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Thomas excused himself for a minute saying he needed to get his cell phone. The phone he had purposely left in the Ferrari. Higgins rolled her eyes at him but continued to peruse the menu. “This dinner is going to cost you,” she said to his retreating back. He laughed. It was totally worth it.
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They had finished a case earlier in the day. While he knew she didn’t believe in the idea of one day dedicated to candy, flowers and forced romance, he still suggested they go to dinner.
“Come on Higgy. It will be fun. We can try that new place on the beach.”
“Do you honestly think we can get a reservation at any restaurant at,” she looked down at her phone, “4:30 p.m. on Valentine’s Day?” He loved when she stared at him like that. Well, he pretty much loved any way she looked at him, but this look was special and usually reserved just for him. It was a mixture of exasperation and amusement with a hint of superiority thrown in for good measure. Although he didn’t notice that so much anymore. What he especially liked was surprising her.
“It just so happens that I have a reservation,” he said.
He could read her better than anyone. Surprise flashed across her face. And then he saw realization; that he must have made the reservation months ago when he was still dating Lia. For a brief second, he also saw a fission of hurt. He narrowed his eyes at that and cocked his head. They had always been really good at communicating without actually saying anything.
Juliet shook her head and looked away. This is exactly what Dr. Ogawa had been talking about. She had no right to be hurt if she never actually told Thomas how she felt. She was also supposed to stop overthinking things. Here goes nothing, she thought.
“All right then,” she said. “I have wanted to try that place.”
His face lit up. “Great. Be ready at 6:30.”
Juliet showered and stood frowning in front of her closet. She pulled out the blue dress she had worn with Hiapo. It was pretty and feminine and the color of the Forget-me-nots that grew in her Gran’s garden. She had seen how Thomas looked at her that night while they waited for Luana. The dark-haired baby asleep against her breast, his tiny fist clutching the blue fabric. A baby that looked so much like how Thomas’ baby could look. She had seen desire flare in his eyes that night and she had run as fast as she could the other way. She sighed and slipped the dress on. That seemed like a lifetime ago. Was she now ready to figure out what that long-ago look meant?
Juliet finished getting ready and was putting on her necklace when she saw it tucked into the corner of her jewelry box. A small gold heart-shaped pin. Her Gran had given it to her when she was 16 years old and angry at the world. Her school crush had turned her down and instead asked the popular girl to the spring dance. Juliet had retreated to her grandmother’s house for the weekend to escape the humiliation. Her grandmother had seen right through her excuse about missing home and the painful story soon came pouring out. Gran had gone into the house and returned with the pin. She fastened it to Juliet’s shirt and then hugged her close. “You are so smart,” her Gran had said. “You are going to have a brilliant life. And one day, when you least expect it, you will find the love of your life.”
Gran had stepped back and framed Juliet’s face with her hands. “In the meantime, this heart will remind you of how much I love you.”
Juliet blinked back the sudden tears that filled her eyes. She hadn’t thought of that moment in years yet, holding that pin, it seemed like just yesterday. She pinned the tiny heart to her dress and went to meet Thomas. He smiled when he saw her, his eyes landing on the pin. “My Gran,” she said simply.
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Someone brushed past Thomas on his way to the Ferrari. “Sorry,” the guy mumbled, pushing his shaggy hair out of his eyes.
Thomas grabbed his phone and then popped open the trunk and rescued the bouquet of flowers he had hidden there. He studied the pretty blue blooms. They didn’t look too bad after an hour in the hot trunk. He had just turned back toward the restaurant when he saw her. She was sitting on the step of the store next door. It was closed and he almost couldn’t tell in the fading light, but he was pretty sure she was crying. He looked at the flowers and then toward the restaurant and then toward the girl.
“Hey,” he said, walking over. “Are you OK?”
She swiped her hand across her eyes and nodded, turning slightly away from him.
“Well, I can’t just leave you out here until I know for sure you’re OK.”
“I’m fine,” she said, finally turning to look at him. She was pretty. Large dark eyes were magnified by her glasses. “I, uh, was supposed to meet some friends, but decided not to.” She held up her hand. “And then I stupidly sliced my finger while I was pulling the gate closed.”
