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“Does what you have to do have anything to do with my brother?” I teased.
“Mr. Married With Two Kids? Absolutely not,” she hummed.
My eyebrows dipped in confusion. “What?”
“Nothing,” Nyx laughed, gingerly grabbing my arm. “Don’t even pay her any mind. What did you bring me?”
Wrapping an arm around her shoulders, I led her outside. “It’s nothing crazy, so don’t get too excited,” I warned. “But showing up empty-handed felt like the wrong move to make, so…” I trailed off while unlocking the passenger door of my car. Reaching inside, I pulled out the rose arrangement I’d made for her earlier. It was a mix of the emerald roses that were one of our more expensive items, white roses, baby’s breath, and greenery I couldn’t name but knew it’d be a good addition to the arrangement.
“Jamie,” she exhaled shakily as I handed them to her. “They’re beautiful.”
“Appreciate it. I stopped by the nursery earlier to put them together and got cussed out by my florist for doing so. She hates when anything is out of order.”
“Wait,” Nyx wrinkled her nose. “You arranged these yourself?”
The disbelief on her face made me laugh. “Yeah. I landscape, remember? Sometimes that calls for the knowledge of flowers. And my grandmother was a florist before she passed, so I learned a thing or two from her.”
“You’re out here arranging flowers, and your ex let a fuckin’ unicorn like you go?”
I was partially ashamed to admit that I’d never done anything like that for Kinsley. I’d purchased flowers for her, sure. But never had I arranged any myself. Part of me felt bad, but another part of me accepted that Nyx sparked inspiration in the creative in me. She challenged me to tap into the side I kept locked away, and that was okay.
At least, that’s what I kept telling myself.
“I’m proud of you, Nyx,” I changed the subject to avoid acknowledging her question. “You did amazing tonight. I hope it motivates you to keep going.”
“It did,” she grinned. “As much as I hate to admit it, you, Rae, and my brother are right. I let a shitty situation steal the joy I typically found in the things I loved, and I can’t continue to wallow in the past and allow that. It’s time to get back to me.”
“Yes, it is.”
“What’s up, Nyx,” someone called while walking past us. “You did your thing tonight, Mamas.”
Suddenly, it was as though someone threw a cold bucket of ice water over her as her earlier giddiness deflated, and she retreated back into her shell.
“Hey,” she replied shortly, dropping her eyes to the ground. “Thank you.”
“You good?” I inquired, thoroughly concerned.
“I’m fine.”
“Nyx—”
“Jamie, I’m good.”
The fact that she couldn’t make eye contact said otherwise, but I knew enough about Nyx to not press her further.
“Alright, then. Well,” I glanced at my watch. “It’s getting late, and I don’t want you out alone later than you need to be.”
“James Luck,” she smiled, but I could tell something was still off. “Are you trying to get rid of me?”
“Quite the opposite, Miss Love. I’d rather spend more time with you. I’m just trying to be respectful. You know, since it’s pushing up on booty call hours and whatnot.”
“Hmm,” her index finger tapped her chin. “You’re right. We wouldn’t want you tarnishing my reputation. But I think I’d be willing to take the risk under one condition.”
One of my eyebrows rose. “And what’s that?”
When she released a short bout of laughter similar to that of an evil villain, I knew immediately I was likely in for foolishness I’d only experience at the hands of Nyx Love.
Chapter Seventeen
