to her. "This is our new neighbor, Graham."
"Hello," the man greets with a wave and an Irish accent.
Emma politely waves back, inwardly cringing. She has to admit the man is attractive, with brown curly hair and a beard—he looks like the rugged outdoorsy type—but she knows her mother wouldn't introduce her to some random man without an ulterior motive. Emma knows exactly what her mother is up to.
"Graham is a doctor…" she gushes proudly and moves the phone close to her mouth, lowering her voice to a whisper as if Graham won't be able to hear, even though he's sitting right next to her, "and he's single."
Emma buries her face in her hands, groaning, but she can still hear her mother whisper to Graham, "She's much prettier with makeup."
Emma's eyes widen as she lowers her hands and gapes at her mother. "I am wearing makeup!"
Her mother completely ignores her. "Graham is free tonight, so I was thinking—"
"Goodbye, Mother!" Emma quickly ends the call, huffing in frustration.
As she rolls her eyes yet again at her mother's antics, her gaze lands on a certain business card that is still on her desk. She had plugged Killian's contact info into her phone, but after New Year's Eve, she hadn't planned on contacting him again. It was just too dangerous. The kiss they shared had blown her mind and flipped her world upside down. And she's afraid if she sees him again, she'd want more. But she can't want more. She's done with relationships.
Emma pulls up his number on her phone, tempted to call him. But it's probably a bad idea. No, it's definitely a bad idea. She sets her phone back on the desk.
She can't catch feelings for him. She just can't.
~❤️~
Being alone on Valentine's Day is no different than being alone any other day.
"That's for sure," Emma grumbles to herself when she reads the card after being pulled away from her favorite Valentine's Day tradition by her soon-to-be sister-in-law.
"What do you mean you don't have a date for Valentine's Day?!" Elsa asks in confusion.
"Don't say it like I just told you I have cancer." Emma shoots her a glare before returning the card to the rack.
"But it's Valentine's Day!" Audrey exclaims, looking up from the catalog of wedding invitation designs she's browsing through.
"No, it's Thursday." Emma rejoins her cousins and soon-to-be sister-in-law at the table. "And I'm gonna take a long hot bath, pop a bottle of pinot, treat myself to a few pounds of chocolate, and if I'm feeling a little wild, maybe even watch a little porn."
Audrey gasps, looking around the store to make sure no one heard Emma before turning back to her and whispering, "You can't watch porn on Valentine's Day."
Emma scoffs. "You should especially watch porn on Valentine's Day."
"So that cute doctor?" Anna asks, changing the subject. "What was his name…Graham? You should call him."
"Forget it. I'm not dating someone my mother sets me up with." She wants to gag at the thought, no matter how attractive the guy is.
"What about the mall guy?" Elsa suggests as she turns to another page of designs. "You had fun on New Year's Eve."
Emma shakes her head. "It was just a one-time thing."
"Were you attracted to him?" Audrey asks curiously.
"Ugh, no," Emma claims as she looks down at the catalog in front of her. She's obviously lying, but she's not about to tell them the truth. She can't exactly say she finds him so ridiculously attractive that she desperately wanted to drag him inside her apartment and fuck his brains out. Instead, she longingly watched the Uber pull away to take him home.
Nope, she definitely can't say that. They'd have a field day of teasing her and trying to get her to call him.
When she looks up, though, she can tell the three women are onto her, all of them raising a brow in question.
"I mean, he can't even speak English. He says khakis like cockies." They continue to stare at her, so Emma raises her hands. "Look, the point is, I am perfectly happy being single. I get to do what I want when I want, and I don't have to deal with the stress of shaving...and plucking...and waxing."
"That is the best part about being married," Anna says with a smile. "No more waxing."
"But what about my wedding?" Audrey asks. "You can't be alone at the wedding."
Emma raises an eyebrow. "Audrey, your wedding isn't for another seven months."
Audrey eyes her with pity like Emma's a poor, sick puppy dog on the side of the road. "And you're already letting yourself go." She shakes her head in disappointment, gesturing to Emma's outfit, which consists of sweatpants, a t-shirt and a hoodie.