Thomas frowned at that. “Come inside the restaurant. My friend is there and I’m sure she has a bandage or something.”
“That’s OK,” the girl said.
Thomas switched the flowers to his other hand. “Come on. I can’t just leave you outside bleeding all over the place.”
The girl got up reluctantly and followed him into the restaurant.
Thomas stopped short when he saw a man sitting in his seat and Juliet laughing. Was that Ethan? He had stopped so abruptly, that the girl ran into him which actually helped to jumpstart his heart. It wasn’t Ethan, but he still felt his heart thundering away. He dropped the bouquet on the bar and moved toward the table.
“Thomas,” Juliet said, reaching out uncharacteristically for his hand and drawing him closer. She realized what she had done and dropped his hand immediately. “This is, um, Brian.” It was the shaggy-haired guy he had seen when he went to get the flowers. Juliet continued, “He needed to do a little surveillance. It seems his girlfriend is cheating on him and he …” She stopped when she noticed the girl standing behind Thomas.
Thomas motioned her forward. “I’m Melody,” she said. “And I’m pretty sure my boyfriend is on a date with your girlfriend,” she said to Brian, dropping into the seat between him and Juliet and then staring down at her bleeding finger. Thomas moved to the other side of the table, his eyes talking to Juliet the entire time. She gave a small shrug.
The four of them looked to the back of the restaurant to see a young couple locked together in a heated embrace.
“Geez. Get a room,” Brian said disgusted. Melody looked like she was about to burst into tears.
Juliet stood up. “You know what Melody? Let’s go take a look at that finger, shall we? Order me a glass of Merlot,” she said as she passed Thomas.
The restroom was thankfully empty. Juliet ran the water until it was warm and then gestured for Melody to stick her finger under the stream.
“So how did you meet, um …”
“Victor,” Melody said quietly. “We have class together. OChem. Organic Chemistry.” She swished her finger back and forth in the water. Juliet tried to picture the guy from the back corner, but it was hard to tell what he looked like with Brian’s girlfriend plastered against him.
“What are you studying?”
“I want to go to med school. Victor’s dad is a doctor, so he wants to go to med school too.” Melody sighed. “He isn’t very good at OChem.”
Juliet could see where this conversation was going. “So, you had plans for tonight?”
Melody blinked as Juliet turned off the faucet. She gave the girl a paper towel. “I asked if he wanted to get dinner. To celebrate our test scores.” She trailed off. “He really did most of the work himself. I just helped him with a few of the questions.”
Juliet didn’t say anything.
“Anyway, we made plans to meet for dinner, but then he called to cancel because his grandmother was in the hospital.” Anger flashed through Melody’s eyes as she took the band-aid Juliet held out. “Then my friends happened to come here for dinner and said they saw him and Grace Peters.”
Juliet sighed. “Believe me. I know how it feels.”
“Right,” Melody said, rolling her eyes. “I saw who you are here with.”
“Thomas? He’s my business partner.”
“Do business partners usually go out to eat together on Valentine’s Day?”
Juliet could feel her cheeks warming as the girl narrowed her eyes at her. She did have a point.
“Look. Thomas and I work together,” she paused collecting her thoughts. It was crazy that she was going to admit this to a total stranger. Something that she had barely admitted to herself and struggled to explain to Dr. Ogawa.
“You’re right. We’re probably more than business partners.” She chewed her bottom lip before continuing. “I have waited my entire life for someone like Thomas. He is kind and smart and wonderful.” She glanced up at Melody. “Don’t you dare tell him any of that.”
Melody huffed out a small laugh.
“Anyway. I never thought I deserved someone like him.” Juliet looked down for a minute and then back up at Melody. “The thing is, he wouldn’t take no for an answer. He just kept showing up day after day until I realized that I can't live without him.”
“He doesn’t know?”
Juliet laughed. “I think he suspects. But no, we haven’t been brave enough to have that conversation. Yet. Anyway, you deserve someone who sees how amazing you are. You are going to conquer OChem and med school and anything else you put your mind to.” Juliet reached down and unpinned the tiny heart from her dress and then pinned it to Melody.
