“Long distance is hard. And Noah’s never wanted any kind of relationship before,” Callie continued.
“So what? He wants one now, and when Noah decides he’s doing something, he doesn’t hold back. Remember that summer he thought frosted tips were cool?”
Callie barked out a laugh. “Oh, God, I almost forgot about that. To be fair, frosted tips were cool back then.”
Liv shot her a skeptical look. “For a hot second. The point is, Noah goes all in once he’s made up his mind to do something. And he’s decided he’s doing you… Shit. Not like that. I mean, maybe like that? I think I’ve had too much to drink,” Liv groaned, dissolving into giggles.
“What I think Liv is trying to say is, Noah might be new to committing to relationships, but he’s not new to committing to the things he cares about, including questionable hair styles, apparently. And he very clearly cares about you,” Min clarified.
Callie squeezed Min’s hand. It wasn’t hard to see why Liam had fallen for Min, or how she’d so easily become a part of their extended family.
“Should we ask the cards?” Liv asked.
As much as Callie wanted to refuse, she knew she’d feel better after a reading.Unless they say something you don’t want to know.She dug her deck out of her bag and began to shuffle, letting the repetitive motion settle her stomach, and focused her thoughts on Noah. Her eyes drifted closed as she shuffled, an image of him coming to mind, mischief and heat in his eyes as he’d climbed into the shower after her that morning. She flipped the first card.
Ace of wands.
Liv stifled a laugh. “That’s clearly a penis, right?”
Callie grinned, seeing the familiar image of a single wooden staff through her friend’s eyes. It was the most phallic card in the deck. “In some interpretations it signifies sex. But in others it’s about new beginnings and creativity.”
She flipped the second card, frowning at the image of the blindfolded woman: two of swords.
“Itisa kinky sex thing!” Liv exclaimed triumphantly, her finger stabbing at the card. “Swords crossing!”
“That’s your brother you’re talking about,” Min reminded her.
“It’s not a sex thing.” Callie’s serious tone seemed to calm Min and Liv’s laughter. “It’s a stalemate. Confusion and indecision.”
“Well, that makes sense. You’re confused,” Min said, but even Callie could tell that Min didn’t really believe her own reassurance.
“One more,” Liv said, urging Callie to flip the final card.
The Tower. Callie drew in a sharp breath and Min winced at the picture of a crumbling turret, people plunging from it into a lightning storm.
“Now hold on,” Liv said, sounding more sober than she had all morning. “I’ve gotten this one before and you said it’s not always bad. Something about big changes, right?”
Callie forced herself to breathe. “That’s true. The Tower means your life is going to change dramatically, but it doesn’t indicate whether that change is good or bad.”
“Okay,” Min said, ever the peacemaker. “So, you’re having lots of sex—kinky or otherwise—and now you’re confused, and your life is going to change. That’s not a terrible reading.”
“Not a great one either,” Callie said.
“I think it is,” Liv insisted. “This doesn’t tell you anything you didn’t already know. Just that there are big decisions to be made.”
Callie gathered the cards, securing them with their rubber band and returning them to her bag. She knew her friends were right; there was nothing inherently negative about the reading. But she couldn’t help the niggling suspicion that the big decisions about to change her life weren’t going to be hers to make.
Chapter 24
Liv was a beautiful bride, as Callie had known she would be. It was true what people said: happiness could make a woman glow. Callie wondered if she was glowing, too, when she locked eyes with Noah across the aisle at the ceremony. He was always handsome, but his green tie made his eyes seem even more verdant than usual. His hair had been combed back so not a strand was out of place. She itched to run her fingers through it and muss him up just a bit. When he looked at her, his gaze running appreciatively over the length of the slinky emerald bridesmaid dress clinging to her curves, she thought she might float away from the sheer joy of it.
She wasn’t sure when it had stopped being pretend, but somewhere along the way, their lie had become the truth. It was a heady thing to finally have the affection of the one person she’d always wanted, and to realize it was so much more than she could have imagined. She’d loved Noah her whole life, but she’d had no idea how beinginlovewith him would color everything around her. And she was nearly certain he loved her, too. She’d even thought for a moment that morning that he might say so.
Still, as she watched him bow his head, caught the purse of his lips as he fought not to cry while Pattie croonedNot While I’m Aroundto the assembled guests—it had been Liv and Noah’s father’s favorite song—she couldn’t help but think of the Tower. Sondheim’s lyrics rang out across the lush lawn of The Barclay and Callie wondered when the lightning would strike.
That question niggled at the back of her mind as she took Noah’s arm and processed back down the aisle at the end of the ceremony. They reached the small room of The Barclay where the bridal party was assembling before the reception, and Callie pulled him into her arms.
“I’ve got you,” she murmured against his temple, threading her fingers through his hair, as much to comfort him as to reassure herself. She had him…but could she keep him?
