Don’t bring it up, Skeeter! You and Lois probably saw my boobs!
“Did you guys ever have lice?” he asks me and Andrew.
Forget lice.
Ronan walks in, filling up the room, towering over everyone, wearing black slacks and another crisp pale-blue button-up. His hair falls around his face, softening the scars that don’t need softening at all.
I tear my eyes off him and check my reflection in the mirror on the opposite wall. My makeup is superb—lots of heavy eyeliner, smoky eye shadow, thick lashes, red lipstick—and best of all, I have two little buns on the sides of my head. They’re less fluffy and sleeker than Leia’s but stylish. Sabine watched a YouTube video on how to make them and did them this morning. Mighty Morgan Girls for the win!
Ronan’s eyes roam over me, noticing the hair, then the snake cuff around my upper arm. His lips twitch.
That’s right. I look amazing. I stand a little taller, take a hasty sip, and burn my lips.
A broad smile crosses his face as he holds my gaze. “Hey, babe. I would have given you and Sabine a ride this morning. I must have missed your text.”
He doesn’t even have my phone number! Oh, he’s good at this . . .
He came by on Sunday morning, the Heisman wrapped in a blanket. He followed me inside and upstairs, where I set it on my dresser. There was a tense moment when our arms brushed, but we both ignored it. Sabine invited him to eat pancakes, and he surprisingly said yes. We made normal conversation about football, about his mom, about mine.
That afternoon, he showed up with Toby, Bruno, and Milo with Darth Vader. It took the three of them to carefully maneuver him into the house while Ronan gave directions. We moved the chair in front of the window and put him there so he could watch the neighborhood. Sabine placed a boa around his neck, and I waited for Ronan to flip out, but he only smiled.
The room goes quiet, eyes darting between us. Andrew lets out a surprised sound at Ronan’s babe while Principal Lancaster’s face glows at me approvingly. Melinda slaps down her mug on the table a few feet away.
Let the games begin . . .
I smile brightly. “Oh shoot. Sabine and I wanted to get here a little early, darling. Sorry. I meant to text you.”
“No problem.” He stalks toward me and kisses me on top of my head. “Excuse me, Andrew,” he says curtly. “I need coffee.”
Andrew moves, giving me a curious look as he takes my hand for a brief squeeze. Mine feel clammy; his are warm, the grasp achingly familiar.
“I’ll talk to you later, Nova. We have a lot of catching up to do. I want to hear all about New York.” He gives me a lopsided smile, the one that used to tug at my heart, then walks over to Skeeter and Sonia.
“I see you’ve reconnected with your past,” Ronan mutters, watching Andrew with a hard gaze. “You all right?”
Is it Andrew or Ronan or my new job that has my nerves in a twist? Likely answer is all three. “Yes.”
“Are you aware that you’re dressed similarly to Princess Leia?”
“Really? What a coincidence.”
His lips curl. “I don’t believe in coincidences. Regardless, you look stunning.”
“Thank you.”
“Did you dress for me, then?”
“Obviously. Tomorrow it’s Chewie. Then . . . um, what’s that guy’s name, the one who saves everyone?”
“Luke Skywalker?”
“No, the green one. I think he was a wise man?”
“Yoda.”
I snap my fingers. “That’s it! Hmm, wait. I could dress as one of those robot thingies, the gold one . . . what was he called?”
“C-3PO. God, you know nothing.”
I smile as I take a sip of coffee. I know some of their names, but it sure is fun messing with him. “I’m picturing a gold dress, lots of buttons.”
“He didn’t have buttons. He had wires in his midsection—dammit. You need to watch it. No one hangs with me and hasn’t ever seen Star Wars.”
“But I kind of like being one of the few people who haven’t. It’s the same with Titanic. Mama and Sabine watched it over and over, but I never could bring myself to see Leo drown. He’s too pretty. I mean, there was room on the boat!”
“You mean the door.”
“What?”
“Rose was saved on a door, not a boat.”
“See, I didn’t know that. I never saw it.”
“The Star Wars franchise is not Titanic. It’s about hope in the galaxy, with laser guns and starships. It’s the belief that one person can conquer an empire.”