“Wait,” I say, pulling back. “How the hell did you know that? She told me she hadn’t told you.”
He grins as though he’s proud of himself. “I know everything that’s going on with my sister.”
“You didn’t know that she was in love with your best friend for years,” I remind him, never skipping an opportunity to put him in his place.
“Really?” Noah scoffs. “You want to go and bring that up right now?”
I laugh as I study his face, skipping over the whole ‘Tully and Rivers being in love’ thing. “You realize she thinks being a florist is some kind of top secret?”
“I know,” he chuckles. “And it’ll stay that way until she decides that she’s brave enough to tell me.”
“You’re such a good brother,” I tell him.
He beams up at me. “I know. She’s so fucking lucky to have me.”
I roll my eyes. “So, what are you trying to tell me, exactly?” I ask. “How does working for Anton have anything to do with Tully going to college?”
“Because,” he starts, pulling me down onto his lap. “The reason she refuses to even try is because she doesn’t want to ask our parents for the money to go, but I’ve been saving up for this. In another few months, I’ll have enough to cover her if she was to get in. Nothing is holding her back, you know, except her grades, but they’ve been getting better since you’ve been forcing her to put a little effort in.”
“That’s all good and all, but you realize the cut off for applications has already passed? There’s no way a school like that would accept late entries.”
A cheesy as fuck smile plasters itself over his handsomely cut up face. “You really think I’d do all this and not remember to put in her application?”
“Holy shit, Noah. She’s going to kill you.”
“Yep,” he agrees. “But it’ll be worth it. She wants this flower shop, and I’m sure she could make it happen on her own, but with a business degree behind her, she’d be unstoppable.”
“So, you’re prepared to continue working for a guy like Anton, despite what could possibly happen, just to help Tully get to college.”
“You bet that fine ass of yours I would.”
“I think I just fell in love with you a little more.”
“Right back at ya, babe,” he says before gently pressing his lips to mine. “Don’t act as though I haven’t noticed that you just cooked dinner for my whole family.”
I grin against his lips before he pulls back and studies my face. “How is she?”
“Asleep,” I tell him. “She put up a fight and then completely broke down. She’s shattered, but Aiden’s with her now.”
“But she’s asleep?” he checks, wondering how Aiden fits into this.
“Yeah,” I chuckle. “She fell asleep on top of him and I refused to let him move in case he woke her, so he’s watching some ridiculous show on Netflix while she snores.”
He nods his head. “She’s really hurting, huh?”
“Yeah,” I sigh. “It’s going to take a while for her to get past this one.”
“That’s what I was afraid of.”
Chapter 13
“Shit. Hurry up,” Noah yells as the rain quickly turns into large, icy, hailstones that come down hard on my new car.
I slam the door and run inside as fast as I can, searching through all the cupboards for a thick blanket big enough to cover the car from front to back. It doesn’t take long to realize that Noah didn’t come tearing in behind me, but I don’t have the time to dwell on it. I need to get a blanket on my car before it turns into a dented mess.
It’s too new for me to send it off for an insurance claim. I mean, I’d miss it too much. I’m not done showing it off as I drive around Haven Falls like a bad bitch.
My fingers curl around a blanket that I think should do the job and I race back outside, holding it above my head to avoid being hit by the hailstones. Who knows how long this storm is going to last for. It’s been going all day, raining on and off since I first woke up this morning.
Aria thought it was great as she finally got a chance to wear her rainboots today. I gave her a rain jacket and within seconds she was racing out the front door, jumping in all the puddles and begging me to take a second rain jacket for her friend. It was great watching her enjoy herself, but having the water splash up all over my jeans wasn’t exactly thrilling for me. Let’s just say the fact that she’s out of my hair, having a play date with a girl from school is an absolute miracle, otherwise, my day would have been spent standing out in the rain, getting myself sick as she happily ran around. I can only imagine what she thinks about this hail. I’m sure I’ll be hearing about it when I pick her up later.