by Pavan Kaur
“Don’t go swimming with them,” she whispers in my ear. Some advice I’ll have to remember.
“You ready to go, buttercup?”
“Yep, this dinner is going to be so much fun,” she gives Tanya and Amie a kiss on the cheek, as I open the door for her.
“I have some good news for you. Cassie and Neil want you to plan their wedding. They are going to talk to Betty in the morning.”
"Ocean, that's amazing! Thank you so much for talking to them." Emma wraps her arms around me. "Thank you so much." As her lips crush mine, I can’t help but think my future involves her lips on mine every single day.
“I really didn’t do much. Cassie has been talking about hiring you for so long.” As much I would love to take the credit, I know my brother well enough to know he would have told Emma the truth.
“This is great! I have something good to tell my dad tonight,” Emma says. I can still hear the nervousness in her voice.
***
Putting the car in park, I look over at Emma. What is it about her dad that has me worried about this dinner?
“Hey, buttercup. You okay?” I take her hand in mine to let her know that I’m right here.
“Yeah, just my dad is very...hard.” Emma opens the door and quickly gets out of the car. I walk over to her side.
Placing my hand on the small of her back, we walk through the door without knocking. "Dad," she yells, and I look around at the pictures on the wall. Emma is this man’s world. I know he's going to hate me. Not just me, any man that walks into her life.
“In the kitchen.”
I feel Emma walking away as I stop by a picture on the wall.
“Ocean,” Emma whispers as she stands next to me. “That was a father, daughter dance we went to.” She wraps her arm around mine. “You scared yet?” I can hear the humor in her tone. I know she is joking, but I’m a little scared now. I mean I’m the reason she quit her job, so getting him to like me just got a tad harder.
The food smells amazing as we walk into the kitchen. My mouth is watering from the smell.
“Pumpkin,” he pulls her in for a hug, and his eyes move over to me. “This is him?”
“Nice to see you too Dad and yes, this is Ocean.” Emma looks at me from behind her shoulder with a smile.
"Nice to meet you, Mr. Cox," I put my hand out for him to shake, but he gives me a look which makes me pull it away. I've met other girlfriend’s parents and never been nervous. But him? I’m scared of him.
“So, Ocean, what do we do?”
"I own a bakery, sir." Sir? Since when did I go back to school and have to call him sir? I can't go back from it now. This is already going bad.
“Now that my daughter has no job, I’m going to say you’re the reason. What are we going to do to help her?”
We really are getting straight to the point. “Dad, I don’t need his help, and if you had asked me before being mean to my boyfriend, maybe I would have told you my plan.” Emma moves over to me. “How about we have some dinner and we can talk about it.”
Her dad looks at her for a moment. “Fine, Jeana has just gone to get some wine.” Mr. Cox starts walking away from us and I turn to Emma.
“He likes you,” she says with a smile. Are we in the same room? “So, Jeana is my dad’s new girlfriend, just don’t…”
“Emma, it’s okay.” I wrap my arm around her waist and pull her closer to me. I give her a kiss on the forehead.
“I’ve got the wine.” I turn around and I see who I think is Jeana as she gives Mr. Cox a kiss. Now I can see why Emma was worried about me meeting her, she has to be the same age as Emma. She starts walking over to Emma and gives her a hug. “This must be Ocean,” she looks me over, a little too much for my liking.
"Yeah, and the last I checked you were sleeping with my dad, you gold digger," Emma tells her, and they both lock eyes.
I take it Emma doesn’t like her much, but if my dad was dating someone my age, I don’t think I would be happy about it either.
“Dinner is ready.” Mr. Cox and I follow Emma to the table. “Emma, Ocean,” he places food in front of us. I catch Emma’s eyes, making sure she’s okay and she gives me a nod. I look back at Mr. Cox as he joins the table. “It seems Amie and Tanya like you. When I asked them, they only had good things to say about you.”
