Page 89 of Fireworks Flame
He rises to his feet as I pass, smooth as a panther, and catches me around the waist with one arm, stopping me in my tracks before I realize what’s happening. “I just wanted a call,” he says quietly, his gorgeous mouth suddenly inches from mine.
I blink at him, too mesmerized by his closeness to be able to formulate a response.
“Do you know how many people have come into Sounds this week looking for Brendan Davis?” he asks.
I shake my head, not wanting to know.
“Too many,” he says simply. “Way too many to undo it. It’sout now, and that’s fine. It has to be. What’s not fine is that you left.”
“I wish I hadn’t.” The honesty of my words sends tears rushing to my eyes, and for once, I’m unsuccessful at holding them in. They burn as they push their way out, the feel of them shocking against my cheeks.
“You said we weren’t meant to last,” he reminds me.
I nod miserably.
“But we could,” he says, surprising me with his insistence.
“We could.” I mean to agree with him, but my words come out too high, like I’m asking a question.
“We could,” he repeats firmly, sweeping a warm thumb across my cheek to wipe my tears away. “I love you, Liv. I’ve loved you for a third of my life, and I’ll continue to love you for the rest of it. And I can do that as a friend if that’s what you need. But if you want more, you have to know that I’m not going anywhere.”
My heart rate picks up speed with every word he says, and by the end it’s racing. Strangely, my euphoria doesn’t stop the tears. It seems to fuel them. Not in my wildest dreams have I imagined Lucas Deiss promising to love me for the rest of his life.
“I want more,” I blurt stupidly as a rogue tear makes it all the way down to my neck.
Deiss laughs and covers my mouth with his, kissing me in a way that makes my knees weak.
“Sorry to interrupt,” says an unwelcome voice I recognize as Mac’s. “But this thing is trying to kill me.”
Deiss’s arm tightens around my waist before he reluctantly pulls back. “We’re having a moment here.”
“It’smywedding day,” Mac says, holding his arms out in front of him as a wriggling ball of fur claws at his hands. Helooks casually gorgeous in his khakis and white linen button-up, except for the red marks that line his left arm. “And now I’m going to be all scratched up in the photos.”
“Sorry,” Deiss says. “She was at Sounds with me when you called and told me you were in trouble. Maybe if you’d just been a normal person and said you wanted to meet up, I would’ve realized I had time to drop her at home.”
“Is that...” I squint at the proffered kitten before pulling loose from Deiss to grab her. “Fluff Daddy!”
I cradle her to my chest, and miraculously, she calms, staring up at me as if she remembers me. “How did you get her?” I ask, staring back at her in disbelief.
“I took a little drive down to Brantley,” Deiss says, sliding his hand down her side and eliciting a rumbling purr before she swipes at him. “I thought we could raise her together. If you want to move back in, that is. If not, I’m willing to cede custody to you.”
“But I don’t understand,” I say, despite the fact that everything in me is warning me not to ask questions and simply say,Yes! Yes, please! I’d love to move back in with you and this perfect, gleefully violent creature!“I walked away. Why would you drive all that way just to get a cat for me?”
“Because I knew you missed Cat Stevens,” Deiss says. “And whether we ended up together or not, I thought Fluff Daddy would make you happy.”
“I love you.” I breathe the words, feeling as if they’re coming somewhere from deep inside my soul.
“Then you’re going to love me even more when I tell you I’ve found Cat Stevens.”
I gasp, my heart squeezing. “You did?”
“Well, not exactlyme,” he admits. “But it turns out there are upsides to having an army of self-proclaimed fans whowon’t leave you alone. Those tweens aresavvyonline. It only took them four days to hunt him down. Apparently, a couple came home and discovered he’d gotten in the cat door while they were out of town. They turned him into a shelter on Wednesday.”
I close my eyes, not wanting more tears to spill over. “And he’s okay?”
“They said he tilts his nose up at everyone and turns his back when the other cats attempt to engage him.”
I choke out a laugh. “Then he’s okay.”
“Perfect-ola,” Mac says before Deiss can respond. He lets out a piercing whistle, waving Phoebe down when she peers over the edge of the top deck. “You guys are good. And everyone’s good with Simone. Now, Phoebe will let me marry her.”
“Does that mean that Phoebe is good with me?” I ask hopefully. “Because she hasn’t returned any of my calls all week.”
Mac scoffs. “That wasn’t because she was mad. We were just on our honeymoon. Everyone knows you don’t take calls on your honeymoon.”
“You took your honeymoonbeforethe wedding?” I ask.
Mac shrugs, his attention fully on the stairs where Phoebe is descending. “Why not?”
Watching his eyes light up at the sight of her, I don’t even consider arguing. What would I even say? Love rarely follows the rules.