He doesn’t just have a flower, he has a garden.
My Roman has a secret garden of daisies in his chest. For me, and then I can’t stop my tears at all, even though they make it hard for me to see him. But I shouldn’t have worried about not seeing him because one second, he’s standing all the way over there and the next, he’s touching me.
He’s putting his hands on my wet cheeks and tilting my face up. He’s wiping those tears off, kissing my forehead. “Don’t cry, Fae. I keep making you cry.”
“Y-you want me to break your heart?”
He kisses my forehead again. “If you want to.”
I shake my head, grasping his wrists. “But I already did that.”
“What?”
I move my hands to his cheeks then, his beautifully harsh jaw. “I already broke your heart. Two years ago. My tears, my pain. My heartbreak. They broke your heart, didn’t they?”
His jaw moves under my fingers. “Yeah.”
“Every time I cried in my bedroom, you were lying awake in yours, weren’t you?”
He throws out a short nod.
“And every time I felt all broken and hurt and alone in my town, you felt hopeless and miserable in your city.”
“I did.”
“So I don’t wanna break your heart anymore. I want to heal it. Like you did mine. I want to keep it. Safe and protected and warm because you get cold so easily. I want to make you sweaters that youwear. And I want to dance for you. So you don’t have to stalk me at the studio anymore. I want to make you cupcakes and I want to laugh. For you. I want to beforyou, Roman. So you don’t have to look at me from a distance. So you don’t have to get angry when I fall if you’re not there to catch me. And…”
I take his hand off my face and without taking my eyes off him, I drag that hand down, the one that has a grease stain on the inside of his wrist. And still watching him, I rub that wrist on the side of my neck, painting my skin with dirt.
“And I don’t want you to stop touching me just because you think you’ll get me a little dirty.”
His eyes flare at the mark; his stomach contracts.
“I’m not afraid of a little dirt, Roman. I never was. Or falling. I’m not afraid of all that. You know why? Because I survived you. Because I survived the heartbreak you gave me and I kicked your ass. You survived it too. And I’m done, okay? I’m done hurting each other. All I’ve ever wanted, ever since I danced for you, was for you to love me. That’s all. All I’ve ever wanted was for you to keep me. I want you to keep me with you. Forever.”
“Forever.”
I nod. “Yes. Ask me why.”
He swallows. “Why?”
“Because I love you too, you idiot.”
He goes still, only his eyes are moving, going back and forth between mine. “You… you love me.”
God.
What am I going to do with him?
Why is he so… crazy and adorable and such a big, clueless idiot?
I dig my fingertips into his unforgiving jaw. “Yes, Roman. I love you. I’ve loved you for two years now, okay? I loved you when we were at Bardstown High and you were my sweet Roman. I loved you when you became a jerk and broke my heart that night and I stole your car. And I loved you for the two years after that even when I shouldn’t have. And I love you now. Every time I see you with Halo, I love you more. Every time I see howyoulove her, I fall in love with you more. Every time, Roman.”
“Holy fucking… Christ. I didn’t think… after everything. I didn’t…”
“I do, because I never stopped. Even though I’m very angry at you.”
“Angry.”
