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Ross took one of her hands, pulling her toward him and kissed Mia on the lips as he gently swayed the baby in his arms. “You can work some of your magic over here now.”
“I gave you a baby. That should be magic enough.” But she leaned into him, and Luna had an inkling this was the beginning of things getting sappy and so she snuck onto the sales floor.
She was happy for them, but she didn’t need to get sticky, especially when Luna was still fairly miserable and missed Sam. She hadn’t gotten a new note from him in a couple weeks and something about that made her heart drop into the depths of her stomach. Maybe she could reach out to both Tessa and him. So far, being brave was paying off for her and these days she felt strong enough to take the chance.
On the shop floor, Aanya was helping a customer, but there was another older woman perusing the glass cabinets. Luna approached her. “Is there something I can help you with?”
Gray eyes lifted to hers and then glittered. “I can see why he likes you. You’re very pretty.”
Her expression shifted to befuddlement. “I’m sorry?”
“You’re Luna, right?”
“Yeah.”
The woman gave a warm smile. “I’m Mattie Sunderland. I’m Sam’s mom.”
Luna had a moment of panic. She didn’t want to mess up this opportunity. She should compliment the other woman’s purse. Or her shoes. But she didn’t like either one. Luna decided to go with something she did find to be true. “You both have the same smile. It’s really nice.” This must have been the correct answer because the woman’s smile grew larger.
“Are you just browsing or are you looking for anything in particular? My cousin makes all the jewelry in our shop.”
“I’m actually here to see you.”
“Me?” Luna said for the second time that afternoon.
“Sam said you wanted to meet me and, of course, I couldn’t wait to see what you were like for myself.”
Over Mattie’s shoulder, Luna spotted Sam walking past the shop, who did a quick glance before it turned into a double take. He jerked to a halt. He walked through the door, holding his motorcycle helmet in one hand and a coffee in the other.
“Mom, you told me you wanted a coffee, but I turned around and you were g—” As soon as he made eye contact with Luna, everything stopped.
Sam was very much the same as he had always been. He was still second-hand Levi’s, but the River Cats hat was missing. He’d gotten a decent haircut and shaved. Her knees weakened and she had to grab the end of the cabinet to keep standing.
His mom pried the coffee from his hand. “You said you were going to talk to her, Sammy. I was just making sure it actually happened this time.”
“You were coming for me?”
He swallowed and nodded. “Is there someplace we can talk?”
She tipped her head in the direction of her office and, in a miracle, was able to make her way on her own two legs. Sam shut the door behind him. Neither one said anything for a moment.
Luna pushed her courage forward. “I’m really trying to be less of a selfish—”
But she wasn’t able to release another word because, in a single graceful motion, Sam dropped the motorcycle helmet on the desk and pulled her into his arms, wrapping her in a tight hug. “I’m so sorry, Lu. I’m sorry I hurt you.”
“You were just worried about your mom. I get it.” Tears came to her eyes, she couldn’t help it.
“Listen to me. What I said that night didn’t really have anything to do with you. You didn’t do anything wrong. It’s about me and my issues that I need to work through. Getting to be with you had always felt like a dream but once things started getting serious, I freaked out.”
“You don’t want anything serious?”
Sam held her face between his hands. “No, I’m saying that I’m currently getting help and putting in the work so I can have something serious with you. I love you.”
She sucked in a breath, could hardly believe this was all real. “You love me?”
“Yeah.” He smiled, using his thumb to wipe a tear from her cheek. “If you can see potential in a crap-shack apartment, maybe you can see potential in a crap-shack guy.”
“Ask me what I want?” she whispered.
