Page 51 of Mocha Kisses

Nova snorts, shaking his head. “So, you’ll leave us behind because you don’t want to hurt us? What about Griffin? Can’t you see how much this already hurt him the first time? How much it’s hurting him again?” He rises to his feet and stalks around the bed, casing me in against the wall until there’s less than an inch between us. “That piece of sunshine—as you call him—woke up in a dead panic when he realized you were gone. He’s not gone outside much insix yearsbecause of how you left. I know he probably told you some bullshit about being recognized or not needing to leave the house. Griffin rarely leaves because there’s nothing out there for him. The reason for him to enjoy Spring Haven or Red Brook or wherever else left when you did. He feels more comfortable in his space becauseyouleft. I know why, Luna. But that doesn’t make it any easier to watch him fall apart.”

I’m not sure I can fix this. It hasn’t even been a week and I’ve already started pulling them apart. I should have just had my closure, worked on the manuscript, and left.

“And I know what you’re thinking. That none of this is worth it.” Nova slaps a hand against the wall beside my head, the other moving to cup my cheek as he forces me to meet the storm brewing in those dark blues of his eyes. “But it is. It’s all worth it. God, I want to be selfish with you, to feel you, to truly hold you while you scream my name so that you forget all about leaving. However, I can’t. Not when you are his heart and soul. Not when you are the very air that he breathes. You have been the only one he’s loved since you left and I will not watch you take that from him.”

My heart constricts at the pain lingering in Nova’s eyes, my hands instinctively moving to his chest as if I could steal some of it away. “I want to be selfish,” I breathe. I don’t deserve this but I rise up on my tiptoes, brushing my lips against his.

“You quiet the demons in my head, angel. I hate that you are everything I need just as he needs you.”

"Why?" Tears surface and I struggle to hold them in. I don't want to show Nova how much he truly affects me, how much I need him. Nova places a gentle kiss on my forehead before pulling away and heading for the door, leaving me more confused than before.

I run after him and stop him seconds before getting outside. I pull him off to a corner. “Why are you saying those things? Are you trying to fucking confuse me?”

“I’m telling you that you have to make a choice. Standing between the three of us, wanting to run, to save us all. That’s your burden to bear but we’re trying to ease that. However, I won’t start something with you if tomorrow you might be gone. I’m not as strong as I look and at least one of us will have to be the shoulder to cry on. You have the power to break us, Luna andthat’swhat terrifies me.”

“I’m not going anywhere,” I confess. Before I spoke to Rome, I thought running was the best option. Now? Not a chance. I’ll have to weather my fears and stay put—not just because I want to. Not because Nova has all but told me that these three men need me but because I need them just as much.

“No?”

“Nova, dammit. I’m terrified. Of everything. I have been for a while. Nothing makes sense and everything is happening too fast, happiness just dangling right out of reach. I want normal. I crave it but I can’t have it. Not with everything going on and now my father is in town and they-”

Nova closes the distance between us again. “You keep using the same excuses. Try a different one. Either you’re ready to try or you’re not. There’s no gray area. There’s no hanging out on the fence. I will help you either way, Luna but you don’t get to strangle our hearts in a vice grip and yank them from our chest without me saying something about it.”

He’s right and I hate that he’s right.

My shoulders fall as I heave a sigh. Apologizing again won’t mean anything. I already need to face Griffin after leaving him again and that hurts more than anything else.

“Let’s go on a drive. I want to tell you something.”

I frown. “Are you kidnapping me?”

“Is that something you’re into?”

Nova leans back, raising a brow as he waits for me to decide. Staying here is only going to further perpetuate my fears and make me want to run, not to mention that I’d rather be with these men than alone anyway. I follow Nova to the lobby after gathering up the manuscript and my backpack, throwing Ms. Elrod a timid wave when she congratulates me on my marriage.

He points to my little Toyota that hasn’t moved since we arrived and I gladly fish around in my bag for the keys to hand to him. The drive is uncomfortably silent as I press myself against the door, watching the Spring Haven I used to know pass me by. After the small strip of businesses, there are the little plots of land I used to weave through to get home.

Houses now sit on each little square, happiness exploding from the inside out. Bright yellows, blues, and greens cover each one. Duller colors adorn some of the older houses, my childhood home screaming at me as we pass it.

I’m not sure what I expected to see but the rundown, falling-apart structure with yellow caution tape and boarded-up windows isn’t what I expected. My mother has been a distant thought since I left Spring Haven but knowing that that’s how my childhood ended—an empty home deteriorating into nothing gives me some vindication for the woman she turned out to be.

Nova pulls up to the wharf at the edge of Spring Haven fifteen minutes later, acres of empty fields to my right. I remember there being a small forest here but all of that has since disappeared.

“Why did you bring me out here?” A twinge of panic settles in that Nova really could be one of the suited goons but I squash that. It’s not possible.

“Because I want to show you rather than just tell you what I’ve found. I want to talk to you outside of your comfort zone, where there’s nothing else to influence you. Where if I gave you the keys, you can make your own choice.” He steps out of the car and I follow suit, Nova handing me the keys when he walks around the hood. I stare at the metal in my outstretched hand, hating the choice that he’s giving me. I don’t want it but he needs my words and my actions just as much as I need his. “Luna, there’s a few things about Paula’s Agency that you should know.”

My expression sours as he talks about an agency that strikes up illegal loans with those who don’t know any better. They have their hand in every facet of life, ensuring that they get their returns, sometimes 8 or 900% of the original amount. There’s a likelihood my father only pulled out $50-60,000 and then it just squirreled away from him.

Worse, Paula Agency is one of the investors working tirelessly to buy this plot of land. It’s tied up in a legal battle now, but it wasn’t before someone cleared out the forest, harming Spring Haven’s peaceful balance that brought a little bit of life to the town. Anyone who owns this part of Spring Haven essentially holds the heart of this place. Depending on what they build, they’ll push out the smaller businesses and draw in bigger crowds from Red Brook. The larger investors that have expressed their interest all want the same thing—to create commercialized businesses.

Spring Haven has never needed to be a commodity but should this piece of land fall into the wrong hands, hands like Paula’s Agency, the consequences following would destroy what this town used to be. I’m not sure how many of the locals would remain here.

“So you think it’s all connected?” I ask. This doesn’t make sense. My father borrowed money from someone trying to buy up land in Spring Haven. How did this get so out of hand?

“Yes. And I think the reason they’re so adamant about recouping the money is to overwhelm any investors, the town council, and whoever else so that they can buy. Spring Haven could use the money but they also don’t want corporate greed to take over what’s left of this place. It’s a delicate balance.”

The chill air wraps around me, a shiver running down my spine. “This sounds like a bad movie, Nova. And if you’re telling me this so I don’t want to run, you’re not doing a great job.” A flash of uncertainty runs through his expression so I add, “I’m not running. I’m just saying.”

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