“Luna Bella!” my mom yells, sticking her head out of the door. “Is that playdough on your papa’s carpet?”
“Crap,” Luna hisses. She hands the bouquet back over to me, before spinning on her heels and running to clean up her mess. End and I watch her until she’s gone. The flowers in my arms suddenly feel like they weigh a hundred pounds.
“So I’m guessing the flowers were her idea?”
“Not exactly. I asked her some things about you. She seemed like the best source for information.”
“Information for what exactly?”
“On how to get you to agree to that date. I had to know your favorite. But it seems she couldn’t even help in that department.”
I flush, glancing down at my feet to avoid his gaze, and shift, feeling heat crawl across my back. I’m instantly annoyed with myself. Why is it that whenever I’m in the presence of this man, he turns me back into that flushing, shy fool from our childhood? I know I’m a different person now. I’ve gone through heartbreak, birthed a child, and even opened my own business. Running into Endymion again shouldn’t still affect me this way, but it does. Goddammit, it does.
“Well, I’m sure she didn’t give the information up freely. What did you have to promise her?”
Endymion laughs. The warm sound swirls through my chest, curling around my heart. “A playground. She’s a shark, that one. Hell, I wouldn’t be surprised if she grows up to be a lawyer.”
I twist my lips, fighting my own smile. “I have that same thought all the time.”
For a moment, we just stand there staring at each other as something heavy circulates between us. Guilt slams into me as I stare into his eyes. How can I joke around with him about Luna when he doesn’t even know she’s his daughter?
“You never did say what it was. Your favorite flower.”
“Oh, I, umm, I don’t really have a favorite.”
Endymion’s mouth twists ruefully. “Noted.”
One of the guys, Bishop I think his name is, calls out to End, asking for his help with something. I don’t remember a whole lot about Endymion’s friends, mainly because my sights were always so set on End that no one ever compared. From what I recall, Bishop has always been the rugged bad boy, through and through. He was the boy fathers warned their daughters about. There’s no denying how handsome he is now, with dark, almost inky black hair and sleeves of tattoos that cover his arms. I’m sure he’s a walking, talking wet dream for most women.
Landon was always the cleanest cut out of the guys. With an Army-style cut, tan skin, and bright blue eyes, he’s handsome to most women’s standards. His father worked at the sheriff’s station for years, and I was always so certain he’d follow in his footsteps—guess not.
The only friend I really know nothing about is Griffin. Back when I lived here, he was never around, so it makes me wonder how he became part of their group. I make a mental note to ask Julia for the scoop on that. She’s the only one who ever stays up-to-date on all the drama and gossip in town. It only makes sense she’d know how he met Endymion.
“I gotta head back, but I’ll see you tomorrow, Selene,” End cuts in, snapping me out of my thoughts.
“Tomorrow?”
He smiles. The effect of it is a defibrillator to the heart. It sends a course of lightning through the organ. “Your daily dose of courting.”
An amused sound bubbles past my lips. I trap my bottom lip in my mouth, and much to my horror, I realize I’m staring up at him fondly, with an expression a woman would use with her lover. One that is entirely too smitten. “You don’t have to do this, Endymion. I’m serious.”
He shrugs, walking backward, keeping those gorgeous leafy greens on me. “I know I don’t. It doesn’t mean I’m going to stop anytime soon. I told you, Selene. One date.”
With that, he turns, walking back toward the guys and my dad. When my gaze clashes with my father, my stomach churns anxiously. I can’t tell what he’s thinking, and honestly, I don’t want to know. I hurry back inside, sliding the door shut behind me. I rest my weight against it, staring up at the ceiling.
What the hell am I supposed to do now?
“Wait, you’re telling me he asked you out on a date, he bought you a freaking bouquet of red roses, and you still said