by S. M. Soto
As if on cue, I spot her little shadow before I see her. Luna, for the third time within the last two hours, slips outside again and finds a spot for herself next to me on the board I’m sitting on. The kid is an absolute riot. She’s an entity of her own. And I find I enjoy her presence more than I should.
“Hey, End,” she says calmly, a Red Vine hanging out of the corner of her mouth.
“Miss Luna,” I reply in greeting. She adopts my exact pose. Her brows pinch together as she stares out at the guys working. Apparently, that’s the severity of my face out here as I look after the guys.
A thought suddenly strikes me since I have her sitting here next to me. I shift on the board, turning toward her the slightest bit.
“Hey, you know, since I have you here, I thought I’d pick your brain.”
She grunts, taking a bite of her Red Vine. “Eww. I don’t want you touching my brain.”
A chuckle gets caught in my chest. “No, it means I have questions for you, specifically about your mom, that I’d like you to answer.”
She purses her lips and raises a single brow at me. “What’s in it for me?”
I choke as I try to stifle my laughter. God, this kid is pure comedy.
“That playground you wanted? Consider it done.”
Her eyes narrow as she looks up at me, as if she’s gauging just how serious I am. “Cross your heart?”
“Hope to die.”
Her grin is calculating. “What do you need to know about my mommy?”
“Anything and everything. But let’s start with her favorite flower.”
Luna pauses her chewing. Her brows furrow. “Well, my mommy doesn’t get flowers. So, I don’t think she has a favorite. Her favorite food is Mexican, but she told my nana once that she doesn’t like to eat that too much because it makes her fart a lot.”
A laugh bursts past my lips at that one. God, I can only imagine how red Selene’s face would look right now if she heard her daughter.
“You’re a funny kid. You know that, right?”
Luna shrugs. “It’s a gift.”
“Luna Bella!”
Her eyes widen at the sound of Cece’s yell. It seems she’s been discovered.
“Bye, End!” she hollers over her shoulder, running back inside. Once she’s out of sight, I call out to Griffin and Landon.
“I’m heading downtown. I’ll be back.”
“What the hell for?” Bishop shouts back from somewhere, having heard my conversation.
“Got some flowers to buy!”
“What the fuck, man?”
“Endymion, what brings you in here? This is the last place I would’ve expected to see you.”
I laugh, dipping my head sheepishly. I’m so out of my element here, and it shows. “Yeah, I know. I’m here for some flowers.”
“Okaaaay,” Dalia, the owner of Dalia’s Flowers, says, crossing her arms over her chest, waiting for me to elaborate. “I’m gonna need a bit more to go on here, son. What are the flowers for? A special occasion?”
“Sure. Got a bouquet specifically for courting women?”
I’m only half-joking.
Her eyes widen, and her brows disappear into her hairline. It’s obviously a shock that I, of all people in town, am here buying flowers for someone.
“Who are they for? If you don’t mind me asking.”
“They’re for Gavin’s daughter, actually. Selene Drake.”
“Wow,” she breathes, a wide grin stealing over her features. “I never thought I’d see the day.”
“What?”
“Do you know how long this whole town has been dying for you to pull your head out of your ass and get with Selene? It’s about damn time, son.”
That gives me pause. “The whole town knew about her crush?”
“I think the whole county knew. Everyone except you, it seems. C’mon. We’ll need to cook up something extra special if you plan on winning her over now. You better hope those feelings are still there, or hell, you’ll need a miracle to get her to fall for you.”
“Tell me about it,” I mumble.
I follow Dalia into the back, where she has rows upon rows of flowers, ranging from color and size, in various buckets.
“So, what’s her favorite flower? Let’s start there.”
I have the decency to at least look ashamed. “I don’t know her favorite flower. I was just kind of hoping to surprise her.”
Dalia shakes her head, mumbling under her breath something about me still being foolish even all these years later.
