Page 148 of Love Arranged
“Are you sure?” He takes his eyes off the road for a quick second.
“Yeah, but can we pass by the shop first?”
“Why?”
“I’m not going to show up to meet your parents empty-handed. That’s rude.”
Lorenzo parks in front of Rose & Thorn tenminutes later, and I hop out to make a quick bouquet of my favorite pink flowers before rushing back to the car.
“It’s the best I could do under a time crunch.”
“She’ll love it.”
The ride to the cemetery is quiet, but in a soothing kind of way. Lorenzo keeps tapping his thigh in sets of threes, and I eventually reach over to hold his hand instead.
“You good?” I ask.
He nods. “I usually save visits for Fridays, but I felt… Today was…”
“Hard?”
“Yeah.” He releases a lungful of air.
“I’m sorry…if my family triggered you, that is.”
He shakes his head. “Don’t apologize because I can’t get over my grief.”
His statement is so ridiculous, I can’t help laughing, which causes him to hit a curb.
“Are you laughing at me?”
I suck in a few gulps of air. “Yes, because what do you mean you can’t get over your grief? There’s no such thing!”
His lips press together, and his furrowed brows are putting in extra work today from how hard I’m making him think.
“So long as you love your parents, you’ll never stop grieving them, so the best way you can help yourself is to learn to coexist with the feeling.” Now, if only I could take my own advice.
“You talk like it’s that easy.”
“It’s not. I’m the first one to admit that I struggle with it.”
“So what do you suggest?”
I give his hand a squeeze. “Sharing that pain with each other so we both feel less…alone.”
He stays quiet for a minute while we drive through the main road of the cemetery.
“Thank you,” he says as he parks in the lot.
“No need to thank me. This is what friends do.” I reach for the bouquet.
“Lily?” He reaches for my hand before I can escape the car.
“Yeah?”
“I don’t want to be your friend.”
My heart takes a brief intermission. “Why not?”