“You spoke to them? You could have just asked me your million questions,” Emma tells him. She doesn’t seem happy.
“I would have, but I didn’t think you would have told me the truth. You did just quit your job for him.”
“I did not quit my job for him, I mean I did, but that’s not the full story.” She stops and picks up her knife and fork. “How about we have dinner before you…”
“Emma, I’ve taught you well. I assume you quit with a plan.” Her dad glares at me. I see the accusation in his eyes. At the moment, I’m blaming myself too.
"I do have a plan. I'm going to start my own business. The couple I was working with said they would like to keep me as their planner and they are paying me a lot. It’ll help with the start-up fee. Ocean will be making the cake for free. Tan will do the flowers and I'm going to talk to the bank next week about a loan, I have…"
"No plan Emma. You have the ideas but no set plan. I want a plan by the end of next week." Her dad cuts her off and Emma starts shaking her head but doesn't answer him.
Do I feel like shit about not listening to her and staying away until after the wedding? I do now. I still don't think I could stay away from her. She looks like an angel, my angel. I will make this right and if I have to let her work from my office, I will.
"Anyway, are you planning any holidays this year?" Emma asks and I start my dinner. I get the feeling that soon as she has finished she will want to leave.
"Yes, we are going away at the end of the month." Her dad starts nibbling on Jeana's neck, and she starts laughing. I smile as Emma rolls her eyes at them.
Now I can see why Emma didn’t want me to meet her dad just yet. She was going to tell me about him first. I’m not sure it would have helped.
Emma retreated into her own mind on the ride home.
I put the car in park and take her hand in mine. “It wasn’t that bad.” I lean over and give her a kiss.
“Wasn’t that bad? I have a week to make a plan. My dad would have easily fucked Jeana with us in the house.” Emma goes to open the door but I stop her. I run around and open her door.
“You have me now, you don’t have to…”
"You really think that was all an act to get you buttercup? This is me, and this is how I will treat you every day." Closing the door, I pull her closer to me and crush my lips to hers. Her hands move up my chest to the back of my neck and she pulls me closer.
“I’m happy you never gave up.” I feel her lips curl up into a smile against mine.
"Before we go into your apartment, are the other two about to prank me?" I ask. They have been quiet for a while and I'm a little worried about what they have planned for me.
“Honestly, I have no idea. Now that we are dating they won’t tell me anything.” She’s not lying. Looks like I will have to make sure I watch everything they do. “You want to stay over?”
"I’d love to stay over." The moment she walked through my shop, the only thing I've been thinking about is getting her back into bed. It's crazy how much I want to be with her and now she's all mine.
Opening the door to her place, I see Amie and Tanya on the sofa watching a movie. “How was dinner?” Amie asks Emma.
“Shit, do we have more wine?” I follow Emma to the kitchen. “You know they won’t bite,” she starts laughing.
"They won't, I know. I'm more worried about what they have planned to bite me with. How the fuck does Pete do this every day?" I can see he loves Amie. I’m falling hard for Emma. I will live in fear of them to be with Emma. But how can I enjoy time with her if I'm always looking over my shoulder?
“Don’t worry, it’s normally for the first year, the
n it calms down to about five or six times a year.” Emma hands me a beer.
“Now that sounds worse…”
“It is.” I turn around to see Pete walking over to us. “You will never know when they will strike, they have promised me five pranks a year, but you never know when they will hit,” Pete tells me. I don’t know what's worse, knowing they are planned and can come any day or having a whole year to fear it.
"Oh come on, we are not that mean. Sometimes we have fun with them," Emma tells him. I shake my head and I start laughing. "I don't know what you're laughing about. Amie has been waiting for one of us to have a boyfriend so she can mess with them." Giving me a wink she walks over to the others, and I look at Pete.
"Don't be fooled, I ended up in a hospital once." I narrow my eyes and then look at the three of them whipping their heads over to Pete.
