AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I’m g-good, firefly.”
I raised an eyebrow. He knocked his head gently against mine. “Good now.”
“Well, we can go climb in the nest and relax as soon as we’re home.”
“Actually, depending on how you feel, there might be something else,” Ash said from the driver’s seat.
“Oh?”
“You’ll see.”
Instead of groaning and rolling my eyes, I leaned on Jace’s shoulder. Another promise kept. Their surprises were always good ones. No matter what.
My chest lit up with their pleasure when I didn’t protest, along with more than a little pride.
I glanced toward Asher’s bike when we pulled into the garage. It sat under a sheet, much like the sculpture had been. The bike itself was fixed, but Ash hadn’t been riding. Not really. The one time he’d taken the bike out, he’d come back and picked me up from my chair in the dining room and carried me straight to his room.
He didn’t let me out for hours, the two of us losing ourselves in the other.
“Living room, little one.”
“Let me change first.”
I loved the dress, but I wasn’t going to wear it all day. I wanted real comfort, and once I had it, I flopped on the couch in our cozy living room, which had been Gabriel’s office. Mango found me a second later, jumping up to lie on my chest and cuddle under my chin.
“Hey, buddy.” He was so big now, but no less adorable. We still found him on top of the fridge most days.
“Here you go,” Jace said, putting a box in my lap and scooping Mango off me. It looked like a garment box, but no brand labels.
“I told you all I have enough lingerie. You never let me keep it on long enough anyway.”
Gabriel chuckled. “It’s not lingerie, little one.”
Flipping open the lid, I dug through the tissue paper until my hands hit leather. Soft, thick, black leather. I pulled it out and stared at it. A leather jacket.
My gaze flicked to Ash, and he nodded once. This was the jacket he wanted to buy me all that time ago. Slowly, I turned it over, and my eyes went wide.
The giant embroidered patch on the back was custom, and I’d recognize the art anywhere. It was Roman’s, a mixture and blend of so many things my eyes didn’t stop dancing. A stack of blueberry pancakes covered in syrup. A pair of pointe shoes lit up by a spotlight. Mango’s face hidden under what looked like my bedroom blanket. Purple lilies. The SCB logo. All set against a sunset backdrop.
“You made this for me?”
“I told you I wanted to get you one.”
My heart ached. He said that back when he rode every day and wanted to take me places out of the city. Now, he barely rode.
Ash came and knelt in front of me, his hands on my knees. Slowly, he took my hands. He felt what I did. “It’s been more than a year since…” he swallowed. “The accident. And I haven’t been to see him.”
Will. His grave in Concordia.
“I wondered if you would ride with me?” Such vulnerability shone through his eyes. It made me ache.
I slipped off the couch, meeting him on my knees and kissing him, tears coming out of nowhere. “Of course I will. Of course I will.”
“Thank you. And after, I’m finally taking you to see those flowers.”
Roman tapped his shoulder. “One more thing.”
I looked and started laughing. A helmet, this one purple and glittering. “Is that mine?”
