Page 166 of Rush the Edge

Kane and his mom talk quietly for a few minutes, and I take the opportunity to give them privacy. They’ve only chatted a handful of times since Kane came clean, and it was only to give Kane an update on Miles, who is at a gambling treatment facility for the next several months.

I disappear upstairs to escape River’s complaining about the dishes and end up in my childhood bedroom. In the past, I refused to linger in here for too long, afraid it’d bring up too many hidden memories of that summer.

With my back to the door, I stare out the window. I smile softly with the memory of Kane across the yard, staring at me out of his own window. Even back then, when we were too young to realize anything was happening between us, I was drawn to him. Seeing his boyish smile, that later turned into a bad-boy smirk, was the highlight of my evening each night.

“Should I go over there and wave at you from my old bedroom?”

I spin quickly with a yelp. My hand moves to my racing heart. “God, you scared me.”

Kane gives me a lopsided smile and shuts my bedroom door behind him. The noise of it latching shoots a thrill down my spine. Heat pulls on my core as Kane strides over to me, his tall frame taking up so much space in my small bedroom.

I peer up at him. “It was nice of you to give both of our moms flowers.”

His tight jaw flickers when he glances away. For someone as arrogant as him, he doesn’t take compliments very well.

“Did you purposefully give your mom daffodils?” I question, knowing his heart goes so much deeper than anyone realizes.

He eyes me out of his peripheral vision.

“You did, didn’t you? I was wondering why you were reading my floriography book.” I smile.

Daffodils represent new beginnings—something that’s very fitting for him and his mom.

“You can be awfully sweet when you want to be,” I say quietly.

Kane finally turns to me. “Don’t tell anyone that.”

I laugh quietly, but it fades when he starts to dig into his pocket. “I got you something too,” he says.

“Me?” I observe his face before glancing at my belly. “Do you know something I don’t?”

His laugh makes me smile. “This isn’t a Mother’s Day present.” He turns serious. “Not yet, anyway.”

I try to hide a smile at the thought of us having a baby one day. It may be a struggle because of my Lupus, but with him by my side, I know we’ll be able to handle anything that is thrown our way.

“Then what is it?” I ask.

I study the way his fingers move against the screen of his phone, as if he’s searching for something. He sharply flicks his blue eyes to me when he stops swiping.

“Here me out,” he starts. “When you’re ready to move on from being the mascot…”

I pretend to be outraged by the idea. “Never. You’re stuck with me.”

Kane grins, softening his tight masculine features for a second. His hand lands on my hip, and he brings me in close. He spins me next, pulling me backward to rest against his hard chest. When he places his phone in front of my face, it takes me a couple of seconds to realize what he’s showing me.

My eyelashes flutter as I attempt to clear my blurry vision. I grab onto his phone and zoom in on the photo. In blue typography, the wordsThe Blue Devil Gardenerappear above a shovel, rake, and hoe graphic with a tagline underneath that says,Soil so good it’s devilishly strong.

“I had a logo made for you whenever you’re ready for that plant stand you’ve been dreaming about since we were kids.”

I bite down on my lip to keep from crying—or squealing. Maybe both.

The room fills with silence, and Kane shifts behind me.

“Uh, do you like it? Or…” His words fade, and he shifts nervously again. If I wasn’t so blown away by the gesture, I’d make him sweat it out a little longer, because it’s not often that Kane Barlow gets flustered.

His phone falls to the floor as I spin around in his arms. I take him by surprise when I push him onto my twin bed, his blue eyes gleaming with something enticing.

“I love it.” I climb over his legs and straddle him.

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