Dawn breaks, as I lay awake, watching Ember sleep. I’ve been sitting here playing with her gorgeous hair for hours, listening to her breathe as her soft cheek presses against my chest.
“Mmm.” She shifts slightly, nuzzling her chin closer to mine. Her lips seek mine before she opens her eyes, and I happily kiss her back.
“Morning, Beautiful,” I speak onto her lips.
She opens her eyes. “I love you,” she whispers.
“I love you, too.”
“Don’t go anywhere.” She tightens her grip around my waist.
“This is my house,” I chuckle, “where would I go?”
Ember yawns before snuggling back down on my chest. “I mean ever.”
She falls back asleep and I’m left in the most perfect silence in existence.
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Ember
“I wish you didn’t have to go today,” Bo says, nuzzling into my neck while I pour coffee.
“Mmm, I know, but, I only have two days of work this week before taking the rest of the week to help Monica’s mom prepare for the wedding on Saturday. Man, I can’t believe it’s already here.” I turn and give him a quick kiss before sitting at the table with my coffee.
Bo sits across from me with a suddenly serious look on his face.
“Adrian called me.”
I clear my throat. “Yeah? When?”
“A few days after Rae’s funeral. He expressed his condolences, and then made a sizable donation to DROP.”
“That was nice of him. I haven’t heard from him since we broke up.”
“Seriously?” Bo’s eyebrows shoot up.
“Seriously.”
“He asked how you were doing when he called. He said he knew you and Rae were close—” Bo struggles through the sentence. This is the most we’ve talked about Rae since she died.
“Mmhmm.” I drink down some of the warm coffee.
“Do you want to talk about what happened between the two of you?” He sits back and crosses his arms with a cautious grin on his face.
“Eh, I happened. He happened. He’s not a bad guy, we were just all wrong for each other.” I don’t need to force my indifferent tone. Adrian made it clear he didn’t want me in his life in any capacity when I left his apartment three months ago. My heart made it clear long before that. Out I’ve stayed. “And,” I add, “you know...you.”
A full smile takes over his face. “Fair enough.”
“Can I ask what happened with you and Ainsley? Apart from the night of the concert...I still don’t want to know about that.”
Bo rolls his eyes and gives me a heavy sigh. “Nothing of consequence happened with Ainsley, November. She was there ...” He shrugs.
“Fair enough.” I mock with a smile.
“And,” he teases, “you.”
“You’re good, Cavanaugh.”
“Also, your parents sent me a really nice card.” He smiles.
I smile. “They didn’t tell me that.”
Bo leans forward and places his elbows on the table. “When’s the last time you talked to them?”
I shrug. “A couple weeks, I guess? They’re writing songs for their album, recording, you know ...”
“Call your parents, November.” His eyes are sad. I nod.
“I will.”
I stand and walk over to Bo, who suddenly looks grey. Cautiously placing one hand on his shoulder, I breathe a sigh of relief when he leans into it.
“You OK?” I ask softly.
“Yeah,” he sighs, “I just...sometimes I get these moments where I feel it all at once, you know? My parents...Rae...everything. Sorry—”
“Don’t apologize, Bo. Rae just died,” I choke up as I continue, “it’s going to take a lot of time.”
“She loved the shit out of you, November.”
“I know,” I smile, “I loved the shit out of her, too.”
“Nice cuff, by the way,” he teases, rubbing the leather around my wrist.
“Hey, your drunk ass left it at my place, finder’s keepers. Do you want it back?”
“No. Rae got it for me for my birthday a few years ago. She’d love that you’re wearing it.”
Jesus.
“Are you sure?” I ask, suddenly uncomfortable.
Bo turns, kisses my wrist, and looks up at me with his absurdly beautiful blues.
“I’m sure.”
A few minutes later I’m standing at my car, delaying leaving. Last night and this morning were wonderful—everything I always wanted for Bo and me. Now, I have to slip back into real life and hope this wasn’t a fluke.
“Hey, dream girl.” He snaps his fingers to pull me away from my daydream. I smile, thinking about him calling me that when we’d only known each other for a few days. I was lost in a daydream then, too.
“Sorry, just a busy week ahead. Hey,” I bite my lower lip and smile, “do you wanna be my plus one for Josh and Mon’s wedding?”
Bo reaches for my waist and pulls me roughly to his body, laughing.
“I’ll be your plus one for a hell of a lot more than Josh and Monica’s wedding, November.”
*
The phone rings six times while I twist the cuff around my wrist.
Damn landlines without answering machines ...
“Blue Seed Studios, this is Willow.”
Of course it is.
“Hi, this is November Harris, I’m wondering if you’ve seen my—”
“November Blue?”
“Um, yes?” Isn’t it funny, when someone sounds overly enthusiastic you start to question yourself?
“Willow. Willow Shaw!”