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She had just finished showering and getting dressed when Maia knocked on her door. Her arms were loaded down with makeup and hair implements.
“Good morning, graduation girl. On a special day like this, I come to you. Is Beauty ready for the royal treatment?”
Ahh, Maia. What would she do without her friend? Even if she did sometimes take matters into her own hands, like she did with the greenhouse. Last night, when she had gotten home, she had scolded Maia for being in cahoots with Austin about the greenhouse, but all Mira had said was, “It’s a nice present. Just be gracious. Or if you don’t want it, I’ll take it. I don’t know what I’ll do with it, because you’re the woman with the green thumb, but you can’t give it back now.”
She was right. After mulling it over for a couple of hours, Felicity decided there was a lesson in it. In these new days of freedom, she needed to free her mind of the structure and the worry that had gotten her nowhere.
So, she relaxed with a mimosa from the pitcher that Maia had mixed. The friends chatted away about everything and nothing as Maia fixed Felicity’s hair and makeup for her big day.
Three hours later, Felicity had her diploma cover in hand and she walked out into the audience of the auditorium to meet her mother and Maia who had come to cheer her on.
Her mother stood there with Maia, who held a bunch of sunflowers bound by a beautiful green ribbon in one arm like a runner-up in a beauty pageant and a bouquet of balloons in the other. She looked as if she might float away if a big gust of wind happened to blow through. Alas, they were indoors so there was no chance of that.
By this time, the auditorium had started to empty out. The people who lingered were gathered in small knots, congratulating their graduates with high fives, hugs and gifts. As her mother held out her arms and gathered Felicity to her, murmuring about how proud she was of her, Felicity reminded herself of how lucky she was to have the love and support of these two wonderful women. That love was guaranteed to last. It wouldn’t float away like balloons on a storm. She had so much to be grateful for, and soon this empty feeling would dissipate. She would fill it with new adventures and she would feel like herself again. Eventually.
No, not like herself, maybe a better version of herself? Actually, right now, she would settle for feeling like herself again, because when she put everything else aside, that wasn’t a bad thing.
Then she saw him. He was standing a few rows back holding a bouquet of roses. At first, she thought her mind had conjured the vision, that her eyes were playing tricks on her. Because ever since the kiss—the kiss that had changed her from the inside out—Austin Fortune had been living in the back of her mind. He had taken up residence in the hollowed-out place in her heart that felt like it would never again be whole because he held her heart in his hands.
But Felicity blinked, shook her head, and he was still there. He lifted his hand, tentatively as she pulled out of her mother’s embrace. Almost in unison, Maia and her mom turned to see who she was looking at.
“Oh!” the two women said.
“Maia, is that who I think it is?” Mom asked in a stage whisper.
“Yes, it is. You know, I need to visit the ladies room. Who wants to come with me?”
Felicity’s mother raised her hand. “I do.”
The women hadn’t taken two steps before Felicity saw them motion to Austin to approach, and then, as they walked away, they were chattering on about how good-looking he was and what a gorgeous couple he and Felicity made. If Felicity had been in her right mind, she might have turned and walked away with her mom and Maia, but she was rooted to the spot.
“Congratulations,” Austin said. He handed her the blood red roses. There had to be at least five dozen. The bouquet was almost unwieldy, but it was breathtakingly beautiful. Austin shoved his hands in his back pockets. “I hope you don’t mind me being here, but your graduation was on my calendar and...and I had some things to tell you. Don’t worry, I’m not here to try to convince you to come back to work. If you want to get a new job, I just want you to be happy.”
He pulled one hand out of his pocket and raked it through his hair and muttered a choice word under his breath. “And I am making the biggest mess out of this. It’s so damn hard for me to admit my feelings, because for the longest time I didn’t believe in true love. I was convinced it was a myth.
