It's in the Genes

Bonnie and Clyde

Olive oil bubbled around the cloves and other vegetables I was sautéing. The heat rolling over the top of the pan felt nice on my hands. I let my fingertips linger there, enjoying the warmth. My body ached. It had been a long day.

I had less endurance as of late. More often, I was coming home completely wiped out, but even if I wasn't sick, today's conversation with Katherine was tiring. After nine years, the questions were old and annoying, not to mention emotionally draining. Between whatever virus I had and that conversation, all I wanted was a nap.

As usual, though, there was too much to do.

Thankfully, the kids had gotten their homework done earlier and decided to play video games upstairs. It didn't change the amount of things I had to get done, but it meant I could do them in peace and quiet, and didn't have to expend a whole lot of energy.

The vegetables were almost done cooking, and the steak should have been done marinating. I sighed and rubbed my forehead. I loathed cooking meat, red meat in particular. No matter what I did, I never seemed to make it right.

A hand touched my back and I nearly jumped out of my skin. I spun around and raised my fist, prepared to swing.

"Whoa, whoa, relax, killer!" Niall said, taking a few steps back and holding his hand up. His other hand was hiding behind his back.

I lowered my fist and exhaled. "Shit. Sorry, Niall!"

"No worries," Niall said slowly, his eyebrows furrowed. His hand was still behind his back. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine." I sighed and closed my eyes, feeling my pulse slowly returning to its usual speed, albeit not feeling completely normal. "Anyway," I opened my eyes again. "What do you have behind your back?"

"Well, since you're definitely not fine," he began. "It's something that might make you feel a little better."

He moved his arm forward, and with it came a bouquet of flowers. They were beautiful—all of my seasonal favorites. Even with my stuffed nose, I could smell hints of each fragrance.

I laughed—that might explain some things.

Niall looked at me quizzically, head tilted, bouquet still offered in his outstretched hand. "What?"

"When did you get these?" I asked, taking them from his hand. I stroked the tops with my fingers. The petals were so soft.

"Today—during your lunch break," Niall replied slowly.

I nodded, turning off the burner on the stovetop. "That makes sense."

Niall chuckled and leaned back against the table, looking at me with a puzzled expression."What does?"

"Today, Katherine gave me a third degree about whether or not we were dating," I told him, inhaling deeply, trying to smell as much of flowers' scent as possible, with some success.

Niall hesitated before he grinned and raised a brow. "And? Did you tell her about how madly in love we are?" he asked, winking.

"No, that would ruin the secrecy of our passionate affair," I joked, searching under the cabinets for a vase. I found a simple glass one with waved edges and put the flowers in it, spreading them out with my fingers. Even though I worked at the florist's, I loved having flowers in our house. They smelled beautiful, and having them there was a reminder that this little place was ours—that it was home.

"Oh, but it could really spice things up for us," Niall pretended to protest.

"Not with the kids around," I replied with a smile. I hugged him. "Thank you for the flowers."