My head rested on his bare chest. I was in his bed, under his covers, away from the rest of the world. I traced the colorful lines of the tattoos on his chest. Amazing shapes and colors, nothing truly defined, just an almost tribal design that spanned shoulder to shoulder. It was a huge tattoo to match his huge shoulders and chest.

I took deep breaths. Relaxing, deep breaths.

It felt so good.

I looked up at Osiris, and he was just staring forward.

“Do I want to know what you’re thinking about?” I asked.

“Just recapping everything in my head,” he said with a grin.

“Which part of the night?” I asked.

“Well, let’s see. We missed out on catching fish. Definitely worth it. We drove over an hour to get some pizza. Definitely worth it. Ended up having to take a cold shower because we used the hot water for something else.”

“Definitely worth it,” I said.

“Yeah. Now we’re just here.” He lifted his right hand and pushed hair out of my face. “Right here. Right now. Just letting everything be everything.”

“It’s sort of crazy, Syi.”

“It’s fucking crazy, sugar.”

“Can I have immunity to say something?”

He laughed.

I loved when he laughed.

I made a mental note to try and make him laugh more.

“Say anything you’d like,” he said.

“How many times a day do you get emails and texts from people who need you?”

“Lara…”

“I’m just curious.”

Osiris sighed. “I got rid of my business, alright? The guys I handed it off to are ones I trust. Sometimes they nudge at me, just in case I want back in. Or they’ll stop by. Honestly, though? I don’t want that life ever again. This stuff with Mila…” He swallowed hard. “… I just don’t need that reminder. That was a different life, okay? That was a different me. They’re running the business and doing great.”

“What about other people?”

“What other people?”

I tilted my head. “You know exactly what I’m talking about.”

He nodded. “I became that guy, sugar.”

“What guy?”

“The guy that walks out,” he said. “I don’t want to hurt anyone else.”

“That’s not logical. Not if she’s asking for you.”

“I’m a memory.”

“You don’t have to be a memory, Syi.”

“So, what do I do? Walk through the fucking door and take command?”

“No,” I said. “You could just be there. Be present. Make it known you are present. And when Adley gets older…think of everything you’ll be able to tell her about Mila that nobody else will.”

Osiris moved away from me. He swung his feet off the bed and sat there. His head hung down. Those massive shoulders that could lift a tree were weighted down by sorrow and guilt.

This was my moment to be strong for him. For the man I wanted to be my man. The man I just said I loved.

I moved slowly, going to my knees. I reached for Osiris, gently touching the muscles of his back. Without a word, I leaned forward and kissed his back.

“I’m sorry,” I whispered. I put my forehead to his back. “I’m so fucking sorry, Osiris.” I loved saying his full name. “I cannot imagine what you’ve gone through. What you feel. Every single fucking day of your life. You have to face a path where there is no closure, and that’s just not right. Adley has to face that too. You might think she’s better off, but she’s not. She’s going to eventually have questions only you could answer. And she’s going to have feelings that only you can relate to.” I slid my hands to the round peaks of his shoulders. “I’m so sorry you have to carry that, Syi. With years to go. With a lifetime to go. But I want to be there for it all.” I kissed his back. “The good.” I kissed him again. “The bad.” I kissed him one more time. “The everything.”

Then there was silence.

The seconds ticked away. I could hear it in my mind like the pendulum of a clock.

Osiris then slowly turned his massively chiseled body and grabbed me. I reached right for his face, touching his cheeks, in case he was upset.

But he wasn’t.

Instead, there was a fire in his eyes that I’d never seen before.

He put me on my back, and I wrapped my legs around him. We were both still fully naked. We were both ready for more…

“Be careful about wishing for everything,” he whispered as his lips brushed against mine. “You just might fucking get it, sugar.”

* * *

The rest of the night was a blur for me. A good blur. A blur that gave way to a morning where I woke up, wrapped a sheet around my body, climbed out of the bed, and stood at a window that looked out to nothing but trees. When I opened the bedroom door, I smelled breakfast. Again, Osiris cooking for me. I went into the kitchen to find him standing with his phone in his hands. There was something to be said for watching a guy of his size trying to use his thumbs to send a text message. The phone looked like a little baby’s toy in his huge hands.

“Good morning,” I said.

“Morning, sugar,” he said. He tossed his phone to the table. He ran a hand through his hair. “Well, there it is.”

“There is what?” I asked.

“I took the day off work,” he said.

“Oh? Should I call Kim and play sick too?”

I wiggled my hips as I walked toward him, dead set on dropping the sheet and seeing if we could pick up where the night left off.

“Oh, damn, that would be fun,” he said. “But I have something to do.”

“Like what?”

“I’m going to give Michelle a call,” he said. “About Adley.”

I froze. “Really?”

“Yeah. You were right. With everything. I just have a lot in my heart to sort through. I guess in some selfish way I convinced myself I was protecting them by not being there. That if someone said the wrong thing I’d snap. Take my anger out on them. In my head, it made sense.”

“It makes sense, Syi,” I said. “It does. You would rather them have memories than see your real anger and hurt.”

“Exactly, sugar.”

“I understand,” I said. “You’re an amazing person, Syi. Whether you face it in the mirror or not. You are.”

“The only amazing person in this kitchen, this cabin, this entire fucking mountain, is you. I don’t know where you pulled all that from last night, Lara…”

“I just went with my body,” I whispered. I moved to my toes and could barely reach up to kiss his chin.

“Well, besides that part,” Osiris said with a grin. “I was talking about what you said. That shit was raw. That wasn’t pre-scripted in your head to fuck with me. You really meant all that, didn’t you?”

