When Emma falls in love

Chapter 13

"Honestly, I could get used to this," Emma chuckled with her mouth full of pizza.

"You could?" The Evil Queen's response came almost as a whisper, a subtle smile playing on her lips as her heart began to flutter.

"Yeah, imagine how much money I save when I just come to eat at your house."

Amused and skeptical simultaneously, the brunette raised her eyebrows. "Well, aren't you a charmer? But I guess I wouldn't...totally be against it."

"Is that so?" Emma grinned, her eyes glued to the other woman. "What are you doing anyway? You've been standing in front of this bookshelf since forever."

"I'm looking for something."

"Yeah, I figured," the blonde mumbled amused, before taking another bite of her pizza slice. She had made herself comfortable on the couch, observing as the Evil Queen continued to sift through her bookshelf.

"Ah, here it is. Found it."

Emma observed with curiosity as the other woman delicately stroked her hand over the cover of the old-looking book, swiping away the settled dust. "What's that?" she inquired, her words slightly muffled by a mouthful of pizza. "Some kind of spell book or something?"

"No," the brunette smiled before walking over to the blonde and gracefully settling down next to her. "Do you remember our talk about— about Daniel?"

Immediately, Emma's eyes softened, and her demeanor transitioned into a more serious tone. "Of course," she nodded, delicately placing her slice of pizza back into the carton.

"It's a book about horses and understanding the relationship you form with them—and how it affects the training. It has no pictures, but when he gave it to me, I read through it in only two nights," the Evil Queen explained, a nostalgic gleam in her eyes. "My mother knew something was up since you could very easily tell I had little to no sleep during devouring that book...but she never figured it out."

"Why do you have that?" the blonde asked, genuine curiosity coloring her tone. "I mean, why doesn't Regina have the book?"

A mischievous grin played on the Evil Queen's lips. "I stole it last time I broke into her house."

Emma couldn't help but smirk. "Of course."

"You won't tell her, right?" Genuine worry etched across the brunette's features as she carefully scrutinized the other woman's face. Gorgeous. The delicate plea lingered in the air as the Evil Queen found herself captivated by the green depths of Emma's eyes. "Because," she continued, a hesitant tremor in her voice, trying not to dwell on how perfect Emma's gaze felt on her right now, "I don't have anything left from him. I searched for the ring he gave me— Us, I mean. But-"

"Yeah, Regina used it to summon magic with the Mad Hatter's hat—long story."

"But- But that was our engagement ring," the Evil Queen whispered, feeling the rage building up inside her. "How could she—"

"Hey," the blonde interrupted her softly, reaching out and gently grabbing her fingers. The touch was tender, a reassurance that transcended words. "She had no choice at that time and— and I think she regrets it very much, too."

"Well, she should," the other woman replied, her voice shaky. It wasn't because of Regina or Daniel at this moment; it was the simple act of Emma holding her hand so gently.

"Is there a reason you wanted to show me the book?" Emma redirected the conversation.

The Evil Queen cleared her throat, a subtle shake of her head accompanying her response. "No, I— I just thought about it and wanted to show you since we've been talking about— about Daniel. I don't know..."