For almost two decades, Emilia thought the love they once shared was lost. She was almost convinced it was impossible to get it back. They were stuck - stuck with a bond they couldn’t shake off, stuck with all the tension, pain, disappointment and hurt they’d been through in their years together. Escaping the negative vibes they surrounded themselves with seemed like an impossible thing to do. Every time Em thought it couldn’t get worse, she had to endure another blow to her heart. It came to the point she didn’t even know how to make it through the next day anymore. Her strength leaving her more with each day.Â
And now, right this moment,she couldn’t believe the miracle she was facing. It was as if her mate was back. Not in a phyiscal sense of the word. She finally got to see the guy she fell in love with at first sight again and it meant the world to her. “Because - why else would you get me flowers?” Em’s voice was low, her words came out it merely a whisper though she was still insecure about all of this. And yes, she was blushing at his sweet confession. When was the last time he’d said something like that to her? She didn’t remember. Her eyes sparkled like diamonds in the moonlight. “Mission accomplished.” She chuckled as her fingers lingered over his larger hands for just a second longer.
It was so unexpected yet all the more appreciated. Emilia didn’t know when and how it happened exactly but she’d relish in it for as long as she possibly could. While her mate got the vase, she brought the flowers up to her face to smell on them, a soft smile adorned her lips as she gazed at Lucas. “Thank you, Luke. They’re beautiful.” The bouquet truly was beautiful even more due to the intention he had upon getting them. It was the sweetest thing he’d done and said in ages. Right then and there, she forgot about everything else. There was no past, nothing but them and their new found chemistry. Once she put the flowers into the vase and set them down, she moved a little to give him better access to the sink and handed him  a cloth to dry his hands. Em smiled at his comment about the food. “My boys just love food. It really doesn’t matter what’s on the plate.” She laughed because really Luke and Ebbs were not picky at all. “If you’re offering, I’ll take it. If I were mean, I’d say the onions but since you gave me flowers, I’ll be nice and let you choose. Onions or meat?”
They had been here before. Once or twice before, they had tried to reconcile their bond. They had even tried to reconcile their bond the first time Emilia had found out about Kat. And like every time before now, they had said they would try and they would have a good day or two and then they’d fight again and dredge up all the pain and hurt from the past. She’d thrown accusations at her. He’d yell back, reminding her of her infidelities of the past and the hurt she’d cause. She’d cry. He’d leave. It was a vicious cycle.  The last time had gotten so bad that he had went back to Kat even though he had promised Emilia that he was done with her. But every other bad time had never quite felt so real. None of the other times, had he ever been so afraid that she would truly leave him. Never before had she tried to pack her things and leave or taken off her wedding rings. And it was the wake up call he had needed. Emilia may have been unfaithful in the years past. She may have done a lot of things, but Lucas was guilty of a lot of things too. The moment he had come back after leaving her to protect her and Ebbs from the hunters, he should have confronted her about the affairs. They should have discussed that then and there but instead he had ignored it, pulled away. Punished her without ever actually talking to her. He had run from their troubles too. Lucas was tired of running.
This time, Lucas was actually trying to work through this. Never had he felt the fear so real of almost losing Emilia and somehow, that fear made him want to forget all their old wounds. He knew, deep down, that they couldn’t ignore it forever. If they didn’t address their issues, they would be right back at the beginning again. They had to talk about the past and they had deal with wounds and the hurt, but he wanted to push that as far out as he could. By reopening the past, he felt that any progress they made now would be shattered and they wouldn’t be able to survive. They were still too fragile. Not to mention, they hadn’t actually discussed giving their marriage another try. Lucas had made up his mind to try and win her back, but they had never talked about it. Emilia was only in this house right now because of the agreement they had made to not tell their kids of their separation. That’s when it hit him and the expression on his face faltered for a moment. They were, technically, separated. Pretend as he may, as far away from reality as that felt, it was reality.
Pulling himself from his thoughts, he smiled back at Emilia, laughing along with her at the comment. It wasn’t time to dwell on those thoughts. Right now, he wanted to savor they chemistry they were having. The good day that this was. “We’re boys. As long as it tastes good, we don’t complain, and you’ve always been a great cook.” He praised, setting the cloth she had given him back on the counter. His gaze then moved between the onions and the meat and he thought about his options. Deciding not to test his luck with trying to prepare the meat correctly, Lucas grabbed and onion and tossed it in the air and catching it while he returned his eyes to Emilia. “I think you and I both know that I will probably mess up the meat, so I’ll take the onion.” He chuckled. It was refreshing to be himself around her again, to let his walls and his guard down. It had been so long since he was this way with her. Grabbing the knife and the cutting board, Lucas got to work on the onions, wiggling his sensitive nose as the smell of the onion immediately got to him. As he made the first cut, there was a soft crash that could be heard in the house followed by a series of yips and soft barks. It caused Lucas to groan and roll his eyes. “I swear, I still don’t understand how I let Arielle trick me into adopting all seven dogs. There hasn’t been a day that they don’t destroy something.” He sighed, but there was mirth in his eyes as he looked at Emilia with a smile on his lips and playfully bumped his hip against hers. “Don’t tell me you’ve grown a soft spot for them?”
