“We are, I think,” I murmured, looking at my phone, letting the warmth of those photos overtake me again.
“Since you turned sixteen, you’ve always looked at each other just a little too long to be just friends,” Molly divulged with a low chuckle. “I still remember the first time Diogo noticed. He was not too pleased with his eldest son. But he gets it, we all do. Sometimes two people become so entangled in one another that they have no choice but to fall in love.”
“It’s still a choice, though,” I insisted. “And I choose him.”
There was a knock at the door then, and I shot to my feet, startling Molly and making her laugh again. I straightened my new leather jacket and my purple boho dress then struck a pose for my foster mum.
“Good?”
Her smile was slow and sweet. “Always, but yes, very good.”
I beamed at her then practically floated to the door.
When I opened it, I frowned at Nova mockingly. “Lost your key?”
He grinned as my eyes raked over every inch of him. His tee was a brilliant white, heightening his tan, his ink, the brightness of his teeth and the whites of his eyes, and he wore new jeans, dark with a faint crease still down the middle thigh from being folded at the store.
“No, this is a date. I knocked all proper and shit,” he declared proudly.
“Well, bravo,” I teased then tried to look behind his back. “What do you have back there?”
“Oh,” he frowned then leaned close. “Give me a kiss first. Nothin’s ever free.”
I laughed and darted forward to press a kiss to his cheek.
“Not what I was thinkin’, but I’ll take it,” he said churlishly.
I laughed and absently, I wondered if I’d ever been so giddy, so absolutely filled with positive anticipation and hope.
I gasped when he brought his hands around his front holding two massive fistfuls of sunflowers.
Suntastic Yellow Sunflowers.
I looked at him over the top of the blooms as wet hit the back of my eyes, and my nose started to sting. “You’re going to make me cry, and I have makeup on.”
“Don’t cry, we got shit to do,” he ordered, handing Molly the flowers as she came up behind me. “Hey, Mum. How many vases do you think you have?”
She frowned at him. “Um, a normal amount.”
He nodded, a little grin tucked up on the left side of his mouth. “Huh, well get Milo, Oliver, and Hudson over here, you might need help with the rest of Lila’s flowers.”
We watched as he gestured to the street, and then we both gasped at what we saw there.
My little blue VW bug had all the windows rolled down, flowers exploding out of every opening like an overstuffed doll.
Nova laughed, a fully bodied, rich sound that rang through the air and made me smile even though I wanted to burst into tears. He grabbed my hand and urged me down the stairs toward the car. I bent to the flowers instantly, running my hands over the blooms, shoving my nose in the fragrant collection of freesias, roses, sunflowers, lilies, and more.
When I pulled away, I stared at Nova, almost afraid to touch him in case this was a dream.
He noticed.
“You still too mad at me to come over here where you belong?” he questioned.
I shook my head.
“Got pollen on your nose,” he chuckled, reaching out to rub it off with his thumb.
“Please don’t do this,” I said on an explosive rush. “Please don’t tease me with the fairy-tale you told me you would never give me if you don’t really mean it. I… I honestly don’t think I could stand it.”
Every trace of humour drained out of Nova’s face, and when he stepped forward, he looked more serious than I’d ever seen him. He bent until we were eye level then framed my face with his hands.
“Hey,” he murmured. “I know I’m an asshole, but I would never do that. Let’s go, yeah? I got two more things to show ya, and then we can talk.”
“We’re takin’ off,” he hollered at Molly as his brothers crowded around her on the porch. “Deal with this shit, yeah?”
Moly laughed, but his brothers grumbled.
“You fuck this up again, I’ll give you another shiner,” Oliver yelled as we moved to Nova’s Harley and got on.
Nova flipped him the bird as he revved the engine and peeled out onto the road.
I pressed my chest to his back, my legs tight to his outer thighs, and lifted my arms into the air to yell, “Fuck yeah!”
His chuckle moved through me as we took a corner and led us down to Main Street. I wasn’t surprised when we stopped at Street Ink Tattoo Parlour. So much of our relationship had taken place there, it seemed fitting he would want to have our talk within its walls.