Chapter 23 #2
At eleven, the bell rings and Toby arrives.
He has a stack of small flat boxes balanced on one arm, his curly black hair hidden under a green beanie, a coffee cup clutched in his free hand.
He starts talking the second he gets through the door.
“Liana, I am so sorry I have not been in for a while, my mother had a thing—her sister’s gallbladder, it was a whole situation, and also I have to talk to you about the foxglove because I think it was already dying when I got here so it is not technically my fault, and also these boxes came from the wholesale supplier and I didn’t open them but I think they’re the new vases you ordered and… ”
He stops dead.
His eyes have landed on Julian.
Julian is leaning against the register with one elbow, a small bunch of sweet peas held loosely in his fingers, grinning at Toby like he is having the absolute best morning of his life. His hip is touching mine behind the counter. Deliberately touching.
Toby’s eyes get very wide. His coffee cup tips slightly in his hand. He looks at Julian. He looks at me. He looks at Julian again. He looks at the way Julian’s hip is pressed against mine. He swallows. His Adam’s apple bobs.
“Is that…?” His voice cracks. He clears his throat. “Is that your new boyfriend?”
“Yes,” I say.
Julian’s whole face lights up. The dimple appears deep and sudden. He sets down the sweet peas. Slides his arm around my waist from behind and pulls me firmly against his side, his chest warm against my shoulder.
“I’m the new boyfriend, yes,” he tells Toby, his voice warm and easy. “Delighted to meet you at last. Liana has told me that you are the coolest delivery guy in the city, and based on the way you’re currently balancing three boxes and a coffee without spilling anything, I believe her.”
Toby, bless him, turns scarlet. The color starts at his collar and climbs all the way to his hairline in about three seconds flat. He shoves the boxes at me without looking up.
“Delivery,” he mutters. “From the supplier. I have to go. I have—class. Typography. It’s very important. Bye.”
He bolts. The bell over the door jangles wildly as he flees.
Julian, still pressed against my side, laughs into my hair. His breath is warm against my ear. “You are going to give that boy a heart attack,” he murmurs.
“You made it worse,” I tell him.
“Yes,” he says, “and I am going to make it worse every single day if you’ll let me.”
I can’t stop smiling for the next two hours.
The afternoon blurs. Customers come and go. Every time there’s a break, Julian sneaks in a kiss or tries to fondle my ass behind the counter.
I catch him watching me three different times when he thinks I’m not looking. Each time, the look on his face is soft, focused. It makes my stomach flip so hard I have to steady myself against the counter.
By five, we’ve had a steady, busy day. The cash drawer is full. The chalkboard is half-erased. My back aches in that good, satisfied way that means I’ve done real work.
I flip the sign on the door from OPEN to CLOSED. Turn to reach for the broom in the corner. The bell over the door rings before my fingers close around the handle.
Ezra, Cole, and August come through the door together.
I stop breathing.
They are all in suits. Tailored, immaculate, fresh-from-the-barber suits.
Ezra in charcoal, the fabric so dark it almost looks liquid under the shop lights.
August in soft cream, his sandy hair combed back, his tortoiseshell glasses catching the light.
Cole in dark navy, his jaw clean-shaven for once, the scar along his neck standing pale against his skin.
White shirts. Polished shoes. Haircuts within the last twenty-four hours.
I stare at them.
Julian is grinning beside me like a man who has known something all day that I have not. His arm is still around my waist, and he doesn’t move it.
Pepper is on Cole’s shoulder this time. The parrot is freshly bathed, his emerald feathers gleaming, his bright yellow head practically luminous in the late afternoon light.
He has a small green ribbon tied loosely around his right foot, and the moment he sees me, he fluffs all his feathers up to twice his normal size and announces at the top of his lungs, “Gorgeous!”
“Aww, he missed me. Hey Pepper,” I say, smiling.
Ezra crosses the shop slowly. His eyes are on my face, and nothing else. He stops in front of me, close enough that I can smell the bergamot on his skin, and cups my jaw in one hand. His thumb brushes my cheekbone.
“How are you feeling?” he asks quietly.
“Okay,” I say, swallowing nervously. “The day was good. Julian was useful. Mostly.”
Behind me, Julian makes an offended sound. Cole is leaning against the wall just inside the door, his arms folded, the corner of his mouth twitching in what might be the closest thing to a smile I’ve ever seen on his face.
August comes up to me and hugs me. Holds me for a long time, his arms tight around my shoulders, his honey scent wrapping around me like a blanket. I hug him back.
Ezra is watching me. His pale gray eyes are steady on my face.
And then he lowers himself to one knee.