Because somebody taught that woman she had to survive the world alone.
And standing there in the middle of Main Street, staring toward the flower shop she disappeared into—
I decided I was done letting that happen.
9
Ace
Ididn’t bother knocking.
The bell above Bloom & Vine’s door rang sharply as I pushed inside.
Tessa jerked behind the counter.
For one split second, real fear flashed across her face.
Not annoyance.
Not irritation.
Fear.
Then the wall slammed back into place so fast I almost questioned seeing it at all.
“You need to leave.”
Her voice came out tight.
Thin around the edges.
I shut the door behind me carefully. “No.”
Her jaw flexed. “I’m serious, Ace.”
“So am I.”
The shop fell quiet except for the soft hum of the flower cooler in the back.
Buckets of roses lined the walls. Sunlight spilled across the wooden floor in warm strips, catching floating bits of pollen in the air.
Normally the place felt peaceful.
Right now it felt like a battlefield.
“You don’t get to walk in here after what happened,” she said.
I stepped farther inside. “Funny. Because you don’t get to run out on me either.”
Pain flashed through her expression before she masked it again.
“I don’t owe you explanations.”
The words were sharp on purpose.
I leaned one hand against the counter between us. “Maybe not. But I’m still here.”
“That’s your mistake.”