"Now that was an accident, and the prank went a little wrong," Emma tells us both, but her eyes are on Pete.
“This scar right here…”
“We said we were sorry. How were we meant to know you would pick the wrong knife,” Emma says, but it’s in more a kiddy voice to make her sound innocent. I want to hear this story. The idea of Emma putting someone in the hospital is terrifying.
"If I hear anything, I will give you the heads up," Pete tells me and I give him a nod to let him know I’ll reciprocate. "I'm off to work. See you in the morning," he tells the girls and I sit next to Emma.
"Trust me him ending up in the hospital was an accident." She leans in and whispers, "These two won't do that to you, I hope." I see her smiling at Tanya and Amie.
“You scare me,” I tell Emma, and she starts laughing. She knows I’m just saying that to her, and I do love that she likes to have fun.
Chapter 19
Emma
"Morning buttercup."
I feel Ocean pulling me closer to him in bed. This isn't going to get old at all. I can get used to waking up to his sexy body every morning.
“Morning,” I turn to give him a kiss. “I can get used to this.”
“So could I. What’re your plans for the day?” Ocean reaches out to get his phone that beeps a few times.
"Going to talk to your brother and then see which contacts still want to work with me," I tell him as I bring his phone in front of us both, he quickly sends a reply.
“Well, my plan for morning sex has just been changed,” he stops as his phone beeps again and I hear him swear under his breath. “My business is with you, even if I have to make them for free,” he leans over and gives me a kiss.
I get a feeling that even when I am up and running, Ocean won’t take my money. I can’t and won’t do that to him, plus it’s the couples that pay for the cake. I will just pay him to keep me as his number one client.
He leans down and trails kisses along my neck and across my jawline. "I so want to carry on. I really, really do, but the ovens have stopped working and we have cakes to bake," Ocean drops all his body weight on top of me. "How about tonight you stay over at mine?"
"Would love to, I can make dinner," I say trying to push him off me. "I'm thinking pasta and some fish." I give him a long deep kiss and wrap my arms over his shoulders.
Ocean rolls off me. "If I stay here any longer, no one is getting any cakes today." Ocean gives me a wink and starts putting his clothes on. As he gets dressed, I think to myself that he is anxious about what the girls are going to do to him. It makes me laugh at the same time. They should be worried about what he might have planned for them.
"Fine, I suppose I better get out of bed too. I have a week to get a plan together." I can't believe my dad has given me a timeline to have something for him. He has always been this very straight man. He planned everything down to perfection crossing the t's and dotting the i's. It was the reason him and mum never worked out. She was more of the person that would live every day as they come.
"Don't worry, we will figure this out." Ocean sits on the bed, and I'm sure he said we. Not once have I thought about him helping me. This is my problem, not his. "I got Marc to have a look into loans for you. He’ll be coming over later to talk to you. My office is yours. You can work from it if you need to. That's if you don't mind sharing with me. I'm with you until the end buttercup," Ocean says, leaning down to kiss my forehead and leaves the bedroom.
I can't help smiling at how perfect things are with Ocean. I never thought I would find my prince charming, but I have, and he's everything.
Getting out of bed, I walk out of the bedroom, and narrow my eyes as I watch Amie and Tanya laughing. “I don’t want to know what you have done,” I tell them, as I join Ocean in the bathroom.
“They’ve done something,” I whisper as I stand behind Ocean.
“Thought so, they both looked and started laughing. Any heads up for me?”
“I’m sorry. They will tell me if I ask, but I have to be on their side too,” I say giving him a smile.
“You enjoy it too,” Ocean finishes up and leaves the bathroom. I have to agree I do enjoy it as it keeps them on their toes.
Coming out of the bathroom, I head to my room to get changed. Ocean’s in the kitchen pouring himself some cereal. I look at Tanya smiling at me, shaking my head at her, she follows me into my room.
