Chapter 27 Amber
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
Amber
Norah is massive. She waddles behind the counter, one hand pressed into her lower back, the other supporting the shelf of her belly. She looks ready to pop, like the baby is just waiting for the right moment to make a break for it.
“I got it,” I say, reaching up to grab a ceramic pot from the top shelf before she strains herself.
“Thank you,” she huffs, accepting the planter with a grunt. “I feel like a whale.”
She settles onto the stool behind the register, resting her elbows on the high surface. She watches me strip thorns from a bunch of green stems, her eyes observant. I took time off from the restaurant to sit with her today.
The flower shop is being renovated and I wanted to be here for that.
“You’re glowing,” she announces.
My hand pauses on a stem. Two weeks. It’s been fourteen days since the dinner at the warehouse. Fourteen days of texts that make my stomach flip, of stolen kisses in doorways, and of nights that end in tangled sheets.
Fallon took me to the coast to watch the storm roll in. We had sex in the back of his truck while the rain hammered the roof, fast and frantic.
Eli baked me chocolate croissants at three in the morning after I spent the night at the warehouse, feeding me pieces while he stirred batter.
And Knox... Knox has this way of cornering me in the storeroom between deliveries, lifting my chin to kiss me until I can’t breathe, before adjusting his glasses and going back to work like nothing happened.
The sex has been incredible. Different with each of them, but mind-blowing across the board. I feel desirable. I feel seen. For the first time in my life, I feel like the main character instead of a prop.
I smile, focusing back on the thorns. “I’m just happy to be back at work.”
“It’s more than that,” Norah says. She knows me too well; she can spot a deflection from a mile away. “Is there anything you’d like to tell me?”
I set the shears down. I look at my sister-in-law, who has become one of my closest friends. If I can’t trust her, I can’t trust anyone.
“There might be something,” I admit.
Her grin widens, splitting her face. “I knew it. Wren and I were actually talking about you yesterday. She said you seem lighter. Like a heavy coat you’ve been wearing for years has finally slipped off. We couldn’t figure out exactly why, but we had our theories.”
“Your theories correct?”
“I suspected.” She reaches out and squeezes my hand, her thumb rubbing over my knuckles. “So, who is the lucky guy?”
“That’s the thing,” I say, my voice dropping to a whisper. I glance at the front door to make sure no customers are coming in. “It’s not just one guy.”
Her eyebrows shoot up toward her hairline. “Oh?”
“It’s three,” I breathe out. “It’s Fallon. And Eli. And Knox.”
“Pack,” she says, the word soft on her tongue. “Wow.”
“Do you think I’m rushing into this?” I ask, the fear that always lives in my gut twisting tight. “Because it feels fast. It feels intense. And I have Maisie to think about.”
“Amber,” she says, her tone turning serious, dropping the playful teasing.
“You spent years with a man who made you feel small. You raised a daughter mostly alone while dealing with trauma that would break most people. If three men want to treat you like a queen, and you want to let them? You aren’t rushing.
You’re finally catching up to the happiness you deserve. ”
Her words hit me in the chest, pushing the air out of my lungs. I blink rapidly, feeling the sudden sting of tears.
“Thanks, Norah.”
“I mean it,” she says firmly. “Now, tell me everything. But wait until I have more tea. I need fuel for this kind of gossip.”
Before she can move to brew a fresh cup, the bell above the door jingles.
I look out the display window. Jude’s truck is parked at the curb. The back door flies open and Maisie explodes out of the back seat, her backpack bouncing against her spine.
“Mommy! Mommy!”
She tears into the shop, her red glasses sliding down her nose. She looks manic, vibrating with an energy that makes the air around her buzz.
“Hey, bug!” I crouch down as she crashes into my arms. “What’s going on?”
“The debate is back!” she shouts, throwing her arms around my neck. “The snow melted enough! The principal said it’s on for next week! Next week!”
“That’s amazing news!” I squeeze her tight, breathing in her scent of snow and grape jelly. “I’m so proud of you. I know how hard you worked.”
