Chapter Twenty-Nine
With uncharacteristic boldness, Nora’s arms encircled J.P.’s waist, yanking him as near to her as their bodies would allow. She needed this closeness, needed the reciprocation of her feelings in the form of their mouths moving together and their hearts syncing up in rhythm and purpose.
She’d fallen apart in front of him—come unraveled emotionally—and his protective embrace and acceptance bound her back up.
He kissed her unhurriedly, like a man learning to love with careful, intentional steps. He took his time as his lips moved against hers, getting to know how she liked to be cherished in this sweet way. Little mewls of approval encouraged him on. Nora found herself suddenly lost in the thrill of a perfect first kiss in a perfect moment with an unexpectedly perfect man.
Not that J.P. was infallible. She knew they both had their faults. But they came together to create something bigger than themselves, and Nora couldn’t wait to explore the possibilities.
J.P. had said he’d brought her there for a surprise, but she assumed the kiss wasn’t it. Still, her heart stuttered from the shock of it all. The man that had once been so hard around the edges was now tender in ways she couldn’t even imagine. She sighed heavily and felt his mouth form a grin as he nipped at her lips in a playful response. Nora could kiss J.P. like this forever and never get over the wonder of it. Someone she’d once thought was all wrong turned out to be right in all of the ways that mattered. In character. In understanding. And even in something that had been absent from her life until that moment:love.
Hope swelled within her, brimming over. Still lost in the moment, she skimmed her hands up to his broad shoulders, holding on and deepening the kiss before finally pulling away.
J.P.’s handsome face reflected the bliss that buzzed throughout Nora’s being. Wordlessly slipping his hand in hers, he spun her around and walked her several feet from where they’d been standing.
Like something pulled from a storybook or fairytale, giant, larger-than-life flowers sprouted from the ground. It was an entire garden composed of wooden blooms encircling a more prominent one in the very center. As they stepped closer, Nora could see the larger one was a massive sunflower, but its construction differed from the upright flowers surrounding it.
“Is it a chair?” she ventured an uncertain guess.
“It is.”
J.P. twirled her around to sit in the wide, pollen-painted center. Petals cut and sanded from two-by-sixes hemmed her in, but they didn’t feel rough or rigid, despite their wooden composition.
“Welcome to theFlower Petal Face Paintingbooth.” He stretched his arms out on either side to his full wingspan, then gave a small, yet still dramatic, bow.
With a trembling breath leftover from her earlier tear-filled episode, Nora quivered as she took in J.P.’s handiwork surrounding her.
“You did all of this?” she asked, head turning to look at each individual flower. There had to be at least a dozen of them.
“I did a lot of it on my own in the beginning,” he said. “But Tillie and April helped me finish things up these last few days.”
She couldn’t believe the gesture could possibly get more meaningful, but that information tipped the scales. Overcome, Nora sensed tears beginning to brim once more.
“This is amazing, J.P.,” she spoke around the lump in her throat.
“Wait right here.” He lifted an index finger as an instruction to stay in place. When he came back, his hands were tucked behind him, his body blocking something from view. “April said something about you being the queen bee and needing your own crown.”
Nora gave a little snort. “Is that so?”
“I agree with her. I once thought the queen bee’s job was to just rule over everyone. But I’ve learned it’s also to create and maintain unity in the hive. You do that, Nora. With your friendships. With your life. You work tirelessly to create harmony, and just like a queen bee, you’re one in a million.”
“More like one in a hundred-thousand if we’re keeping with the hive analogy,” she said with a fluttering, flirty wink.
J.P. chuckled. “I guess what I’m trying to say is that you’re one of a kind.” He moved his hands around to his front, revealing a flower crown made from zinnias and strawflower, daisies and poppies. Flowers every color of the rainbow twisted together into a lush floral circle that he delicately lowered onto her head. “I know some women prefer rhinestones, but you already sparkle all on your own.”
A giggle slipped out when he pressed the crown into position.
“Too cheesy?” he asked, popping up one brow.
“Not cheesy at all,” she said. She could hardly talk through the smile that pulled her lips taut. “Perfect.”
“Tillie said it was a little cheesy.” He gave a shrug of self-doubt.
“That honestly doesn’t surprise me. She’s not big on romantic gestures,” Nora said. “But J.P.,youseem to keep surprising me at every turn.”
“I hope this was at least a good one.”
Pushing up from the flower chair, she came to stand in front of J.P. and lifted her hand to his heart. “This was thebestone.”
