He grins, tearing it open. “Relax, Supernova. Don’t break your heart before it’s even cracked.”
Vincent’s voice carries across the room.
“Thank you for asking,” he tells Sarah kindly. “But I already promised another girl I’d go with her.”
Another girl? Seriously?I grip my Snickers like a stress ball. Falling for your best friend when he’s smart, funny, gorgeous,and somehow nice to literally everyone—even rocks—is the most unfair curse in the universe. Why couldn’t I have fallen for an idiot instead?
Sarah forces a smile. “Oh... sure. Maybe next time.” She hurries to her seat.
Vincent finally turns—expecting only Max. “Good thing Nova wasn’t here to see th—” He stops cold. “Oh. Hey.” His gaze sweeps over me, slow, like he forgot how words work. “Wow.”
I frown. “Wow?”
He stammers, “Yeah, wow. I mean—you look... really pretty today. Not that you don’t every day. You do. Always. But today it’s like...” He waves a hand helplessly. “...like you...”
Max nearly chokes on his Snickers, laughing. “Bro, grab some water before you drown.”
Vincent shoots him a glare but keeps his eyes locked on me.
“Who’s the other girl?” I demand, taking another bite of chocolate as I stand up.
“What?” He blinks.
“You said you promised another girl. Who is she?”
That’s when he smirks. He steps closer, plants one hand on the window behind me, and leans down to steal a bite of my Snickers.
“You.” His grin curves higher. “It’s always you.”
My heart trips.He’s flirting. He’s actually flirting.
“Oh, yeah?” I whisper, raising a brow.
He nods. “Always you, Supernova. No contest.”
Max bursts out laughing again. “She wassojealous, bro. I thought she was about to chuck her Snickers at Sarah’s head. Or yours.”
“I was not!” I snap, smacking his arm.
Vincent chuckles softly. “You totally were. And for the record...” His voice lowers just for me. “...I liked it.”
Heat floods my face. “Shut up.”
“Make me,” he teases, brushing a loose strand of hair back into my daisy clip. His eyes linger on mine. “Seriously, Nova. You’re... you. And that’s my favorite thing in the world.”
My chest squeezes so tight I almost forget to breathe.
“You’re ridiculous,” I mutter.
“And yet,” he says, grinning, “you keep me around.”
Before I can think of a comeback, Mrs. Donovan walks in, and Vincent steps back, offering me his hand.
“Shall we?”
I take it, and as soon as we sit down, he turns to talk to Max. That’s when I let myself do a tiny victory dance in my chair, hidden behind my open notebook.
For once, the universe feels like it might finally be on my side.