“I have to practice my speech, though. I forgot some of it.” She pulls back, her eyes wide and pleading. “Can you come watch? Please say you’ll come. I need you there.”
“I wouldn’t miss it,” I promise, smoothing her wild curls. “I’ll be there in the front row. I’ll even bring a sign.”
“Yay!” She giggles. “Good.” She bites her lip, looking suddenly shy.
“What is it, sweetie?”
“Can I ask you something?”
“Anything.”
“Is Fallon mad at me?”
I blink, confused. “Fallon?” She hasn’t seen him since the movie date we had that day, so her bringing him up is a huge surprise to me.
“Yes. He likes Harry Potter like me. And… I don’t know. You brought me lemon tarts from Eli but nothing from Fallon. And he’s the one I liked the most. So I thought maybe I did something and made him mad.”
I crouch down to her level. “No. Fallon isn’t mad at you. In fact, he asks about you a lot.”
“He does?”
I nod. The guys do ask about my daughter a lot, but I made it clear to them that I want to take things slow until I’ve had a conversation with my brother. I hadn’t realized the impact that would have on my daughter.
“Fallon and all my friends are very fond of you. Why wouldn’t they be? You’re smart and very kind. And you always think of everyone.”
She smiles at that. I’m still getting used to the gaps in her teeth. She’s so fucking adorable.
“Then can they come to the debate?”
“Absolutely, bug. They’d love that.”
“All of them, even Fallon. I want to talk to him about death eaters.”
Jude walks in behind her, shaking snow off his coat. Ryker is with him, carrying a box of what looks like firewood.
“Talk to who?” Jude asks, raising an eyebrow at Maisie.
“Fallon,” Maisie supplies unhelpfully.
“Fallon?” Jude looks at me. “From your workplace?”
“Yeah,” I say, standing up. My heart kicks a little. I haven’t told Jude about the change in my relationship status. I haven’t told him anything at all.
“He’s funny,” Maisie insists, turning to Jude. “He likes watching Harry Potter just like me.”
Ryker laughs, setting the wood down near the potting bench. “He has a soft spot, that one. I’ve seen it.”
“Can they come?” Maisie asks again, looking between Jude and me with puppy eyes. “Please? It would make me less nervous. And they can clap loud.”
Jude glances at me. There’s no judgment in his eyes, just a question. He’s leaving this up to me.
“If they want to come, and they can get the time off, they can come,” I say slowly. “I’ll ask them.”
“Yes!” Maisie cheers. She spins around and runs to Ryker, grabbing his hand to drag him toward the display of purple tulips. “Look, Ryker! Purple ones! I love purple ones!”
Norah watches them go, then steps closer to me. She lowers her voice. “I think that’s a good decision. Including them. Letting Maisie see you... happy. Integrating them.”
“I just hope Jude doesn’t mind,” I whisper, watching my brother laugh at something Maisie says about purple flowers.
“Jude thinks what I tell him to think,” Norah says with a conspiratorial wink. “Besides, I know he’s happy for you. He sees the difference too. You aren’t just surviving anymore, Amber. You’re living.”
“Living,” I repeat. The word feels strange on my tongue, heavy and sweet at the same time.
“And,” she adds, nudging my arm with her elbow, “won’t it be great to have them all hang out with you and Maisie before your birthday?”
I freeze. My hands go still on the counter. The world tilts.
“My what?”
“Your birthday,” she says, giving me a look. “It’s in two weeks. Did you seriously forget?”
I did. I completely forgot. I haven’t celebrated my birthday in a long time. The day usually passes like any other, with maybe a cupcake if I remember to buy one for Maisie to eat.
“I don’t really do birthdays,” I say with a shrug, trying to dismiss the sudden hollow feeling in my chest. “It’s just a day.”
Norah places a hand on her massive belly. “Well, maybe it’s about time that changes. You have people now who want to spoil you. Let them.”
I look at Jude, Ryker, and Maisie. Then I think of Knox in his office, Fallon, and Eli.
Maybe she’s right. Maybe it’s time for a lot of things to change.