"Everyone needs to mind their own business," Emma snaps, pulling each side of her hoodie over her chest. "My romantic status and personal hygiene are completely under control. Now if you'll excuse me..." she stands up from her chair, "I have an obscene amount of candy to buy."
God, she feels like an idiot. Why didn't she just take Killian up on his offer or send him a text?
As she pulls on her red leather jacket and grabs her purse, she can hear Elsa whispering to the others still sitting at the table. "I bet Walsh is still available."
"Please text him," Audrey pleads.
"I'm not calling Walsh!" Emma calls over her shoulder before fleeing out of the store.
She floats around the candy shop as if she's a kid again, making sure to taste every free sample available as she fills her shopping basket with what she deems an adequate amount of candy for her night in.
She wishes she were a kid again. Everything was so much simpler then. No one in her family was trying to set her up with someone. Or if they did, she was too young and naïve to notice.
She pops a bourbon truffle into her mouth as she turns around and promptly runs into someone.
"Emma?"
Her heart drops to her stomach. "Neal?" she mumbles around a mouthful of chocolate, her eyes wide.
You've got to be kidding me!
Of all the people she could've run into at the mall, it had to be him?
Neal's eyes light up and he smiles as if he didn't smash her heart into a million pieces six months ago. He opens his mouth to respond, but then a woman approaches him, shoving a lollipop into his mouth.
"Baby, you have got to try this."
Emma's blood bubbles at the sigh of this woman. They've never officially met, but she'd found pictures of her on his phone. And not all of them were of her face.
It's Tamara. The barista bitch Neal left her for.
She turns to Emma. "Do these come in any other flavors?"
Emma frowns. "I don't work here."
"Oh, sorry. I thought you were stocking the shelves or something."
Emma forces out a laugh as Neal introduces them. "Oh, no, no, no, honey. Tamara, this is Emma. We used to date."
Emma has to stop herself from adding, Yeah, we were dating while you were sending him nudes and he was sending you pictures of his cock!
But she doesn't. Instead, she plasters on the fakest smile she can muster.
"Oh, it's so nice to meet you, Emma," Tamara says with an authentic smile, extending her hand. It's obvious she doesn't know who Emma is, or that Neal was cheating on her with Tamara.
Rat bastard.
Emma's about to respond with something snarky as she shakes the woman's hand, but the arm wrapping around her shoulders and the warmth pressed against her side destroy the words in her throat. Her breath hitches as she jerks her head in confusion and looks over to see him.
Killian.
His bright blue eyes and that damn smile make her heart fucking melt. Those lips she had felt against her own that constantly plague her dreams at night. The fucking accent that makes her swoon.
What is he doing here?
"Hey, love muffin! I thought you were gonna meet me in Brookstone and try out those massagers."
Love muffin?
Before Emma can ask him what the hell he's doing, he turns to Neal and extends his hand.
"Hi, I'm Killian, Emma's boyfriend."
"I'm Neal," he says with a fake smile, eyeing him warily as he slips his palm in Killian's. "And this is my girlfriend, Tamara."
Emma feels a rush of satisfaction wash through her when she sees the obvious jealousy in Neal's eyes.
And when Killian playfully squeezes Emma into his side, she doesn't fight it. Instead, she flashes him a smile and places her hand on his chest, which is warm and firm under her touch. "Sorry, babe, I got distracted by the candy store. You know I can't resist some good chocolate."
He chuckles and brushes his nose against hers.
God, he smells good.
And when his scruff scratches against her cheek, she's reminded once again of the steamy kiss they shared on New Year's Eve.
"Oh, I know. How do you think I knew where to find you?" he teases.
Emma blushes and shakes her head. "You know me too well."
"So, are we done here, babe?" Killian asks her. "Because I have some big plans for you in Victoria's Secret." He winks and wraps his arm around her shoulders once more.
"I can't wait, babe." She grins and blushes, winding her arm around his back.
"Bye Neal! Bye Tiara!" Killian calls out as he leads Emma out of the store.
"It's Tamara," she corrects.
"I think I'm gonna be sick," Emma wheezes once she's out of the store, struggling to get enough air into her lungs. She rushes over to a fountain and cups her hands under the stream, splashing water over her face.
