And there Mike stands, flowers in his hand, a nervous smile on his face. His hair is trimmed and styled, with only a few rebellious pieces escaping onto his forehead.

“Hey,” he says as I run my fingers through my own short curls.

“Hey.”

“Hi!” Danica peeps from the other side of the room, and I turn around just as she careens past me and into Mike. She throws her arms around his neck and kisses him on the lips before lowering down from her tiptoes. She’s wearing the same sequined top, but an even shorter fuchsia skirt, and I stand off to the side wondering exactly how many fuchsia skirts she owns.

“Wow,” Mike admires as he takes a look at her, and she spins around, her face lighting up like a one-thousand-watt bulb.

“These are for you,” Mike says, handing her a big bouquet of red roses just as I start to walk away. “And these are for Hailey.”

I turn around to see him holding a small bouquet of orange sunflowers, white daisies, and purple wildflowers. He smiles and extends his arm, and I just stand there staring.

“Why?” Danica asks, and Mike’s eyes and mine both swing to where she’s standing with her brow furrowed at the tiny bouquet in his hand.

“Why what?” Mike asks.

“Why’d you get flowers for Hailey?”

Her narrowed eyes lift from the sunflowers to me, like the answer will burn itself into my forehead or something. I’m fidgeting under the heat of her gaze when Mike says, “Because I thought it would be a nice thing to do?”

“You thought it would be nice to get flowers for my roommate?”

“She’s your cousin,” Mike reminds her. A baffled line etches into his forehead at the attitude Danica is copping. “I used to get them for your mom . . . What’s your problem?”

Watching Danica change her attitude is like watching winter turn to spring. I can’t see the moment it happens, but then there’s suddenly no ice in her voice. Only blistering sunshine. “No problem. I was just wondering.” Her megawatt smile is bright and pretty right before she coils her arms around his neck again and gives him a lingering kiss on the cheek. “You’re so sweet. I love that about you.”

Her feet drop back to the floor, and she shoots me a first-degree burn of a smile before telling Mike, “I’m going to go put these in some water.”

I’m watching her walk away when Mike steps toward me and extends the flowers again. “I thought they might remind you of home. Most farms have sunflowers, right?”

I stare up into kind brown eyes, and then down at sunflowers even bigger than the ones that used to grow outside my bedroom window. Eventually, I take the bouquet and muse, “The ones back home aren’t nearly this pretty.”

When Mike says nothing, I gaze up at him again to find him smiling down at me. His cheek is dimpled, his eyes are soft, and I’m swallowing thickly and taking a step back. “So . . . where are you taking Danica tonight?”

Mike lifts his hand like he wants to run it through his hair, but then he remembers it’s gelled and he drops it to the side. He drums his thumb against the seam of his pants pocket instead. “They just opened a Primanti Brothers across town.”

“Primanti Brothers?” I ask. “That famous Pittsburgh restaurant?”

“Yeah.”

“I saw it on the Food Network channel . . . Isn’t it like sandwiches and stuff?”

“I think they have pizza too,” Mike offers, and I almost laugh.

After glancing toward the kitchen, I ask in a lowered voice, “Want some advice?”

Mike stops drumming his thumb and asks, “Advice?”

“Danica wants you to take her somewhere fancy. Primanti Brothers sounds cool, but . . .” But this is Danica. “Danica mentioned some seafood place downtown. She kept raving about their risotto.”

“Rice?”

“Yeah,” I confirm, even though I’m still not sure. “I think she’s hoping you’ll take her there.”

Mike and I break our whispered huddle just as Danica reemerges from the kitchen.

“So where are we going?” she asks as she grabs a jacket from the coat closet.

Mike glances at me. “Uh . . . Well, there’s this new restaurant that just opened across town—”

“Oh, I love new restaurants!” my cousin cheers as she pushes through the million jackets stuffed into the closet. All of them are hers, since there wasn’t room left for any of mine.

Mike’s shoulders relax, and he says, “It’s called Primanti Brothers, and—”

“Isn’t that a sandwich shop?” Danica says, turning around with her nose scrunched in disapproval.

“Well, yeah,” Mike says as she hands him her jacket. He holds it open for her, and as she slips into it, he adds, “but they’re famous.”

Danica turns around and pouts, “But I dressed up . . .”

Mike’s fingers get caught in his hair when he attempts to rake his hand through it. He tugs them loose and says, “I . . . was also considering this seafood place.”

“Harbor 1921?” Danica squeals, and Mike’s eyes dart to mine before returning to the excited girl in front of him.

“Yeah. Do you want to go there instead?”

“Yes!” Danica exclaims, grabbing her purse and swinging open the door. “They have the best lobster risotto! It’s so amazing. You have to get it.”