“Yes. I did. Every single word.”

“Well, that’s why I’m doing this,” Osiris said. “I don’t know how to look to the future, but when I try, I see you standing there.”

“All things considered, that’s romantic.”

We kissed. The bacon started to burn. Osiris finished breakfast while I got changed for the day. I had an hour to be at the flower shop. I never thought I’d have a day where I’d be rushing to get to work after a wild night with a wild man.

After we ate breakfast, I grabbed my bag and walked to the door. I had this sudden sinking feeling in my stomach when it came to leaving. I didn’t want to leave. I didn’t want to be away from him.

“Hey, sugar,” Osiris said. “You forgot your flowers.”

I smiled. I dropped my bag and took the roses from his hand. I went into the kitchen and found a tall glass. I filled it with water and stuck the roses in it. Then I put the cup on the table.

“What are you doing?” he asked.

“Leaving my mark,” I said.

I thought I had the upper hand, until he grabbed me and pulled me in for one more kiss.

“You already left your mark, sugar.”

* * *

“Whoa, you better slow down there,” Calvin said to me as I carried two boxes through the back of the shop.

“Why?” I asked.

He grabbed a box. “You’re sort of going a mile a minute. You in a rush to get out of here?”

“Someone’s in love,” Percy said with a mouth full of peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

“What are you, seven?” I asked Percy. “You can’t get real food?”

“He’s not allowed to touch the stove yet,” Kim said. “He might burn his wittle-bittie fingers.”

“Eat shit, Kim,” Percy said.

Then he coughed.

“Christ,” Calvin said. “You can’t even chew food without an adult present.”

Me and Kim laughed.

Calvin and Percy started arguing and walked away.

I opened a box of new decorations we were going to sell.

Kim nudged me. “He’s right.”

“What? That your dumbass brother can’t do anything without an adult around? I already knew that.”

“No. About you. You look…happy. Really happy.”

“I’m just happy we got this stuff in finally,” I said.

“Bullshit. I mean, I get it how much you care about this place. That’s a whole other conversation. I want to talk about you and the mountain man.”

I snorted.” You can stop calling him the mountain man, for starters.”

“No way. That’s what he is. And he’s got you hooked.”

I looked at Kim blankly. “Is that a bad thing?”

“No!” she laughed. “Fucking finally, Lara!”

“Stop,” I said. “This is a store. Customers could be in here and hear you.”

“You should just buy this place from my parents,” Kim said. “Seriously.”

“Okay. What topic are we on here?”

“Everything. I can’t remember seeing you this alive, Lara. Honestly, even when you had that stupid finance job, you were miserable. Even when you thought you had a forever-thing with Thad. You weren’t happy like this. This is real. This is you not needing to worry about being happy. You’re just being yourself.”

“And you thought it would never happen,” I said.

“Um, this is because of me. You’re welcome.”

“How so?”

“Who took you on that terrible camping trip?”

I rolled my eyes. “Wow.”

“Wow is right,” Kim said. “It’s the truth.”

“Fine. You’re my savior, Kim.”

“Good. Now I’m cashing in a favor.”

“Oh?”

“I need to go. Right now. I need you to cover for me. Matt wants to hook up.”

“Booty call in the early afternoon?”

“Might be more than that, I’m not sure. Can you make sure this is all taken care of?”

“Of course I can,” I said. “Go have some fun.”

“Am I stomping on your mountain man plans?”

“No,” I said. “Go ahead, I’ll cover the shop. I’m going to organize a few more things anyway. Surprise your mother and father and see what they think.”

“You’re too good for this place, Lara. You know, I think Mom and Dad wanted to give this to me and Percy. But Percy still can’t tie his shoes, and I have no interest in flowers and retail and humans.”

“What do you want to do?”

“I was actually thinking about nursing school.”

“Wow, that would be amazing, Kim.”

“I’m going to wear some nursing clothes for Matt and get his opinion.”

I curled my lip. “Okay, never mind, you have issues.”

“Love you, Lara. Please keep being happy. Whatever’s causing it.”

I smiled.

I finished putting away all the new items. I organized the glass case. I moved some things around the shop. To my shock, Percy was actually helpful as he took the calls, set up orders for flowers, and—dare I admit it—organized everything for me.

Tonight was Calvin’s night out with his old college buddies, which meant he was home getting ready to go out. Cindy called me to check on the shop. I assured everyone I was fine. And I was actually alone in the flower shop for more than an hour. Which meant they all trusted me. I stood behind the counter and caught my breath.

Things felt good.

I wasn’t looking to the future. No way. I was just going to stand behind the counter and breathe. Things would happen as they did. Did I want to work at a flower shop for the rest of my life? Not a chance in hell. But I wasn’t going to stand there and obsess over it. Same with Osiris. I wanted to share a love with him that would shake that entire mountain. And it was there. It was slowly happening. Slow was good. Really good.

I grabbed the old green notebook and looked at the orders Percy had taken over the phone. I started to think about the ordering process for the shop. There had to be a way to make it better. Make a catalog. Offer extra items.

I heard the door to the shop open.

I put the notebook down and felt a smile creep across my face. I actually enjoyed when people came into the shop. Something about helping them find the right flower, bouquet, or the right decoration actually mattered to me.

“How can I help…”

I froze.

I stared.

I blinked.

Then I shook my head.

He reached to his right and grabbed a single rose from a vase.

He walked it to the counter and put it down.

Without saying a word, he reached into his pocket and put a five-dollar bill down.

Then he put his hand to the rose and slid it across the counter.

“For you,” he whispered.

I couldn’t stop shaking my head.

I managed to ask one question. “What are you doing here?”