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The evening sun shined warmly into Michael's kitchen.
It was a great surprise for both of them to find out they lived so close to each other in Orlando.
Emma didn't even need a car.
She just put on a jacket and walked for ten minutes to his house.
They were both very happy about it.
Right now, Emma was sitting on a tall chair in the kitchen.
She was looking closely at her phone with a big frown.
Michael stood right next to her.
He had just cooked dinner.
Seeing her so distracted, he picked up some fresh pasta with a fork and held it near her mouth.
Without looking away from her screen, Emma simply opened her mouth and said, "Ahhh."
Michael smiled and gently fed her the pasta.
Emma closed her mouth and started chewing, still glaring angrily at her phone.
"This bitch is talking a lot of bullshit," Emma mumbled while chewing. She sounded very annoyed.
Michael stopped and his eyes went wide. He slowly looked at her.
Emma felt him staring, swallowed her food, and looked up. "What?"
"Nothing," Michael said, trying hard not to laugh. "It's just... you look very cute when you swear."
Emma stopped frowning and smiled playfully. "Oh, please. You are totally head over heels for me, aren't you?"
Michael didn't look away. "Yes. I really am."
Emma's teasing smile vanished.
She blushed furiously, her face turning completely red, and quickly looked back down at her phone to hide it.
Michael laughed softly. "Who are you talking about, though? Who is talking bullshit?"
"James Wood," Emma said, frowning again. "The critic. He posted an awful video calling you a fraud. He said your new fantasy book is going to be terrible."
Michael just sighed and waved his hand. "Ah, forget it, Emma. He is just angry I didn't pay him for a review."
Emma's eyes went wide with shock.
"What?! Critics aren't supposed to take money! Tell me the story. Please?"
Michael smiled and fed her another bite of pasta. "Alright. It happened before The Fault in Our Stars came out. Evans and I were in the car going to the airport. Suddenly, Evans got a call."
Emma opened her mouth, and Michael fed her more pasta before continuing.
"Evans answered it," Michael explained. "He went, 'Hmm... uhuh... wait.' He looked confused and put the phone on speaker. He told me, 'Boss, it's James Wood.'"
"No way," Emma gasped, chewing quickly.
"Yes," Michael nodded. "I asked him what he wanted. James used this snobby voice and said, 'Your new book is very different. It would be a shame if it failed. You know my reviews can make or break a career. Look at these other writers. They didn't pay my fee, and their books failed.' He told me if I paid him fifty thousand dollars, he would write a great review."
"That is disgusting!" Emma shouted. "What did you say to him?!"
Michael smiled. "I told him, 'James, the only time I would ever need your review is if I ran out of toilet paper. If you want free money, go stand on the street.' Then I told Evans to hang up."
Emma stared at Michael with pure amazement. She loved how he wasn't scared of anyone.
Michael just laughed softly and fed her another perfect bite of pasta.
Emma chewed happily. "You are a really good cook, you know."
"I try," Michael said.
Emma's smile slowly faded, and she looked down at her hands. "You know... I know this is selfish, but... can't you just make him shut up? I don't like it when people talk bad about you."
Michael's heart felt warm. He loved how protective she was of him.
He stepped closer to her. He gently put his hand on her soft cheek, tilted his head, and kissed her lovingly.
"You don't have to worry," Michael said softly. "I will take care of it."
Emma looked up at him and smiled brightly, looking just like an angel.