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“I kind of feel sorry for Annette,” I confess. “Imagine being so afraid of change that any little shift in the wind makes you panic to the point of igniting a town-wide hysteria.”
Tessa flashes me a rueful smile. “Mm-hmm. And you’re so wise and unafraid of change now, huh?”
“Unafraid? No. Prepared to accept that things are going to change whether I want them to or not? Yes. Life won’t stand still for anyone. I think when I saw the blanchefleur transform into this impressive, full flower I just realized ... I didn’t want to settle for good enough, or happy enough, or existing as a wilted flower in a plain pot. I want to bloom, and the only way I can do that is to do the thing my heart wants to do but is too afraid.”
Tessa gives me a dubious look I probably deserve. My sudden change of heart must be causing her whiplash. But it feels right. It feels like living.
“How did Lydia take the news that you withdrew your application from school?”
I inhale. “She was disappointed, but she gets it. I actually think she’s talked Rosalie into applying.”
“Rosalie? I-take-advantage-of-my-kind-lonely-coworkers Rosalie? That one?”
“People can change.”
Tessa narrows her eyes. “Are you sure Maeve didn’t use some mind-control trick on you? Is that what’s really behind this decision to move to LA?”
“First of all, no. Second of all, I’m not moving there. I just want to tell Will how I feel. Face to face.” A familiar alarm begins to wail, urging caution. It’s saying that if I fly too high, risk too much, I’ll fall and lose it all. Instead of surrendering to the noise, I touch the locket around my throat and take a breath. “We don’t always get a second chance.”
“Eh. I’m not convinced. Mind control is cooler,” Tessa says, bringing my thoughts back to the present.
“I’ll be sure to pass that message on to Maeve.” If I ever see her again, that is. She doesn’t seem like the kind of woman to double back, and it’s a big world out there—a lot of adventure to find if you choose to seek it.
Annette makes a frustrated sound that lifts above the party din. Tessa and I turn and watch her storm away from the PTA soccer moms, who surrounded her while Tessa and I were talking.
When my sister turns back to me, a sly smile is ghosting her lips. “While you’re passing on messages to Maeve, maybe you can ask her who spread a rumor to the soccer moms about what a great kisser Will Reynard is. It somehow got back to Natalie, and ... let’s just say Annette seems to be taking that as well as she’s taking the coffee shop news.”
My cheeks hurt from suppressing my smile, but I’m saved from answering.
The band kicks off a fast-paced song. Tessa glances over her shoulder and beams as Noah crooks his finger, summoning her to the dance floor. “I’ll be right back.”
“Go. Dance. Enjoy.”
She hoots and shimmies onto the dance floor. She pauses and peeks over her shoulder. “Oh, there’s a surprise for you on the roof-deck. A thank-you.”
I watch her and Noah dance through another song before I decide that what I need is not a new drink, but some air.
I head toward the roof-deck—the only place I’m guaranteed to be alone.
I’m not alone. The door slams closed behind me, and a man spins around.
He grins that familiar grin, and my heart backflips and somersaults and goes through a series of moves that haven’t even been named yet.
I blink a few thousand times to be sure I’m seeing straight. The white button-down makes his golden-brown skin glow, and he’s clean shaven. Usually I’m a sucker for stubble, but the hard cut of his jawline isn’t terrible to look at. “Will?”
Thunder rumbles in the distance. A flash of lightning on the horizon.
“I had a feeling I’d catch you up here. Although ...” He makes a show of looking at my empty hands. “No wine? At least when I interrupted your quiet time, I brought wine.” The familiar deep voice sends a thousand chills down my spine.
“The finest bottle of twist-off red wine blend you can find on this side of the Atlantic coast, if I remember correctly,” I say, suddenly standing within inches of him. As if I floated.
He closes the distance. “You do remember correctly.”
“What are you doing here?” My hand reaches to touch his tie. It’s soft and real. He’s here.
Will trails a finger down my bare arm. “You look great.”
“Tessa’s dress. She’s always squeezing me into something two sizes too small.”