“All right, son. Here’s what we’re going to do,” she says, turning her back on me as she moves through the aisles toward the red roses. “We’ll do a bouquet of red roses with some baby’s breath. You can’t really go wrong there.”
When I walk out of Dalia’s with the bouquet of a dozen red roses, I pause on the street, unsure of what to do now. This whole courting thing is new to me, and it’s a lot harder than I anticipated. I start heading back toward my truck, trying to figure out how I’m going to get the flowers to Selene without looking like a complete idiot. I still haven’t even talked to Gavin. Hell, I don’t even know if he’ll be okay with me trying to court his daughter. I’d bet my money on a hell no.
I guess once I get back to their house to finish work, I can ring the doorbell and give the flowers to her. If Gavin happens to answer the door, I’ll finally talk with him. About my plans. About dating his daughter.
I’m just about to round the front of my truck when I hear it. The laugh is soft and lilting. It’s the kind of laugh that you feel settle in your chest. The kind of laugh you can picture listening to for the rest of your life. It’s one of those laughs that is like fucking music to your ears. It’s the exact reason I turn around, trying to find the source. I’m not even all that surprised when I spot Selene. Her arms are full of grocery bags as she shifts them from arm to arm as she talks with Mr. Jackson, owner of Jackson’s Hardware Store that’s right next to the Grab-N-Go.
What are the fucking odds?
My grip tightens around the bouquet of red roses as I take her in. She’s dressed in another of those loose dresses she had on last night. She’s a tiny little thing. She can’t be over five-two. Her hair is in a loose braid that hangs over her shoulder. Stray hairs frame her gorgeous face, and I have a hard time looking away. She must feel the weight of my gaze. After she says goodbye to Mr. Jackson, she turns around with her brows pulled down in confusion. When our gazes collide, I see the shock register. Her mouth opens and then closes, like that of a gaping fish.
I watch as her gaze drops down to the bouquet in my hands and then back up. A myriad of emotions crosses her face. I swear one of them is even jealousy that I spot.
Closing the distance, I stop just a few feet in front of her, and unable to help myself, I grin. I can feel the gazes of everyone in town. Or maybe it just feels that way now that I know everyone in town knew about her crush on me. I had no idea so many people were rooting for me—rooting for us.
“Selene,” I say by way of greeting. I watch it happen, the way the soft pink tint of embarrassment starts at her chest, slowly creeping up, coloring her neck, until it travels up to her cheeks, flushing her entire face pink. “You look beautiful.”
A crease forms between her brows, and she looks down at herself, then shakes her head as though what I’m saying can’t be true. “No. What? No, I don’t.”
I chuckle, quite enjoying the way I frazzle her. “You have a hard time accepting compliments, don’t you?”
Her mouth pinches. “That’s not true.”
I quirk a brow that clearly says I don’t believe her. I decide to change the subject. “Out doing some shopping?”
She clears her throat, and when she opens her mouth to speak, a croak leaves instead. She starts coughing and banging on her chest as she tries to pull herself together. “Yeah. My dad had nothing in the house to eat. And as much as we’d like to eat out every night, we can’t.”
�
�Let me guess, all he had in the fridge was some Spam, sandwich meat, and pickles?”
Surprise alights her eyes. “Close. It was jelly, not pickles.”
I smirk, shaking my head. It definitely sounds like Gavin. I usually made a point to drop by with some groceries. He’d get mad, but thank me anyway. I’ve been out of town, closing up a contract for the past two weeks, so I didn’t have a chance to stop by before his family showed up.
“That’s probably my fault. I usually take him some groceries when I have time. Work has been a little hectic, and time got away from me.”
Her brows dip, causing the cutest little crease to form between them. She looks down at her feet, then back up at me through her lashes. “You do all that for him?”
“Yeah. I mean, it’s not really a big deal.”
“That is a big deal, Endymion. So, thank you. That can’t be easy. Especially when you have your own life and your own family to worry about.”
I shrug, suddenly uncomfortable with the praise. “He’s like family.”
