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Elena smiled and nodded.
“What is the real reason you accepted my insane proposal?”
“I wouldn’t have,” she admitted, “if it hadn’t been for the last two days that I spent with my family. My relationship with them – well, it’s been rocky, to say the least. You’re lucky to have had a family who was so supportive.”
“Even if it did more harm than good?”
Elena thought about that. “I think it’s about balance. Everything in life is about balance. My parents… well, they’re people you would call pretentious. They’re the kind of people who have their lives mapped out, and that includes their kids’ lives, too.”
“Ah,” Neal said, understanding, “let me guess. You refused to conform.”
“Actually,” Elena said, “I did try. I went to their stuffy parties, I mixed with their stuffy friends. I even had a boyfriend they approved of in high school.”
“Conformity didn’t work out for you?”
“It was too alien, I wasn’t happy, and in the end, I think I realized that I wasn’t asking for much. All I wanted was the freedom to choose what I wanted to do in life, and who I wanted to be.”
“They didn’t approve of sculpting?”
“I found sculpting in college,” Elena explained, “but when I told them that I was going to pursue a career in the fine arts, they were less than thrilled. They did everything they could to try and discourage me.”
“And when that didn’t work?”
“They told me they weren’t going to pay for my tuition.”
“Wow,” Neal said, “harsh.”
“I thought so too,” Elena replied, hurt coloring her voice for a second. “They gave me their reasons. All very logical; very reasonable. They told me that being a sculptor was a hard business. I would find it hard to support myself… so on and so on. All I really heard was that they didn’t think I was talented enough to be successful at sculpting.”
“What did you do?”
“I got a partial scholarship to a small arts college. In the end, it made almost no difference. I’m still paying off student loans.”
“Not for long,” Neal reminded her.
She nodded.
“And that’s why you accepted me, to pay off your loans?”
“No,” Elena replied honestly, “I accepted you because I’m too proud to admit to my parents that they were right. Sculpting – well it hasn’t panned out for me. I can’t make ends meet and I can’t afford not to. I would have had to move back in with my parents, and moving back in with them means allowing them to control my life. So taking that into account, my only option was to accept your offer.”
“They’re that bad, huh?” Neal asked seriously.
“Did I mention I have a twin sister?”
“Really? Identical?”
“No,” Elena replied, “but she’s everything that I’m not. She’s the perfect daughter and I’m the disappointment. Everything I do, well, when I do it, I know I’m being compared to her, and I know I shouldn’t care what they think… but they’re my parents. I want their approval, no matter how much I say I don’t care about their opinions.”
“Maybe one day they’ll realize what you're really worth,” Neal said comfortingly.
Elena gave him a sad smile. “I don’t think they’re the type to realize anything.”
“Well, maybe one day… you’ll have someone in your life who's important enough to you that their opinions will become irrelevant.”
Elena smiled. “Fingers crossed.”
They were sitting close together, their hands still linked. Neal was suddenly aware of their intertwined fingers. Without over-thinking, he acted on instinct and a suddenly strong desire, and leaned towards Elena. His lips caught hers as he made the decision. She didn’t pull away. Neal tilted his head to the side, drawing her in for a more intimate kiss. She came to him willingly; her body was soft and pliant against his own.
