She swallowed hard and squeezed the straps of her backpack so hard her knuckles turned white. Her eyes glistened as we stared at each other. I had no idea what was going on in her head, but she hadn’t run. She didn’t slap me. Those were good signs.
“Why are you here?” she asked, wetting her lip with her tongue.
The pull to her was so strong, I forced myself to take a step back. “They wanted to talk about selling merchandise with some of my hashtags. I was going to do it and donate everything to you. Shit.” I ran a hand through my hair. “They messaged me saying they could help spread awareness for your business. They loved the idea of the greenhouse for therapy,” I said, way too fast.
She took a step back. “They messaged me the same thing.” She looked back toward the parking lot, her jaw set in determination. “We were set up.”
If I can get Nora back, I’ll owe them forever.“Looks like we were. Hey,” I said, my stomach dropping as she took a step away from me. “Don’t…don’t go. I miss you.”
She sucked in a breath and closed her eyes, a tear streaming down her cheek, and stopped at her chin. “Why did you…your videos. Fritz, I…”
“Look,” I said, emotion clogging my voice in a painful way. I walked toward her so the tips of my shoes touched hers. That was the only part of her I allowed myself to touch. “I love you. I might’ve fucked this up, me and you, but that doesn’t mean I won’t do everything I can to support you and your dream. That’s what you do when someone lives in your soul. You help them even if it kills you.”
Her jaw trembled, and she blinked a lot. “You said I taught you about life.”
“You did,” I said, laughing and taking a chance and cupping one side of her face. “That being yourself is the best you can be. That following your passion and helping others is a way of life. That new experiences aren’t predetermined by age. That plants really fucking matter. God, I never thought I’d care so much about plants, but now I think about them every day—”
Norakissedme. She slammed her mouth against mine and threw her entire body against me. She felt the same, warm and curvy andmine,but there was no lie between us this time, and that made all the difference.
“Nora, Nora,” I said, stopping the kiss as she dug her fingers into my chest. “I love this,you. But I have to know if you forgive me. I want us to be together.”
“Yes. Yes.” She laughed and wiped tears from her eyes. “I’ve missed you so much and saw your videos, and Fritz, how could you not know how much I love you, too?”
“Thank Christ.” I kissed her again, tilting her all the way back into a dip.
“I can’t believe you made all those videos. Shirtless,” she said, laughing against my mouth. My skin heated, but I didn’t care. She was in my arms, kissing me, and every second of those videos was worth it.
“I got you back. So mission complete.” Then I kissed her again and spun her around.
She grinned, the light hitting her earrings just right, and this was the happiest moment I’d experienced. Nora was back, we both were chasing our dreams, and we were doing ittogether.
Epilogue
Six months later…
I was late…ish.Not by the very detailed agenda for wedding day, but by theGilly will freak out if everyone wasn’t there an hour earlytype of way.
It wasn’t intentional—I just wanted to see my girlfriend at the greenhouse to make sure she ate. Nora was doing all the flowers for the wedding, and when she focused, she forgot how to human. The extra trip cost me twenty minutes, but when she looked up from the arrangements with stars in her eyes—for me—it was worth it.
That warmth hadn’t left her gaze since I got her back, and I never wanted it to go away. I made sure to overcommunicate with her, show her every day how much I loved her, and soon…she would be Mrs. Anthony Carter. If she wanted. If she wasn’t ready for that, that was fine too. I’d be faithful and committed to her in any form because being in love—the all-encompassing, soul-consuming love—was my jam.
There were a lot of emotions going through my chest as Gilly’s wedding day finally arrived, but they weren’t plagued with the salty bitterness Samantha instilled in me.
Nora shifted my entire mind when it came to love, and I found myself excited to see Gilly marry the one guy who understood her. I parked my car in the church parking lot, got my tux from the back seat, and locked the doors. It was a cold day in central Illinois for a February wedding, but the sun was out.
“Hey, Fritz!” Grace yelled, her large pregnant belly popping in the tight dress she wore. Her jacket hung unzipped, and Brock jumped out of the car to help her walk. “Brock, chill. There’s no ice.”
“You need to pay attention.”
“Oh my God, I’m fine.” Grace rolled her eyes, and I grinned. “I put the coffeepot in the bathroom closet yesterday, and suddenly I’m not able to walk?”
Brock grumbled, and I joined them, giving Grace a quick hug. “Pregnancy brain a real thing, huh? Putting coffee in a bathroom closet isn’t normal,” I said.
Brock’s face hardened.
The day I got tired of annoying Brock was the day I wasn’t well.
“Here and there,” Grace said, sighing at the two large floral arrangements on either side of the doors. “Wow. Nora did…these are beautiful.” Her voice clogged, and I knew how she felt.
