NOMI
that’s… now?
JULIAN
Yes.
NOMI
You’re freaking out, aren’t you.
JULIAN
Yes.
NOMI
Sure. Come on over.
JULIAN
Great. I’m already here.
NOMI
lol, ok. Come on in.
I knock on her door, willing myself not to pace. As soon as it opens, I thrust the bouquet toward her, startling her back.
She blinks at the fulsome bunch of pale pink peonies, then reaches for them. “You’re getting better at this.”
“Do you like them?” I study her reaction. She leans reverently over the blooms, breathing them in.
“What do you think?” She gives me that half smile I associate with her teasing.
“I think so.” I take a small step forward. “I hope so.”
The half smile stretches into something genuine that temporarily interrupts the rhythm of my heart. “You’ve always been a quick study. Let me put these in water.”
I follow her to the kitchen but pause before her bedroom’s open door. I can’tbelievethat, a month ago, Nomi had me pinned beneath her on that bed, and the next day I declared war on her.
I may have been top of my class at Yale, but I’ve always been a dumbass when it comes to Nomi Wyeth.
“Okay.” Nomi joins me in the hallway. “What now?”
“How are you at buying presents?”
Nomi flutters her eyelashes. “Amazing.”
Twenty minutes later, we’re standing in the toy store’s dangerous vehicle aisle.
“Gisella says Nico wants a scooter, though.” Nomi rests her hand on the most tricked out scooter in the store. “Walk me through the problem again?”
“Do you know how many ER visits are children flung from ‘recreational vehicles’? I’m trying to give him a present, not a compound fracture.”
“Getting hurt is a part of life—you can’t protect a child by not allowing them to live. Besides, this scooter’s super stable—it has three wheels! We’re obviously buying him safety gear, too.”
“Any closing arguments?” I fold my arms.