With her head cocked to the side the slightest bit, Selene regards me with quiet curiosity. Her gaze darts down to the bouquet in my hands, and something passes over her features briefly before I can figure out what it is. She steels herself, adopting a passive expression and a smile that doesn’t quite reach her eyes.
“Those are nice,” she mentions, nodding toward the bouquet.
“You like them?”
“Yeah. I mean, sure. They’re pretty.”
“I actually planned on giving them to you at your house, but here. They’re for you.”
If it’s at all possible for her eyes to get any bigger than they already are, they do. Surprise is written all over her face as she looks from me to the bouquet.
“Wait. What? Those are for me?”
I smirk. “I told you I was going to court you. Figured flowers were the best way to start.”
Something warm enters her eyes. It softens her whole face and gentles her entire demeanor. She sighs, but I can see her fighting her smile. I can tell it’s just itching to spread across her face.
“I told you I can’t date. We shouldn’t date.”
I shrug, thrusting the bouquet toward her. She takes it with caution, staring down at the flowers with wide, disbelieving eyes.
“I guess I’ll have to stop by every day with flowers until you give me a yes, won’t I?”
Her laughter finally breaks free, and it’s so beautiful. It transforms her entire face and takes my fucking breath away.
“You can’t be serious? That’s…that’s insane.”
Shaking my head, I step into her, causing her breath to hitch. “Not insane. That’s courting, babe. And I’m just getting started.”
Unable to help myself, I reach out, tucking the thick strand of hair hanging in her face behind her ear, settling it just above the braid. I haven’t touched her yet, but I can feel the tremor that rolls through her body. She quickly darts her gaze around us, taking in the few people watching what will happen next. Her flush brightens the color of her cheeks, and she traps her bottom lip between her teeth.
I fight my grin. “Need a ride back home? That’s where I’m headed anyway.”
She pauses, looking unsure for a beat, but then shakes her head. She tips her chin toward the parking lot.
“I have my dad’s car. But thanks.”
“See you later, Selene.”
I start walking back toward my truck, but I pause, turning back at the sound of her voice.
“Thank you, Endymion. For the flowers.” The grin that’s on her face is one I want to keep there forever. One I want to bottle up and remember. Because I put it there. And I’ve never seen a more beautiful sight.
As I drive off, I spot her getting into her father’s car, but not before cradling that bouquet to her chest and sniffing the flowers.
I smile the entire way back to her house.
“Where did the flowers come from?” is the first thing I hear when I walk inside the front door. Forget offering to help with these grocery bags. Apparently, the flowers are much more important.
I ignore my mother’s question, and instead, I pretend I don’t hear her at all. I set the bouquet down gently and start putting away the groceries. My ignoring her only gets me so far when I hear the soft, lilting laughter of my daughter echoing off the walls. Her bare feet slap against the hardwood floors the closer she gets.
I stand in front of the fridge with the carton of milk in my hand. “Slippers on now, Luna Drake.”
She skids to an abrupt halt, then I hear her frustrated growl before her feet stomp back the way she came as she looks for her slippers.
Children.
I can feel my mother’s gaze on me as I empty the bags and put everything away. In my peripheral, I spot her lift the roses and sniff. She props one hand on her hip, and it’s the start talking stance.
“So, who are the flowers from?”
“What flowers?” I ask, my voice high-pitched with the lie.
“Don’t give me that, Selene. You know what flowers I’m talking about. Are they from…Endymion?”
I swing to face her, my brows slanted in confusion. An odd sensation brews in my gut. It is one thing to process the idea of End buying me flowers of his own volition, but it’s another entirely to think he only bought them because someone else suggested it. I feel…special today. I’ve never been pursued so thoroughly before, and the last person I would’ve expected the sweet gesture to come from would be Endymion. I spent years hoping a day like this would come, and now that it’s here, I have no idea how to handle it. That light billowing sensation shooting through the center of my chest suddenly dissipates at the thought of someone else putting the idea in his head. “What would make you think that? Did you put him up to this?”
