in my chest. My stomach dips, those pesky butterflies taking flight when I spot the bouquet of daisies. They look a bit wilted as though they’ve been sitting out here for a day, which makes sense since I didn’t have a chance to come sit out here last night. End must’ve stopped by, thinking I’d be here, and left them for me.
Glitter bursts in my chest at the thought. It’s billowy and airy. Like an explosion of sparkles.
I plop down in the grass with a permanent grin etched on my face as I stare down at the flowers.
“I take it you like them.”
I startle at the sound of his voice, whipping around to face him. My eyes widen when I finally spot him closing the distance between us, taking in every muscular inch of him. “Oh my God! How do you keep doing that?”
He’s dressed casually again in work clothes—only that’s not all. He’s holding another bouquet. This time, it’s peonies.
“Endymion…you shouldn’t have.”
He shrugs, taking a seat on the grass next to me. He hands the second set of flowers off to me with a grin. “I wanted to. I plan on going through every flower until we find the one.”
“The one?”
He leans back, showcasing his incredible body in that shirt. “The one that makes you say yes, of course.”
My laughter comes out embarrassingly close to a giggle. “You’re insane. Seriously. How did you even know I’d be here?”
“I didn’t. I hoped you would be, though. I came last night, stayed for a while, hoping you’d show, but when you didn’t, I left the flowers, figuring it was too late to drop them off at the house. I didn’t want to scare Luna or piss Gavin off.”
I snort. “You really waited?”
“Yeah. Figured I’d try again tonight. I stopped at your house first, but I heard you were out, so I was hoping you’d be here.”
At the mention of me being out, I think of Holly and try to ignore the jealousy filling my veins at the thought of the two of them together. I have no right to feel that way. She had him first. He was never even mine to have in the first place. There’s a myriad of contradictory emotions rioting inside me at the moment. I’m shocked and pleasantly surprised that he’s gone through all this trouble just to see me. I’m angry and jealous because he has a past with a woman I’ll never be able to compete with. I’m feeling incredibly guilty because I want to come clean with him about everything, but I’m afraid. I’m so afraid of losing this, of losing my daughter, of letting everyone down.
“Wow. I’m…shocked you did all that.”
“Why wouldn’t I?” he asks, his brows drawn in, those vibrant greens searching mine for answers. I press my tongue to the roof of my mouth, working through how to respond to that.
Clearing my throat, I glance down at the wild grass between us. I don’t know what to talk about or say, so I ask the first thing that comes to mind, even if I already know the answer to it. “So you have your own construction company now?”
He nods, his intense gaze still drilling holes into me. “Yeah, it’s been a few years since we’ve been up and running. It’s great. I’ve always been pretty good with my hands, so it just made sense. Haven’t looked back since.”
Oh, I know you are, I think to myself. Hell, I can practically feel the heat of his touch on my skin. The memory is both a blessing and a curse.
I smile, glad he was able to find his place, find that perfect something he was always searching for. “I’m happy for you. I always knew you’d go on to do something amazing.”
A softness enters Endymion’s eyes. There’s a warmth there that rolls through my body in waves, making my throat clog with emotion for unknown reasons. He’s looking at me like I wished he always would. I always wondered what it would feel like, having his heated gaze caress my flesh.
“What about you? I heard you got a job at Rita’s?”
I drop my gaze, blindly picking at the grass between us. A sharp ache drizzles throughout my chest. Why do I feel like a failure all of a sudden? Shame wraps heavily around my shoulders, weighing me down.
“Heard about that, did you?” My voice is a low murmur.
“Small town. News travels fast.” As if sensing I’m not exactly proud that I’ll be