Page 185 of Meet Me at the Metro

He blows them out without a second thought.

“Did you even make a wish?”

“No,” he laughs.

“Theo!”

“I’ve got everything I would have ever wished for right here.” He plucks one of the candles from the cake and plops its frosted tip into my mouth, grinning like a fool as I happily lick it clean. “How the hell did you know chocolate was my favorite?”

“YourCadburybars in the nightstand drawer gave me a little bit of a hint,” I admit. “You know, you should find a better hiding spot for those.”

“You’ve been raiding my stash?!”

“I’ve only had a few!”

“You cheeky little thing,” he chuckles deeply. “I knew I wasn’t eating through themthatfast!”

“I have no clue what you’re talking about,” I mutter, cheeks growing hot as coals. “This isn’t all the surprise, though.”

He gives me a preposterous look as I set a small, wrapped box into his hands. “This is too much, Nora.”

“Oh, hush. Open it,” I insist. Theo takes his time tearing away the wrapping and opening the cardboard box. He pulls out the small strip of paper inside, and I feel too excited to practice patience. “Go on. Read it. Outloud.”

“So impatient,” he tuts, grinning boyishly as he glances back down to the words I’ve scribbled across it. “If souls were manifested as music, I think the Universe would be filled with melodies and chords so beautiful, our ears wouldn’t know how to handle them. I’d find a way to listen to yours as often as allowed. This gift is for you to remember all the music he wasfor you.”

When he looks up, I nod toward the piano’s fallboard, gesturing to the golden plate shining against its dark, stained wood.

In Loving Memory

Theodore Isaac Pearson

“Music is not to hear. It is to feel.”

Theo’s silent for a long moment as he stares down at the plaque in honor of his father’s memory. He releases a shaky breath, murmuring my name. “Nora, I—”

“You told me once that you wanted to have his name engraved somewhere on his piano,” I whisper, suddenly nervous. “I hope it’s okay...”

“This is more than okay,” he says, his voice strained. When he turns to me, I don’t miss the tears in his eyes. He hitches me into his arms, his chest shaking with a soft cry as he says against my neck, “Thank you. Thank you so much.”

The raw sentiment in the words has my emotions stirring. “It can be your lucky charm tonight when you perform your senior critique.”

He draws my head back enough to see my face, his fingers gently stroking along my jaw and tracing the soft ridges of my face. “I think my lucky charm has become you.”

“The Theo I first met would make fun of your ass for saying that,” I taunt, secretly adoring the statement.

“The Theo you first met was a dick.”

“You think?”I cock my head to get a good, long look at him—admire each of his sharp, masculine features. I run my fingers through his hair, ruffling the dark, blonde strands. “I thought he was pretty hot.”

“Yeah?”He nudges my nose with his. “And what do you think of him, now?”

“I think he’s my favorite person in the whole world,” I answer. “And I’m really happy he begged me to follow him off the train that night.”

Theo smiles, drawing his mouth to mine and gently kissing my lips before whispering against them, “I’m glad he did, too.”

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