I smile. “I’m here, yes, but mostly I’m herefor you.To support you.”
Steven sighs. “Nova, I... just... thank you for...”
I cut him off. “For loving you? That’s impossiblenotto do.”
“I meant thank you for never leaving me alone with myself. It’s just that...” He shrugs, gently moving me back so he can meet my eyes. “I don’t know... I’m always angry. Furious. And I don’t know how to let it out. I don’t even understand myself anymore.”
He misses Vincent. It doesn’t matter that I’m his girlfriend, or that Maggie and Will try so hard to make him feel accepted. No one understands Steven White like Vincent Cooper. No one makes him feel more at home than he does. I understand that type of feeling. It’s the “Vincent Cooper” effect.
Steven doesn’t accept help easily—he never wants people too close. It costs him effort to let anyone in. He doesn’t want anyone replacing Vincent. He’s the only one who truly knows how to handle him. They may not share blood, but they’re brothers.
I cup Steven’s face in my hands, caressing his cheeks. “I know you miss him. That’s normal,” I remind him.
He shrugs, like it doesn’t matter. “You miss him too.”
“I know, but this is about you. He’s your best friend.”
“He’s your best friend too, Nova,” he shoots back.
He drops his gaze, staring at the floor to avoid mine.
“It’s normal to miss him.”
When he finally looks up, there’s something different in his eyes, like a terrible idea just hit him. Normally, I’m the one with bad ideas.
“Dance with me,” he whispers.
I arch an eyebrow. “Hm?”
He nods toward the sound technicians setting up the speakers. At the same time, he pulls his phone from his pocket.“They’re Bluetooth. The password’s protected so guests can’t change the music, but I saw it earlier in one of their notebooks. They can’t change it again for twenty-four hours. So it’ll stay this way all afternoon.”
He fiddles with his phone, and soon the opening notes of a song byThe 1975spill from the speakers. The technicians look confused, trying to figure out who did it.
I grin instantly. “I’m a bad influence on you. You’re starting to act like Nova Elizabeth Dehlia Marshall.”
He chuckles. By now he doesn’t even ask why I repeat my full name sometimes. Not least because I never have an answer—I just... find it funny.
“You already know what to do.”
He hands me his phone, and I slip it into my skirt pocket. I know it’s his way of letting me control the music for the event. I move closer, arms around his neck. “I don’t think I’ve told you enough how great you are.”
He rolls his eyes, holding me tight. “Yeah, yeah. I love you
too.”
We sway clumsily to the music. “So I can...” I start.
“You can put on anything you want,” he interrupts. “EvenBad Decisionsby Ariana Grande—and get up on stage with Maggie and Will.”
I arch an eyebrow, staring into his ice-colored eyes. I only wish I could break the ice around his heart.
“How do you know I—”
Steven interrupts me again. “You’ve been rehearsing in front of me all week, babe.”
I blink, surprised. I thought he was too busy at the bakery to notice. “I thought you weren’t paying attention to me.”
“I always look at you. You just didn’t notice—you were too focused on it.”