He hands her a napkin from the pocket of his leather jacket and she pats her face with it. "Just keep breathing," he coaxes in a soothing voice, offering the drink in his hand. "Now drink this."
Emma accepts it, immediately gagging when she tastes it. She hands it back to him, tossing the napkin into the nearby trash can. "Ugh, now I'm for sure gonna be sick."
"It's green juice," Killian says defensively. "It's good for you."
She finds a bench, sets down the basket of chocolate and plops down as Killian takes a seat next to her.
"You know, the human body is capable of living to about 120 years if you take care of it."
"Who cares?" she grumbles. "It's all downhill after forty. Who wants an extra eighty years of the worst part of their life?"
Killian shrugs. "Well…if you spend it with the right person, it's probably not so bad."
Emma groans. "Yeah, I'm sure if you have a woman like Tamara in your life who's young and beautiful and makes you double macchiatos every day."
Killian raises his brows, his face awash with shock as he points at the candy store. "That's the barista?"
She nods and sighs. "Why does the next girlfriend always have to be younger and hotter? Is it some kind of unwritten law?"
"Well…" Killian scratches behind his ear. "I wouldn't say hotter," he admits, his cheeks painted with blush as he averts his gaze.
She smiles at him. "Aw, thanks, you're sweet, even though I know you're lying."
"I'm serious," he says sincerely, shifting his gaze toward her. "Just look at it this way—normally, the younger the woman, the less chance of commitment, so…in a way, it's actually a compliment."
She scowls, swatting him in the chest.
What is this, pick on Emma day?
But then she thinks about it for a moment. Maybe he's right. She points at him and stands up as though she's having a revelation. But she might just be drunk on chocolate. "Wait, that's it! He's afraid! Maybe dating Tamara is a cry for help."
Killian scrunches his nose. "What, are you drunk?"
She sighs and sinks down onto the bench. "Maybe a little." She twists around and places her hand on the box of chocolates in the basket. "Those bourbon truffles are stronger than I th—" Her eyes widen, mouth falling open when realizes she never paid for them. She grabs the basket, showing Killian. "I took this," she whimpers. "I stole it." She looks at the store where she can still see Tamara and Neal through the window. "I am not going back in there," she says, pulling out a box of chocolates and removing the lid. "We must destroy the evidence." She tries to offer Killian a piece, just like Tamara had shoved a lollipop into Neal's mouth.
Killian jerks his head back and puts his hand up. "I don't eat that rubbish."
Emma scoffs out a laugh. "Are you serious? Not even on special occasions?"
He shakes his head. "I'm trying to maintain my figure, love."
She snorts, doubting a little chocolate will mess up his figure. "Come on, these truffles are amazing. You're such a coward." She makes a second attempt, bringing the piece of chocolate to his lips.
He ducks away again and grimaces, obviously not appreciating the name-calling.
She laughs, "Oh my God, you really are a coward."
Killian gapes at her as she pops the truffle into her mouth. "If I were actually a coward, you'd be stuck in a candy store talking to your ex-boyfriend and the barista he cheated on you with."
She shoots him a glare. Again, he has a point.
"You're welcome, by the way," he whispers snarkily.
She tips her head and blinks at him, forcing a smile. "You're right. Thank you." She replaces the lid on the box of chocolates and returns it to the basket before looking over at him again. "I owe you."
"That's more like it." Killian stands up and plasters on a big, cocky grin. "I suppose a hand job in the parking lot is in order, thank you."
"Ohhhh, a hand job?"
He nods. "Mmhmm."
Emma slips the strap of her purse on her shoulder and rises from the bench, giving him the side-eye. "What are you, like twelve?"
Killian raises his brows. "You gave hand jobs at twelve?"
She shrugs. "I gave amazing hand jobs at twelve, thank you very much. Still do," she adds with a smirk before walking away from him and heading toward the elevator that will take them to the parking garage.
~❤️~
"Oh my gods, that's so good..." He groans, tipping his head back against the driver's seat of his car, resting the back of his hand against his forehead.
"Yeah? Is that enough or do you want more?" she mumbles around the delicious treat in her mouth.
Killian nods. "Mmm...please…more, more, more..."
"Stop moving, I'm almost done." She giggles, taking more into her mouth.
