Page 76 of When Hearts Remember

When I open my eyes, I see a familiar amber drink inside a straw cup bearing Estelle’s logo—honey lavender iced tea.

I rub the sore spot on my chest.

“And you’re welcome,Nova.”

My breath catches and I turn around, but he’s already disappeared.

He called me that when I woke up. I didn’t imagine it.

Nova.

Chapter 25

Past: The Year of the Accident—Twenty-Four Years Old

“You look so cutewhen you’re serious, Nova.” I grin as we sit cross-legged in front of the roaring fireplace in my apartment, watching my girlfriend glare at the leather journal like it’s her worst enemy.

Liam is in Aspen with a few friends for the holidays and is coming back later today. The idiot made fun of me when I told him I didn’t want to go. Little did he know, I had plans with his little sister.

I stifle a yawn—it’s a little past seven in the morning and the skies are cold and dreary outside. Normally, I’d already be up and taking a shower after swimming ten laps in the pool, but a certain vixen kept me up last night, then dragged me out of bed after a few hours of sleep to brainstorm on her list.

Let’s just say my routines are now in the trash can.

“It is serious! I’m setting my goals for the nexttwentyyears! Do you know how big of a commitment that is?” She stabs her pen on the paper.

Jab. Jab. Jab.

Chuckling, I reach over and stop her. “Patience is definitely not your strong suit.”

“I had a year to finalize this list and I still couldn’t! And now, I only have,” she scans down the list of scribbles that include crossed out words, hearts and stars doodled around certain items, and phrases circled in red, “two items.”

She growls. “Two items, Ethan! I’m supposed to complete the list, prioritize them, and start on my first item next week.”

“Because you just turned twenty.”

“Exactly. No longer a teenager.” She sits up straighter, a proud smile on her face. “I’m doing well in college, know I want to do marketing when I graduate, and have a good boyfriend.”

I arch my brow. “Just good?”

“Oh yeah. I’d give him a meets expectations. His taste in food is horrible—all that green stuff all the time is such a bore, but we’ll work on that.”

“What’s that container on the dining room table? Leftover lasagna and cheesy breadsticks. And those chips—who bought them? Me.” I groan, slapping a hand on my forehead. “You’ve turned me into a messy man who eats shit all the time.”

“Shit! What do you mean, shit? Okay, I take that back. Below expectations. A D-minus. No, an F, because—”

My lips twitch, but I force a growl out of my throat. “An F? Oh, you started it!”

She squeals when I throw a colorful cushion—one of those jewel-colored, Bohemian patterned, with tassels and everything—at her. She brought them over because she said the apartment looks boring with the white walls, gray couch and furnishings. What can I say? Liam and I aren’t complicated guys.

Another cushion hits me in the face and I jump up. “That’s it. This is war!”

“Ethan!” She laughs when I pin her to the Persian carpet, her delectable body wriggling below me. My breath stalls as I watch her smile slip away when she realizes I have her wrists locked above her head.

Under the flickering glow from the fireplace, I see her pupils dilating and the smallest flecks of gray in her blue irises, which will forever remind me of a bright sunny day, just like her. A flush blooms on her creamy skin and my lungs seize.

“Have I ever told you blue is my favorite color on you?” shewhispers.

I look at the navy sweater I pulled on this morning—my closet is filled with various shades of blue now.

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