But Ihadto see. What if this was real, and Kieran really was here?
I opened the door and saw the biggest bunch of flowers I’deverseen standing in the doorway.
Being held up by a pair of familiar hands.
Kieran.
“I…”
He couldn’t be here. I’dlosthim. He was gone because I was stupid and I’d never deserved him and I’d never told him how I felt.
Kieran’s face appeared around the flowers. “Finished the book,” he said. “Can I come in?”
I stepped back, sniffing, staring in awe as Kieran walked into my apartment and held the flowers out to me.
“Have you been crying?” Kieran asked, eyes widening, stepping through the door and letting it swing closed behind him.
“I…”
“Was it over me?” Kieran asked, guilt all over his features.
“No,” I said. “Yes. Kind of. It’s… it’s a long story.” I scrubbed at my eyes, which probably wasn’t making them any less red.
“I’ve got nothing better to do than listen,” Kieran said softly, and it was just like he’d never left, like he’d always been here, like we were fourteen years old and best friends again.
“They said no to Alex and Eliot,” I said, knowing Kieran would understand what I meant. He was the only person who’d reallyknownwhat it meant to me. He’d agreed to help me with this because he understood just how important it was.
Kieran’s face fell. “But we… you… they can’t just—”
“They can.” I swallowed, tears welling up again.
Great, Kieran was back and I was a red, puffy, snotty mess.
I wiped my nose on the sleeve of my hoodie—Kieran’s hoodie. I hadn’t quite been able to bring myself to get rid of it yet. I’d missed him.
I wasn’t sure I’deverbe able to bring myself to get rid of it.
Especially not if Kieran wasn’t so mad he’d never speak to me again.
“It’s okay,” Kieran said, reaching out, brushing my hair away from my face as I cleaned up. “C’mere, it’s okay.”
I didn’t need much convincing to let Kieran wrap his arms around me, the broad, solid expanse of his chest exactly what I needed right now, his shoulder the perfect place to rest my head.
A few more tears fell into his bright peach muscle shirt—it was starting to grow on me—but things seemed a whole lot more manageable right now.
Maybe I hadn’t lost him. Maybe we could still be friends.
“Morgan said you’d like those flowers,” Kieran murmured after a moment, shifting his hold on me and rocking me back and forth, like he would have when we were little. “He was a big help.”
“A big help… picking out the flowers?” I asked.
“Well, that too. But a big help with understanding… everything.” Kieran bit his lip. “Those books are about us, aren’t they?”
Crap.
OfcourseKieran had figured it out now. This was the ideal moment for that.
“They’re not… I mean, obviously you’re notliterallymagic, but I guess you could say there was some… inspiration, a few things taken from real—”
