Page 67 of Finding Love at the Magical Curiosity Shop
‘Oh, Ren…’ I murmur, squeezing his hand so tightly that it must be painful. ‘And Ava? She’s okay with this? Withus?’
‘You have no idea how angry she was at me when she realised I’d ended things because of her. She’s been threatening me all week, and just so you know, thirteen-year-olds are really creative when it comes to the threats they can make. You have to wonder where they learn these things.’
‘I blame the parents – or the teachers.’
He laughs and then jiggles my hand, making me look at him again. ‘Ava is incredibly sorry too. I was tossing and turning that night and she came into my room in tears because of what she’d said to you. She wanted to come and apologise the next day but I got this stupid idea and made her let me run with it.’
‘And what about going forwards? I can’t do this if you’re going to break up with me every time Ava and I disagree about something. She’s a young woman with her own opinions and values – this is unlikely to be the last time we’ll ever clash.’
‘Well, let’s face it, Ava’s thirteen. Things are only going to get worse from here on out. But I can say one thing – Ineverwant to feel like I’ve felt this week ever again. I feel like my heart has been ripped out and trodden into the gravel we were standing on the other day. I even had a, “What’s wrong with you, sir?” in class the other day. With everything with my ex, I prided myself on never showing it, never sharing it with anyone, never letting it affect me externally, but with you… I can’t stop thinking about you and replaying last weekend and how I should have reacted differently. I’ve been a wreck this week.’
‘So have I. I sobbed over that damn table being sold.’
He smiles, even though he probably knows full well it’s not the first item I’ve cried over and it probably won’t be the last.
‘I don’t want you to just be my girlfriend. I want you to be part of me. You are not someone I can walk away from. You’re not disposable. Ava understands that too. If we’re in this, we’re in it for the long haul, all three of us. Therewillbe arguments, disagreements, an unreasonable amount of sulking and door-slamming… and I’m not sure what she’ll do, but probably worse.’
I laugh, appreciating his attempt at lightening the mood.
‘But the one thing I do know is that I want you beside me. You make me see things in a different way, and Ava needs that. You bring joy and magic and love back into our lives and webothneed that. So let’s toast to it with a dragon fruit, which seemed like the most appropriate choice. You said you’d never tried one and I haven’t either, but someone obviously loves the things.’ He presses the toe of his boot against the base of the table. ‘So they must be pretty good. To trying new things.’
‘To finding someone who makes trying new things exciting rather than terrifying.’
‘Exactly.’ He slices the dragon fruit into quarters and offers me one. We each peel the skin off and hold up the soft white flesh full of black seeds and we clink them together like the finest champagne glasses, and then take a bite.
‘Wow, that’s…’ he says around a mouthful.
I can feel my face screwing up in revulsion. ‘Is that ripe?’
‘I don’t know. I never thought to check how you find out. Surely it’s notmeantto taste like that?’
The street is filled with our noises of disgust. Thankfully he thought to bring napkins so we can both spit out the offending fruit and deposit it in the nearest bin.
‘Well, the thought was there.’ I brush my hands off, even though it will take more than that to get rid of that particular taste. ‘The metaphor about trying new things was a good one, just maybe not an unripe dragon fruit next time…’
‘Maybe people should just stick to making tables in their likeness. On the plus side, it does mean your story is definitively untrue, because no one, and I do meanno one, would like this thing so much that they’d require a table made in its likeness.’
I burst out laughing and it’s such a huge laugh of relief and I feel the weight that I didn’t realise I’d been carrying all week floating away like airy balloons.
Ren gets to his feet and holds out a hand to pull me up and slips an arm around my waist. ‘I’m not sure if I should be asking your forgiveness for my behaviour last week or for making you eat that. That was truly offensive.’
‘You know what, it wasn’t the worst experience I’ve ever had.’ I lean back in his arms and reach up and stroke his hair back and when his eyes drift closed, I push myself up on tiptoes until I can touch my lips to his cheek. ‘Mainly because it was with you. You have a way of making everything better than it is.’
‘Ditto.’ His eyes spring open and a smile spreads slowly across his face, making the sexiest little lines crinkle up under his eyes, and his eyebrows quirk in a way that asks silent permission before lowering his lips to mine.
It’s a pressing, crushing kiss this time, that releases all the anguish of the past week and explodes, like a firework bursting in the sky, and then it turns gentle, a kiss that represents a mutual sigh of relief as the pretty colours float back down to earth, and it takes a long, long time until I feel like my feet have touched the ground again.
In fact, the only thing that makes me remember where we are is the sound of whooping and cheering from the shops on Ever After Street.
There’s a clatter as The Wonderland Teapot door bursts open and Ava comes dashing across to us and throws her arms around me with such force that it nearly knocks me over and the momentum sends us both crashing into Ren.
I return her hug with just as much enthusiasm, thrilled to bits that she’s okay and willing to move on after last week.
‘I’m so sorry, Mickey, I was so horrible to you. I didn’t mean anything I said.’
‘It’s okay.’ I squeeze her even tighter. ‘It was an uncharted situation and we both could’ve done better at it. Friends?’
I pull back and offer her my hand to shake, which she does and then pulls me into another hug. Her hair colour is fading already and I think we might have a battle on our hands to persuade Ren to let her get it done again during term time.
