“Hey.” I stand, smiling. “I meant to finish before you got here. I hope you don’t mind, I just—”
I don’t get to finish.
She closes the distance between us in seconds, arms wrapping around me, her face pressed into my chest. For a moment, I stand there, hands hovering, caught off guard by the suddenness of it.
“Thank you,” she murmurs against my shirt.
My knees damn near give out. My arms settle around her, careful and certain all at once, my heart pounding against her ear.
I didn’t expect my day to go this way, but if this is what throwing off the plan looks like—
I think it was well worth it.
Chapter 16
It takes me several minutes to realize I’m hugging Aiden.
My arms are tight around him, my face pressed into his chest, tears slipping down my cheek. His shirt is damp across his back, warm beneath my hands, and he smells like sun-warmed skin, turned earth, and salt from the ocean. Something clean and solid. Something real.
His arms rest around me, gentle and steady, like he’s not trying to hold me so much as make sure I don’t fall apart.
I draw in a shaky breath and try to pull away. “I’m so sorry.”
He doesn’t let me go.
Not tightly. Just enough to keep me close as he lifts his hand and wipes the tears from my cheeks with the back of it, careful and unhurried. Worry is written all over his face.
“Don’t cry. I’m sorry, May. I didn’t mean to make you cry. This was supposed to have the opposite effect.”
“I’m crying because I’m happy.” The confession slips out of my lips.
The words surprise me as much as they seem to surprise him.
I barely know this man, and yet the honesty comes easily. He feels safe in a way I’ve only ever felt with my sisters. I don’t need to brace myself or soften the truth. He makes me feel anchored.
His expression is still tight with concern, so I let myself explain.
“This is the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me,” I tell him, softly. “And… Mom would have loved them so much.”
Something in his face shifts. The worry eases, melting into something warmer. Relieved.
He steps to my side, giving me space to really take in the garden lining my porch. “Do you like them?”
Hydrangeas stretch along the front—blue, pink, and purple, already blooming beautifully.
“I love them. They’re perfect.”
“They’re close enough that once they grow, they’ll turn more into a bush,” he explains. “The colors will start mixing. The weather here is perfect for them. They’re pretty resilient, and right here they’ll get the right amount of sun to bloom all spring and summer long.”
“Thank you.” I take my phone from my pocket and take a few pictures. “I have to show my sisters. They’re going to love them too.”
He gestures toward the corner of the porch. “Let me finish this one on the side. I only need a few minutes.”
“Sounds good. I’ll take more pictures once you’re done so I can show them off.” I head back toward my truck to grab the groceries.
I’ve just lifted one bag out when I feel him standing behind me.
“Can I help you with those?”