My mom’s grin starts in one corner of her face and quickly spreads all the way across. “So you admit it? He bought the flowers for you?”
I narrow my eyes at the smug look on her face. I stupidly fell into her trap without meaning to. I rack my brain, trying to think of something that’ll get her off my back. The last thing I need is her asking questions that I most certainly don’t have the answers to. I don’t need her getting her hopes up where Endymion and I are concerned because we can’t be together. Not when he doesn’t know the truth.
“Mom.” I turn toward her, my voice a warning. “Don’t do that. Don’t get your hopes up over something that isn’t there.”
“Isn’t there? Honey, were you not at the same dinner I was? I watched you two, the way you looked at each other. There was so much tension in the air the other night—hell, it makes me hot just thinking about it.”
I groan. “Mother. Please, stop it.”
“What is the big deal here, Selene?” She slaps her hands down at her sides in exasperation. “You’ve been in love with Endymion for years. Why are you suddenly pushing him away?”
“Things are different now. I’m not that same hope-filled girl anymore.”
“You’re telling me you feel nothing for him at all? That crush of what, seven-plus years is suddenly gone, just like that?”
“Yes. No. I don’t know, Mom. I haven’t thought about him in years. I never thought I’d see him again. I have Luna now. I can’t—”
“You can’t what?” my mom asks, crossing her arms over her chest. “You can’t be happy? Honey, you’re a great mother. Don’t think you don’t deserve happiness, because you do. What could one date with Endymion hurt?”
It could hurt everything. One date could be my downfall.
“You don’t get it.” I sigh, avoiding her gaze.
“Why do I feel like I’m missing something here? Is there something you want to share?”
My heart lurches. I keep my gaze fixed out the kitchen window, working up the courage to say what I should’ve said six years ago. This is my chance. I know I should come clean now. Maybe my mother can help me figure out the next steps. But when I open my mouth to reply
, nothing comes out.
“Are those your flowers, Mommy?” Luna yells, as she runs into the kitchen, startling both of us. I snap my mouth shut. I can’t tell my mother now, not with little ears here. Shifting, I plaster a smile on my face for my daughter’s sake.
“Yes, they are.”
She picks them up off the counter and sniffs. Luna pulls a face, jerking her head back. “They stink.”
I laugh. “That’s just the smell of roses, honey. Some people like it.”
She shrugs and spins on her heels with the bouquet still in her hand. My brows pull down when I see where she’s heading. I break into a quick run after her.
“Luna, we already told you, you can’t go back there right now. They’re working.”
Ignoring me, my daughter throws open the back door and waves down Endymion, who’s talking to my father and a few of his buddies he works with.
“End!” Luna yells loud enough to gain the attention of every person in our neighborhood. “My mommy loves them!” She waves the bouquet around recklessly. I shift my gaze between her and End, who’s staring at her with a smirk on his face. I can practically hear him chuckling under his breath even from here. She gives him a thumbs-up, and my gaze narrows as the pieces suddenly click. So it wasn’t my mother’s idea. It was hers?
I glance at my dad, who’s watching the entire scene unfold with a blank expression on his face. I can’t tell what he’s thinking. How does he feel about End, the man he’s grown close with over the past few years, giving his daughter flowers? If it bothers him, he’s good at hiding it.
End says something to my dad, but he’s too far away to make out whatever it is, then he’s heading toward us, dodging his men who are working. My heart kickstarts in my chest. As if someone attached spark plugs to the organ, it pounds to life, beating erratically as he closes the distance. There’s sweat glimmering on his forehead, and his T-shirt clings to his skin in the best of ways, showcasing the defined muscles hidden beneath. I swallow hard, trying to avert my gaze.
“Hey, kid,” he says, smiling down at Luna.
Hearing him call her “kid” does strange things to me. The effects of it have my stomach turning sharply while the steel drums pound in my chest.
