Page 95 of The Legend Next Door
As I slide my thumbnail under the clasp and pry the box open, Luca yells, “It’s a pistachio! It’s a pistachio nut!”
“Luca!” says Ben.
He’s right. It is a pistachio nut. A hand-forged pendant made of sterling silver that’s been oxidized to highlight the details and shadows. It hangs from a silver wheat chain.
“D’you know why my dad got you a pistachio, Jelly? Do you? Do you?”
I can’t help giggling. Luca’s enthusiasm has infected me, plus I love this gift more than I can possibly say.
“Is it because he likes me more than pistachio ice cream?” I ask hopefully.
“No,” Ben replies evenly. Before my heart has time to drop, he pulls me toward him. One hand snakes loosely around my waist and the other strokes my cheek as he looks into my eyes. “It’s because I love you more than pistachio ice cream.”
My face tingles, and so do my neck and fingers. Heat rushes up my body and back down again. Everything, and I really do mean everything, I’ve ever felt for Ben multiplies and expands. It’s an explosion, more than an explosion, of emotion.
“I love you too, Ben.”
My words are spluttery and soft, broken by jagged, uneven breathing. It makes Ben smile, and when he does, I see the way I feel about him reflected back at me in his eyes. Every good thing I’ve ever felt or seen pales in comparison.
“Luca.” I sniff. “Please don’t worry. These aren’t sad tears. They’re happy tears. I’m not crying becau—”
Luca throws his arms around both of us and says, “Jelly, I’m almost seven, and I’ve lost my front tooth. I know all about happy crying.”
47
Ben Stirling
It’slate.Luca’sbeenasleep for hours and our dinner guests left a while ago. It was a really good night. Vanessa is amazing, a real laugh a minute. She and Amy got along as well as I thought they would. Even Marcus wasn’t as bad as I thought he’d be. A bit up his ass, but not too badly. It was a fun night that turned a little raucous at the end.
The house has fallen into a shock of silence with their departure.
Jeremiah and I are in the kitchen, cleaning up and getting ready to head to bed. There’s something strangely calming about it, especially after the excitement of the day.
I wipe down the counters, and he locks the doors.
I rinse the plates, and he loads them into the dishwasher.
There’s an easy comradery about the way we move around each other that I wasn’t expecting to feel so soon. In truth, I wasn’t expecting to feel it ever again.
“Did you have a nice day, birthday boy?” I ask.
“It was the most perfect day I’ve ever experienced. I still feel like I’m floating. I can’t believe you managed to pull off a surprise of that magnitude without me even getting suspicious. I’m usually really hard to surprise.”
Lissa and I have been in cahoots for a few weeks, working on an elaborate plan for her to pop into town to surprise Jeremiah. It took quite a bit of planning and a ton of calls between us, but the look on Jeremiah’s face when he saw her made it more than worth it. As expected, Lissa is a riot and then some.
“I’m sorry the dogs got hold of the cake,” Jeremiah says.
“It’s okay. It was my fault. I should’ve known not to leave it out. Don’t worry though. Amy said she’d bake another one and bring it over tomorrow.”
“Aw, that’s nice of her.”
Jeremiah closes the dishwasher and starts it. He picks up a dishcloth from the counter, folds it lengthways, and slides it over the oven handle, straightening it out just so before he’s happy with its placement.
I’m finding it hard to take my eyes off him tonight because Jeremiah on his birthday is even sweeter than usual. He’s worn a slightly dazed expression all day and his eyes have welled more times than I can count. He’s been so genuinely surprised and grateful for every small thing I’ve done that it makes me want to do more.
“I’m going to find it hard not to spoil you, darlin’, d’you know that?”
He turns to face me, leaning against the oven, his upper body perfectly framed by the range hood. “I don’t need to be spoiled, Ben. I have you and Luca. I don’t want anything else.”
