Her cheeks pinken. “You sure?”
I nod and she lingers on me for a beat before standing and opening the shower door. “I’ll help you wash your hair.”
“Marshall, don’t—”
She tosses a little yellow plastic duck at me. “I have to teach you how to take care of those gorgeous curls. Let me.”
For the first time in months, I laugh. “I don’t feel like taking care of my curls.”
Her whole face lights up at the sound. I peel off my ruined T-shirt and toss it aside. Nova’s face turns scarlet at the sight of me shirtless, which almost makes me laugh again. Maybe I’m not the only one feeling this.
I step into the shower with her. She sits cross-legged on the tray and pats her lap.
“Lie down so your arms can stay out of the water. Put your head here—it’ll be like the hairdresser’s.”
I obey, resting my head against her legs. Warm water rushes over me.
“You’ll get wet,” I warn.
She shrugs. “The water’s warm. And if I’m close to you, I don’t feel cold.”
Her touch is tender as she lathers my hair with coconut-vanilla shampoo, then the Provence conditioner she gave me for Christmas. My skin burns everywhere her fingers touch. Then she starts humming—a melody I don’t recognize.
“What song’s that?” I whisper.
Her voice floats above me. “Wherever You Will Go, by The Calling. I came here to show it to you.”
When she finishes rinsing, she brushes wet strands off my forehead.
I slowly open my eyes and I find her looking at me with those wide brown eyes. And all I can think is: she’s a muse.My muse.
“I love your freckles,” she whispers, leaning down to kiss the tip of my nose.
“Well... I love your smile.”
And then, in silence, the words I can’t yet say scream inside me:I think I’m in love with you.Madly.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Nova Marshall
PAST (2017)
"Guitar is the best form of self-expression I know.
Everything else, and I'm just sort of tripping around,
trying to figure my way through life."
Slash
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It’s been two months since Vincent left. After what happened in February, Dr. Jenkins decided he needed to go back on his medication.
I didn’t sleep with him that night. We just waited together for his parents to come home. When they arrived, I left because that moment needed to belong to them as a family.
In consultation with Dr. Jenkins, the Coopers thought it would be best if Vincent got a change of scenery and some distance from San Francisco. So, in early May, he left with Chris to spend the summer with his grandparents in Minnesota.