“I think this one might just be the best one we’ve come up with,” Tanya lies down on the bed. “I mean you will have to think of something good to up this one for Pete.” I’ve not seen this smile since we got Pete naked and out of the apartment.
"All I want to know is will we have to go to the hospital? I have plans with him tonight." I start laughing as Tanya breaks out into a fit.
“He will keep you happy tonight. We aren’t hurting him, promise,” Tanya looks over at the door as Ocean walks in. “Right, I’m getting ready for work.”
“I have to get going buttercup. As soon as you’re done with what you are doing, come to the shop.” He wraps his arms around me and gives me a kiss.
"I should be there about two. I’m going to talk to your brother first to see what they want and make sure my contacts are still willing to working with me." I feel like I'm losing a battle I haven't even started yet. I’m not a pessimist but it seems fitting right now.
“Everything will work out. You will throw the best wedding you have ever thrown. Your business will be up and running in no time. I can promise you that.”
“I love you.” The words slipped out without me even thinking about it. If you say it without thinking about it, you know it’s right.
"I love you too." Grabbing the back of my neck, his lips crash into mine. "I knew you did, just had to wait until you knew it," and then the moment is gone when his phone starts ringing. "After we talk to Marc, I'm taking you on a date, the date that I had planned for after the wedding."
“Ohhhh, I can’t wait to see the win me date.” I had wondered for a while what his big move to win me was.
“I think it would have won you over. We might need to go on a ferry though. My plan was for our date to happen straight after the wedding.” Ocean gives me a smile as I try to think of what he has planned. “I thought about it long and hard. I have to get going, I need to get tonight sorted. I need my staff ready to work by themselves.” Before I can even ask him what I should be wearing, he walks out of the bedroom. I’m going to wonder what to wear all day.
“I’ll come over once I’ve done everything. What’s my dress code for tonight?”
"Don't worry about that. When you're over I'll call Marc to come over too," he walks back into the bedroom and right up to me planting a kiss on my lips. As he turns and leaves, I hear the girls laughing behind me. What have they done?
They both run out the door. I follow them out and stop outside the building. I burst out laughing. The girls have outdone themselves.
“The best is yet to come,” Amie says as she is laughing hard.
They have cling wrapped Ocean's entire car and it looks like it's a lot of layers too. "Where the fuck does it finish?" Oc
ean shouts at them as he walks around his car to find where he can start undoing it all.
“This is very impressive,” I tell the girls as I walk over to Ocean, walking around the car to help him find where to start pulling it.
"I'm going to have to get the guys to help me on payback," Ocean looks over at me and I'm trying to hide my smile. "You can laugh. I know you want to," he says pulling out a pocket knife and clicking the knife up.
“It is funny though,” I tell him as I burst out laughing again. I can’t wait to find out what else they have done. Amie said there’s more to come.
I kneel next to Ocean as he carefully starts cutting the cling film off of the car. "This is a good one," Ocean tells me as he walks around the car taking it all with him. "Well done on this one you two, but watch your back," Ocean tells the girls as he opens the car door. They both start laughing not taking him seriously.
“I will see you later.” He grabs his sunglasses and gives me a kiss as he gets into the car. The girls run over to me.
Ocean starts the car and the three of us start laughing to the point I have tears coming down my face. I fall to the ground laughing so hard. Ocean is covered in glitter.
"How?" I hear him say. The three of us are laughing so hard I'm finding it hard to breathe.
“First, I have to take a picture,” Amie stands up holding her camera out as she wipes the tears away.
"We got your keys last night when you fell asleep and put the air on high, so when you start the car it would hit you," Tanya tells him.
“This is amazing.” I walk over to Ocean. There is so much glitter.
"We are not sleeping over here again," Ocean turns to face me. I start laughing again as glitter falls off him. "What are you doing?" he asks as I take a picture of him.
“What? Did you think I wasn’t going to show Blake and Marc? This is brilliant.” Taking a picture, I look in his car. “This is not going to be easy to clean. Do you want to take my car?”