My throat tightened. “God, you picked a good one.”
“I really did.”
“Well,” I said, squeezing her fingers, “you’re not doing this alone.”
Nova smiled weakly. “You’re coming?”
I nodded. “Obviously. I’m your emotional support feral friend. If Austin so much as looks at you sideways, I’ll drop-kick him into a recycling bin.”
That finally got a real laugh.
“Fine, but don’t wear your Daddy Issues Are My Cardio sweatshirt.”
“Absolutely not a promise I can make,” I said, raising my mug. “But I can promise you Christmas might be messy, and I’ll be right there for every second.”
For a while, we just ate, the scrape of forks against plates filling the quiet. Then Nova set hers down with a sigh. “Sorry I blamed you for telling Dirks. When Austin showed up, I... snapped. I was so sure you’d let it slip.”
I looked at her slowly. “I would never.”
She closed her eyes. “I know.”
“I kept it a secret because it wasn’t mine to share. Dirks never asked. Not even after things started... shifting between us.”
Nova’s head snapped up. “Wait, what?”
I inhaled. “I was going to bring it up eventually.”
She froze. Like her brain short-circuited right there over a half-eaten food. Her eyes widened, and her food dropped to the plate with a soft thud.
“Oh my god,” she whispered. “I’ve been a horrible person.”
I blinked. “Nova?—”
“No.” She whipped her head back and forth. “I’ve been a horrible friend. I haven’t even asked you about it. I’ve been so wrapped up in everything with Austin and Scarlette, and Ollie being gone and London and... me, me, me. I never once asked you how you were. What was going on with you.”
“Stop,” I said, reaching over to grip her knee. “You don’t owe me anything.”
“But I do, Luna. I do. You’ve held me together through breakdowns and meltdowns and deadbeat exes, and I didn’t even notice that something real was happening for you. Someone was finally seeing you the way you deserve... the way I see you.”
My throat tightened. “You’ve been dealing with so much. You’ve had two lives pulling at you from opposite sides of the ocean. You’ve been trying to be a mom, a partner, a friend,a woman still figuring out what the hell she wants. I never expected you to carry my shit, too.”
She wiped her eyes. “I want to.”
“I know.” I smiled. “I’ll let you. Starting now.”
She let out a shaky laugh. “Okay. Tell me everything.”
“I will. But only if I can ask you something first.”
Nova blinked at me. “Alright.”
I gave her a sheepish smile. “Would it be weird if Dirks came over?”
She raised a brow. “Like . . . here?”
“Yeah. He’s not outside or anything, I just—wanted to check. Now that everything’s kind of... out in the open. I want to show him I’m not hiding anything.”
“God, yes. Of course. But I thought you guys were casual? Just getting to know each other?”
