I passed Rocco over to his daddy, just as Mom came to join us once she’d handed her camera over to Aunt Raven. I didn’t get why she needed to take pictures of me unwrapping presents at every party I’d ever had, but I figured it was a mom kind of thing, that they had to document every moment, no matter how big or small.
“We haven’t shared this with many of you yet.” Dad spoke up again, his arm tightening around me. “Mainly because it has taken me a while to wrap my head around it. It was both a proud moment for me and a gut-punch all at once. But since we have everyone here, Felicity and I thought it was the best time to make the announcement.”
“Dad,” I muttered, shaking my head, knowing right away what he was going to say.
But he didn’t see my pleading eyes, begging him not to say anything yet. His gaze was on the crowd, and the pride in his voice made me press my lips together. “This is probably the last birthday party our Nova will be having here for a long time. Unless she decides to come home to celebrate it with us, that is.”
Everyone was looking at us in confusion now, except for the few people who already knew, which wasn’t many, considering the one person I’d wanted to share the news with had been too busy for me to confide in.
“Nova has been working so hard at school and taking extra classes over at Trinity. Which means, my little girl will be graduating an entire year earlier than expected and will start college next fall.” Mom pulled something from a gift bag Lexa handed to her and produced three huge envelopes, each of them labeled with one of the three schools I’d applied to in New York. “And as of yesterday, she’s got her choice of schools begging for her attendance.”
Around us, everyone started talking excitedly, already offering congratulations, but Dad held up his hand, commanding the room effortlessly. “And since my little princess will most likely be back East come the end of the school year, her mom and I wanted to make sure that her final few months with us are carried out in style.”
He pulled something from his pocket—a small box that fit in the palm of his hand. Swallowing the lump clogging my throat, I slowly reached for the tiny gift and carefully pulled off the top. Inside was a key fob with the Tesla insignia on it.
“And don’t worry, Ryan. We made sure it was safe enough, even by your standards.” Most of the crowd burst out laughing, knowing just how overprotective Ryan could get when it came to my safety. I forced a smile when Dad looked down at me expectantly. “When you move to New York, we’ll have it delivered to you if you want. But I know the boy won’t let you drive it much, so you can keep it here to have when you visit.”
“Thank you, Daddy,” I was finally able to get out through my tight throat. “This is perfect.”
I hugged him and then Mom, who was still beaming with pride over the huge acceptance envelopes.
“It’s in the parking lot now,” Mom said with a laugh. “Reid had to keep it hidden at one of the construction sites all week.”
I shot a mock glare at Max, Elias, and Lyric. “So that’s why they wanted me inside, to keep me from seeing Reid driving the car over?”
“Guilty,” she confirmed, still laughing as I got winks from the three guys. “You should take Ryan for a quick drive in it. Show him how safe it is before he loses his mind.” Her laughter faded as she glanced over my shoulder, and I knew she was looking at him. “Why is he all the way over there? Did I miss something while I was busy? Are you two fighting?”
“Of course not,” I assured her, stepping back. “I was just about to go talk to him and thank him for coming.”
“Thank him for…” Her blue eyes narrowed suspiciously. “You haven’t talked to him all day, have you?” I shrugged. “But you’re not fighting?”
“It’s nothing, Mom.” I stepped away from her. “See, I’m going to talk to him right now.”
“Nova.” She caught my hand. “Did he even know about you graduating early? Because the look on his face when your dad made the announcement—”
“No,” I admitted. “I haven’t found the time to tell him about my early graduation or that I might be going to college in New York in the fall.”
“Might?” She kept repeating my words like a parrot. “What is this ‘might’? You got into all three of your top choice schools. Dad and I are just waiting for you to decide which one you want before we send them a check.”
I lifted my hand and clutched at the compass Elias had placed around my neck, willing it to point me in the right direction—and give me the strength to stay on the path I needed to follow. “We can talk about it later. I need to speak to Ryan.”
Turning, I didn’t have to search the crowd to find him. My gaze went straight to where he was standing by himself, as if drawn there by a magnet. His shoulders were tense, his forehead slightly scrunched as his eyes clocked my smallest movement. I clenched my fingers around the key fob, and I reminded myself of all the hours of training Anya had made me suffer through.
But those torturous training exercises had nothing on the devastation occurring within me at that moment.
While everyone was getting their cake, I moved through the masses toward the door. I didn’t wait to see if Ryan followed as I stepped outside and walked over to the white Tesla Model S. The car was beautiful, and I had no doubts it was as safe as Dad had assured Ryan it would be. He was just as overprotective as my best friend was…
The pain that tore through me suddenly left me breathless.
Was Ryan still my best friend? It was more than apparent that I wasn’t his any longer, but did I still get to claim him as mine?
Would there ever be anyone I could trust or love enough who could even take that position if—and when—it became vacant?
“Nova.” I clenched my eyes shut at the sound of my name coming from his lips. I wanted to turn around, throw myself into his arms, and let him make everything better again. Just as he’d done all my life. But for once, that was impossible. He couldn’t make this better because no one could force themselves to love another person.
Inhaling slowly, I called upon the reserved strength I kept hidden deep—just as Anya had taught me—and walked toward my new car without a word to him. Opening the driver’s door, I slid into the seat and took in all the features. Moments later, the passenger door opened, and Ryan joined me.
“Put your seat belt on,” he instructed quietly.