Page 124 of Give Me a Shot

“To say what I wanted. I thought about something linked to Artemis,” he said. “You know, to go with Hephaestus.” She smiled at him, and he felt all tingly and shy. “But that didn’t really suit you. I thought about something else related to archery or the Renaissance.”

“Wait,” she said. “There’s a little pink stone inside each rose.”

He nodded.

“Rose quartz,” he said. “It was a symbol of love in Greek mythology.”

Jess froze, then looked up at him.

“Roses are also a symbol of love,” she said. He nodded again. “You’ve never given me roses before. You’ve always been careful about the meaning of the flowers you’ve given me. This time, youmademe flowers that mean love.”

His heart thudding in his chest, he looked down at Steinem in his arms, caressing him slowly to gain a little courage. He drew a slow breath.

“That’s because—”

“I love you, too,” she said and launched herself into his arms.

There wasn’t a single way to describe the sensations that exploded through Mo. There was happiness and sparks and joy anda soothing wave. He wanted to simply bask, but everything was cut short by a loud yowl as Steinem shot up, pressing himself against Jess, forcing her to let go of them both. Laughter erupted out of her, and Mo joined in. “Okay, bossy,” she said to Steinem. “You’ve had your Mo cuddles. It’s my turn.” She scooped Steinem out of Mo’s arms and slid into them herself.

“I love you, Jess,” he whispered into her crown as their laughter died down.

“And I love you, Mo,” she said, squeezing tight. “So, so much.”

Mo closed his eyes and inhaled, filling his lungs with vanilla, as he melted into peace and calm and “safe.”

Epilogue

Jess and Mo

Nine Months Later

Jess stood up straight from the kitchen table, letting her hand stay on the back of Maddie’s chair.

“You are so much better at this than I am, my friend,” she said to Maddie. “I’m sorry I’m not more helpful.”

“I am useless,” Maddie said plaintively. “Everyone else in class is a thousand times better than me. There’s no way I’m not going to fail the test.” She dropped her pencil and plopped her elbows onto the table, face falling into her hands.

Seventh-grade math was kicking Jess’s butt; she was a word person, not a numbers person. The last thing she was going to do was let Maddie get down on herself, though.

“Nope,” she said, gently pulling on one of Maddie’s arms. “That’s not what we’re going to do. Come on, time for a break.”

Maddie let herself be pulled out of the kitchen and out onto Mo’s porch. Jess lifted the lid of the large storage box Mo had installed for Maddie’s archery tack.

“Jess…” Maddie whined. “I suck at this, too…”

“Bah! Bull—crap,” Jess said, correcting herself as she slid the foam target out from its place against the side of the house.

“You can say ‘bullshit.’ I won’t tell Daddy,” Maddie said.

“Shh,” Jess said quietly. “It’s not your dad I’m worried about.” She shot a look at Mrs. Sargysan’s back door. Maddie giggled.

“Okay, good point,” she said.

Jess took the target down to the end of the yard and joggedback. Maddie was adjusting her arm guard as Jess hopped up the steps.

“Okay, Mads,” she said, getting in place a few steps behind her and to the left. “Make yourself proud.”

Maddie turned and looked at her with a raised eyebrow.

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