“What? No,” the girl protested.
Juliet smiled. “I want you to have it. To remember how important you are. Now let’s go back out there and celebrate the heck out of this miserable holiday.”
Melody took a deep breath and let it out slowly, nodding. She smiled at Juliet. “OK.”
Then she walked out of the bathroom, past their table and straight up to Victor. Juliet’s eyes widened, as Thomas and Brian swiveled to watch the scene unfold.
“What did you say to her?” Thomas whispered.
Melody marched up to Victor's table. “I thought your grandmother was in the hospital,” she said, with an icy calmness. Victor just stared at her. Melody turned to Grace. “You must be the flavor of the month. Good luck with him. He can’t tell the difference between an electrophile and an electrovalent bond.” And, with that, she picked up Victor’s glass of wine and poured it into his lap.
“She reminds me of someone,” Thomas said turning to smile at Juliet. Melody walked back to the table, a huge grin on her face.
“That was awesome,” Brian said, high fiving her. “I wish you had poured some on Grace too.”
“I can go back,” Melody said, starting to turn around.
“Oh no. I think you have already made quite the statement,” Juliet said.
“We should celebrate,” Thomas said, as Victor stormed toward the restroom.
Melody smiled. “I should go. Thank you both so much.”
Brian stood up too. “I can give you a ride,” he said.
Thomas glanced over at Juliet, and she smiled.
Later, after dinner, he remembered to pick up the now-wilted flowers from the bar. “I brought these for you. Forget-me-nots. They looked much better a couple hours ago.”
Juliet eyes widened as she took the flowers. Her grandmother’s words echoing in her mind.
“They’re perfect Thomas.”
Thomas took a deep breath. He was done watching someone else with his Higgy. He wanted to be the one she woke up with every morning. The one she needed when she was upset. It was now or never. “Walk with me,” he said. She looked up surprised but followed him to the water’s edge. She had slipped off her shoes and they dangled from her hand. The light from a nearby restaurant patio illuminated her curls and the soft material of her dress brushed against Thomas' arm as the wind blew across the water. They walked in silence for a few minutes. “Higgy,” he said finally. “I …”
She smiled up at him and all he could do was stare at her. It was like he had forgotten how to talk. Or even think. He had had this conversation so many times in his head that it should have just spilled out.
Thomas had started to tell her one other time, when she had been shot, how he felt about her. He had been terrified. First that he would lose her and then later that he wasn’t good enough for her. That was before he realized how deeply he loved her.
Higgins watched steel slide behind Thomas’ eyes. She cocked her head, still studying him.
He was done stepping aside, pushing those feelings so far down that he lost a part of himself. She had pushed her way into his thoughts, his whole being. He didn’t want to do anything, go anywhere without her.
“Your pin,” he said finally, touching the spot on her collar where it had been. “It must have fallen off.” He looked down like there was a chance he could spot it in the sand.
This pin? This is what he chose to say? Not I have feelings for you. I think I may actually be in love with you. Nope. He decided to talk about her jewelry.
“No. It’s OK. I gave it to Melody. I wanted her to have something good to remember about this night.”
He let out a frustrated breath.
“Are you OK Thomas?” She reached up and placed her hand over his heart. She was smiling.
Something shifted. It was like his heart, soul and the universe finally lined up. This is it, they said. He saw everything he felt reflected in her eyes.
“I’m done hiding Juliet," he whispered. “I want this. I want you. All to myself.”
His eyes were trained on her lips. He had to know what it felt like to kiss her, to taste her. He licked his lips slightly and she swore she was no longer breathing. “Higgy,” he whispered, dipping his head down. The hand not trapped against the solid plain of his chest, tunneled into his hair, pulling his head closer. Finally, their lips met.
“Damn,” he said when he lifted his head. She made a little shivery movement. “Let’s go home Thomas.”
Two days later, Juliet found a small box sitting on her laptop. Inside was a simple gold heart pin with a tiny blue flower on the one side. It was lovely. It reminded her of her past and the bright promises of her future.
Her Gran had been right all along.