AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Sorry, sweetheart. But you’ll have to get used to seeing some kissing, because Vivian and I are going to be doing a lot of that from now on.”
Lily’s face brightened. “You’re not fighting anymore?”
“We’re not,” Emma confirmed. “Lily, how would you feel about Vivian coming to live with us?”
Neither of them could distinguish many words behind Lily’s squeals of excitement, but Emma and Vivian both got the idea.
“We should go out and celebrate.” Emma gestured to the trashcan. “It seems I owe you some new ice cream.”
“I won’t say no to that.”
Lily was so ecstatic that Emma felt like she might soon have to hold her down to stop her bouncing all the way down the park path—except she would do a poor job at it, because she was very close to floating away on the cloud of her own happiness.
Vivian convinced Emma and Lily to get dinner at a nearby Italian place; Lily only agreed when Vivian assured her that ice cream was on the dessert menu. Emma and Vivian held hands as they walked inside and sat next to each other, opposite Lily.
“There’s one other thing.”
“Oh yeah?” Emma couldn’t help the note of wariness in her own voice. As much as she wanted this, it would take time to fully rebuild old bridges.
“It’s not a requirement at all,” Vivian said quickly. “And if you’re happy where you are, then you should by all means stay there… but I would love it if you could consider coming to work for me again.”
That took Emma off guard. “What about your current assistant?”
Vivian blushed. “I never got around to replacing you.”
“Vivian! You must have been working yourself sick.”
“I know, I know. Dr. Skye- my new therapist- has been on my case about it. I just wasn’t ready to let you go.”
Emma considered this. Truth be told, she would love to work with Vivian again. Alex was very nice, and Emma did enjoy her job with him, but his offices had never felt like a second home in the way Vivian’s had.
“I’ll have to talk to Alex. I’ll need to make sure I’m leaving him with someone good—I wouldn’t feel right about leaving so soon after being hired if I didn’t make sure I had a good replacement lined up. But yes, Vivian. Once I have the logistics sorted, I would love to come and work for you again.”
They kissed once more, longer and slower than before.
Lily heaved a put-upon sigh but didn’t interrupt. After a few seconds, Vivian and Emma parted.
“Right.” Vivian opened the menu right to the back, to the desserts page. “Let’s see what our ice cream options are for after dinner, shall we?”
“You promise you’ll be here tomorrow?”
“I promise,” Vivian assured Lily for the eleventh time. “We already stopped by my place to pack an overnight bag, remember? I’m not going anywhere tonight, and I’ll pack a bigger suitcase after work tomorrow.”
“Pinkie promise?”
“Pinkie promise.” Vivian hooked her finger with Lily’s, which seemed to satisfy her. She yawned.
“Bedtime for you.” Vivian kissed her forehead. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Lily.”
“Goodnight, sweetheart.” Emma ran a hand down Lily’s cheek, but Lily didn’t seem to notice. She was already drifting off.
“You must be tired, too. It’s been a long day.”
Vivian was eyeing her in a way that Emma liked very much. “Actually, I don’t think I had enough dessert at the restaurant.”
“Really? Feeling greedy tonight, are you?”
“Very. It’s been a long time.”
