“You’re afraid the magic between you two will be gone,” Addie said slowly.
“I—I think so, yeah. That night was incredible, Addie. Like nothing I’ve ever experienced. What if it just can’t be recreated?”
“Eden.” My cousin smushed my cheeks until my lips puckered. “Those moments were magical because we were kids. Trying to recreate a moment from childhood is very different from enjoying the first in a string of countless amazing nights with a guy you’re into. You can’t hide from disappointment, babe, or you’ll miss out on so much good. Please, give him a chance to show you the good.”
If last night had proven anything, it was that our chemistry remained just as strong as it had been that night at the hotel. Those kisses hadn’t been a disappointment—no, they were just as magical as the ones I’d been reliving for weeks.
Could I do what Addie suggested? Open myself up to marring the memory of that one perfect night if things went bad?
Before I could come up with an answer, our first customers of the day entered through the front door, a tinkling bell announcing their arrival, and it was time to embrace the future.
Chapter Nine
Milo
WhenIgottowork that morning and found my parking spot open, my first reaction was panic—had something happened to Eden after I saw her safely to her car the night before? Then I caught sight of her little red SUV parked around the corner and a wave of relief crashed over me, followed by something warm ballooning inside my chest.
Now that I knew she was the parking spot thief, I planned to tell her to keep parking there, but the fact that she’d made the gesture of leaving it open for me was sweet.
“She likes me,” I whispered to myself, unable to hold back a grin.
Throughout the day, I saw plenty of people going in and out of Eden’s shop. The thing that surprised me was the number ofshoppers who then stopped into Dueling Dragons, all of them carrying lavender shopping bags from next door.
I considered visiting Eden at work, but I was hesitant to intrude on her first day of business, especially since I wasn’t exactly her target market and didn’t want to make any actual customers uncomfortable with my presence. My curiosity was finally satisfied when Olivia strolled through my door carrying her own glossy lavender bag in one hand and a canvas tote of artwork in the other.
“You didnottell me that your rockabilly goddess moved in next door, you jerk,” she scolded, handing over the art. “And shit, she’s even more gorgeous up close.”
“Yes, she is,” I muttered.
Unfortunately, that caused Olivia’s gaze to snap to my face. “Oh, you’ve been keeping things from me, Milo. Spill the tea, bro.”
“Liv, I love you, but I don’t kiss and tell.”
“So there was kissing,” she pressed, a broad smile spreading across her face.
“I’m not talking about this,” I replied, unpacking the plastic-sleeved prints from the tote bag. “I take it you did some shopping over there?”
“The place is called Garden of Delights. Of course I did some shopping. I also scored a date with the blonde. We’re going out next week.”
My head lifted. “Adelaide?”
“Mm-hmm. You gonna ask out your dream girlor what?”
“We had dinner last night.” I sighed when her expression lit, realizing she’d never stop hounding me until I told her the rest of it.
A truncated version of the rest of it, anyway.
“And we might have had a thing at Comic Con.”
Olivia mimed a swoon. “Athing,huh? That sounds promising.”
Was it? After last night, I certainly hoped so. My fear that Eden had only been looking for a no-strings hookup dissipated under the intensity of those kisses—kissesshehad requested, then responded to like she couldn’t possibly get enough.
I recognized that need, because I felt the exact same.
“How’s it going over there?” I asked, both to change the subject and because I wanted to know that Eden’s first day was going well.
“Place is hopping. Lucky for me, I snagged the last celebratory cupcake. Your girl told me a bit about the other offerings she plans to have over there—brains as well as beauty.”