"Bloody hell, you weren't kidding, love. That's bloody fantastic..." Another groan of pleasure tears through his throat.
"Hold on, hold on…"
He doesn't listen and jerks his leg. "Bloody hell! It's all over my pants!"
"Do you have any baby wipes?" she asks, swallowing the salty sweetness down her throat.
"Aye, they're in the glove compartment next to the diapers," he jokes with a chuckle.
She reaches into her purse and pulls out a tissue, scrubbing his pants vigorously with it.
After she cleans up the chocolate he'd knocked over into his lap, she brings another truffle to Killian's lips.
"Mmm." He opens wide and bites into the chocolate with a groan. "Oh my gods. You're a bad influence," he teases with a chuckle as he watches her take another caramel chocolate truffle and pop it into her mouth.
"No, I'm not." She sighs and shifts in her seat so she's facing forward as she throws her head back against the seat.
"Hey, I get it. It sucks running into your boyfriend on Valentine's Day in a candy store wearing pajamas."
"Ex-boyfriend." Emma corrects, glaring at him and gesturing at her outfit. "And these are not pajamas, they're lounge pants."
"Right." He chuckles and nods, obviously only pretending to believe her.
"Believe it or not, this isn't the worst Valentine's Day of my life." Emma shakes her head, taking another bite of the truffle in her hand. But she doesn't mention to Killian that he's the reason her Valentine's Day doesn't suck. He did save her from her ex after all. Plus, he's fun to be around.
"Why didn't you just call me, love?"
That's a damn good question, actually.
Emma shrugs, peering down into her lap in shame. "I don't know…I just…I guess I was just embarrassed to admit that nothing had changed since New Year."
"But isn't that the point of this holidate thing? That we get to avoid the pressure and all the judgment?"
"Whatever. At least the biggies are behind us. Christmas, New Year, Valentine's Day."
"The small ones are just as risky," Killian points out. "I once spent an Earth Day chained to a tree with a lass from Greenpeace. It was the longest ten days of my life."
Emma refrains from smirking, unbidden thoughts of tying Killian up to a tree fill her mind, though it wouldn't be for the sake of the trees.
She quickly shakes the dirty thoughts from her mind and purses her lips, thinking how nice it would be to bring Killian with her to family gatherings and other celebrations; that way, her mother won't keep trying to set her up with doctors or lawyers and her cousins won't keep trying to set her up with Walsh. Ugh. "I guess it would be nice to bring someone home for Easter."
"Then let's make it official. Holidates until further notice?"
Emma bites her bottom lip as she looks at him. "What about sex?"
The corner of his lips tips into a lopsided smirk. "Why? You offering?"
"I'm serious." She swats him on the arm. "Friends with benefits never works."
Killian pops a brow, his stupid smirk never waning. "Why do you say that, love? Afraid you'll want more of me after a couple of rounds in the sack on St. Patty's Day?"
She scoffs as she throws another chocolate into her mouth, her cheeks flaming at the images he implanted in her head, heat surging through her. "No, because adding sex to the equation always makes things messy and complicated. Besides, you're the one who'll want more," she teases, sucking the melted chocolate off her fingers, her breath catching when his eyes follow the movement of her lips.
"Okay, fine, we agree. Nonsexual holidates from now on." He offers his hand, and Emma slips her palm in his.
She's wondering if this whole friends without benefits idea is a mistake, because she can't deny she'd love to know what it's like to have her legs wrapped around Killian and feel his naked body pressed against hers. If he's as good at...other things that involve his mouth as he is at kissing, she has no doubt being with him would be incredible. And she's wondering if he's thinking the same when she realizes they're still shaking hands and staring at each other in silence.
They finally release each other, both of them blushing and sharing a laugh as they look away.
"Could you, um...pass me a coconut cluster?" he asks, scratching behind his ear.
Emma snorts and shakes her head as she searches for the specific chocolate in question. "I've created a monster."
When she tosses the coconut cluster at him, he catches it in his mouth, surprising both of them. He cheers and gives her a high five. "Nice throw, love."
"Nice catch," she compliments with a laugh, butterflies swarming in her stomach.
Yep, friends without benefits is definitely a good idea.
She's sure of it.