Page 76 of Wicked & Wildflower

“He said his reputation was beginning to negatively affect his business.” I turn to face her, crossing my arms. “Are you saying he’s lying?”

“No.” She shakes her head. “He does have a reputation, just like I do. Like Leo does. But after six months here, I’ve found that people stare at me a whole hell of a lot less than they used to. They’ve moved onto whatever other small-town gossip caught their attention.” The breeze kicks up, blowing her long blonde hair into her face before she tucks it behind her ear. “I think the average resident cares a lot less about their local mechanic’s sex life than he lets on.I thinkhe was smitten with you from the moment he met you, and you gave him the perfect scenario to court you without scaring you away.”

I give her an incredulous look. “Court me? It’s not Bridgerton, Darby.”

“Is that not what he’s doing? I know you’re not too stupid to see it, Dal.” Her eyes filter across the lawn. “He’s infatuated with you. I mean, is he not flirting with you constantly? He’s practically begging to fuck you.”

A small laugh escapes me at that. “He is. I’ve never had trouble with men wanting methatway. The trouble lies with them accepting all the baggage that comes with it.”

Sorrow flashes across my sister’s eyes. “Well, the way it looks to me right now, he’s handling all your baggage and none of your…delicates.” Her lips twitch up in the corners. “And he’s still here. That tells me all he really wants is…you.”

“I’m a packaged deal.”

“Look at him right now.” I pull my gaze back to Everett, watching him laugh with my daughter. “If anything,” my sister continues, “he’s more smitten with her than he is with you. I think he knows exactly what comes from being with you, and he wants all of it.”

I don’t often allow myself to dream up scenarios I long ago deemed impossible, but something deep inside me pulls at my chest as I watch the man I’ve become so allured by, the man who makes me feel so safe, laughing with my daughter. I think that tug might be hope.

My heart feels like frozen soil, like flowers gone dead in winter’s frost.

A lifetime of being iced out by those who are supposed to love you tends to do that to a person, I think. A lifetime of poison leaves little space for one to bloom.

Meeting Everett feels like planting seeds, like the hope of spring.

But there are some places so cold, seeds are useless, places so dark that the sun never shines. I think I may be one of them.

“I’m not sure I’m capable of giving anyone all of me, Darby.”

My sister looks at me like she wants to understand, and while she faced her own kind of demons in the haunted house of our childhood, mine are just…different.

She was saved by the love of her life.

I had to be saved by her.

So, my sister doesn’t argue. She only grabs my forearm where it’s crossed at my chest and squeezes lightly. “I think if there is anyone out there worth trying for, it’s him.”

I nod but don’t respond. We watch the party unfold for a moment longer before Leo comes jogging up to us, dimples gleaming with the grin on his face. “Okay, I finished setting up everything in the garage. Are you guys ready?”

I smile at him. “Yep. Let’s do it.”

I call out to Lou. Everett knows the plan, helping her out of the bounce house as Leo, Darby, and myself walk around the far side of the yard. Monica and Carlos are already in the detached garage, smiling as we enter. August is here too, to my surprise. I had invited him to the party but hadn’t expected him to come.

I assume it was my sister’s doing.

He’s spent most of the day with her, and I noticed him speaking with Monica after Darby joined me on the porch. He’s been quiet, reserved, though he smiles at Lou as she walks through the door.

“You ready, Luz?” Everett asks, standing behind her with his hands over her eyes.

“I thought we were opening presents outside?”

“This one is too big to bring into the backyard, so we thought we’d give it to you here first.” Leo beams as he stands next to the table in the center of the garage with the bright pink, sparkly surfboard laid across it.

There are boards hung against the walls and across the roof, dozens of them. Most of them seem to be custom-made, and I wonder if they’re something Leo won during his competitions throughout the years. I can’t think of any other reason why one person would need so many. There are all different sizes, colors, and even shapes.

Another table is shoved against the corner beneath a rack of boards with rags, wax, and resin? I think. Leo talks about fixing up his boards a lot, but I only half pay attention.

Lou’s been begging me to get back in the water for the last few months since we halted her lessons with Everett back in October. The weather is too unpredictable right now for surfing, according to Everett and Leo. Lou doesn’t seem to understand this, though, since Leo is still in the water almost every day. Even though he technically retired last summer, he had pre-scheduled competitions through this spring, so he’s still training. Plus, he’s spent almost every day on the water since he was younger than Lou, and I’m sure he can handle the waves and the weather.

My anxiety, however, cannot.

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