The Blossom of Rose

30 • Thankful

"Where's Calla?" I ask Dante, quietly. He's latched onto my arm and is in a grey suit with a matching tie. She usually tags along with us to these events because it's an excuse for her to dress up.

It's the mayor's daughter's 18th birthday party and they practically invited the whole town. I smile at people while strolling through the lobby which is in one of Luca's hotel branches.

The theme, for women, was anything floral. Since the party itself is in the ethereal gardens, I decided to wear a maroon, tulle, midi dress with embroidered flowers on the skirt and pink bows for the straps. It's A-line and covers my small baby bump but the neck is quite low, which would've been okay if my tits were still small but unfortunately, they're not.

"San Diego," he responds, "won't be back for a few days."

I haven't seen her in quite some time and it's catching up on me. I've been trying to call her too, but she hasn't been answering recently.

The garden is filled with different people, young and old, all dressed in light colours to accommodate the sun and breezy weather. There's a massive banner overhead hanging from a pole and a table of gifts. There are waiters with trays of champagne and tables with rows of tempting food and a familiar figure has his seat rooted right next to it.

As soon as we step in, my eyes run the length of the garden and I spot him.

He's sitting under one of the large umbrellas. A sage-coloured waistcoat hugs his torso, and he wears it over a white shirt. He's clean-shaven and his hair is left in its curls, brushing his forehead. He plays with the ring around his finger whilst staring directly at me.

Quickly, I look away. I can practically feel Luca's eyes slowly running down the length of my body, goosebumps forming all over my skin. My nerves are jittering. I don't know what to do.

We've been simultaneously avoiding each other since the almost-kiss, a couple of days ago. He's been locked in his office while I've been staying in my room, scared I might bump into him.

Though he hasn't failed to come in every night to check if my windows are locked and I usually pretend I'm asleep to avoid any awkward encounter. I'm thankful he does that because ever since I've moved in, I've had this unidentifiable fear and I never knew what it was until he suggested it.

But fuck me, he looks so hot.

Oh, and the whole house knows about our almost-kiss.

Brando accidentally blurted it out to Maya, who squealed about it to Oakley and during the whole commotion Marco heard them too. So yeah, everyone knows.

I'm pretty sure I even heard Marco tell Ricky, from a safe distance according to him.

"Anna," I spot her amongst the crowd and wave her over, "hi." She hugs me when she approaches. The pink strands in her hair have been re-dyed and she wears a floral, maxi dress.

"Thank you so much for bailing me out that day. My parents would've killed me if they found out what I did."

"Don't worry about it," I smile, "how have you been?"

"Stressed," her eyes bulge out for a second, "we have finals in a month."

"Then you have this one who probably didn't even know you had exams," I glance at Dante to see that he didn't even flinch at what I said. His eyes are solely focused on Annalise and a small smile plays on his lips. She remains oblivious to all of this.

Oh my gosh. I remember when I told him about Anna's ex-boyfriend he stormed down the hallway before I could finish my sentence. I ship it!

I nudge him to break him out of his state of admiration.