Page 141 of Lease to Love

The first time I'd been there in eight years.

And when I'd fallen apart afterward, he'd held me until there was nothing left to cry.

Somehow, without ever trying to replace the space she occupied in my heart, Roman had made room for her in his life, too.

“What about her?” I asked.

He took my hand in both of his.

“All the potential she had. The dreams she never got to realize. How much of her the world never got to see.” His jaw tightened. “The world was robbed of everything she could've been, Summer.”

My eyes filled.

He rubbed his thumb over my knuckles.

“I wanted to find a way to make sure that spirit didn't stay buried with her. To borrow just a little bit of who she was and put it into something that could live on.”

He turned me around.

And I gasped.

Across the street stood a row of four long-abandoned storefronts. I'd walked past them a thousand times. Boarded windows. Faded brick. Weeds pushing through cracks in the sidewalk.

But tonight, a brand-new Sterling Group sign stood proudly in front of them.

And beneath the logo were the words:

COMING SOON

THE AUTUMN JONES BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT CENTER

My hand flew to my mouth.

“Oh my God.”

“I had to fight like hell to get these from some foreign development group,” Roman said. “But I made it happen.”

I stared at the buildings.

“All four?”

“All four.”

I couldn't speak.

Roman continued, his voice steady even though my vision was already blurring.

“I'm already collaborating with Howard University on a program for young Black entrepreneurs. It'll be part of the scholarship program I’m starting… The Autumn Jones Scholarship Program.”

I sobbed in disbelief. He continued.

“The business center will give them workspace, mentorship, access to funding, and the resources they need to actually build something.”

I turned toward him.

“Roman...”

“The world was robbed of Autumn's potential,” he said softly. “This is me helping give some of it back.”