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Her gasp overtakes her expression, and she chews on her bottom lip. Still, there’s a hesitancy I can’t quite figure out.
“But Iamin love with you, Elianna. And I’m not asking you to leave your life behind to come live in the shadow of mine. No. You’re destined for way more than that.” I give her a questioning look and reach out my hand. She stares at it a moment before placing her hand into mine. “But can I date you? I’ve put offers on a couple of properties in town. There’s nothing available right on the beachfront, but there are a couple of houses nearby.”
She steps to me, letting go of my hand, and slides her arms around my waist, burying her head in my chest. I inhale her in, and she smells of flowers and sand. I crave this scent, I crave everything about her.
“But what if I want to be with you in Longdale?” she whispers with a laugh. “I love you, Sebastian.”
I marvel at the words, and press a kiss to her forehead.
“The house isn’t ready,” I tell her. “I haven’t had the desire to choose the finishes.” I stop, unsure I’m ready to explain to her how, when she left, it was painful going back there. “And Elianna? Tate International has made a large donation to the Capistrano Players. Hopefully it will be enough to take care of repairing the foundation and any other needs.”
She pulls back so I can see her face, her gaze darting back and forth. “Seriously? When did you do that?”
“It’s been a few weeks.” I bite back a smile. “I may have asked them not to say anything to you yet. The repairs are scheduled to start in January.”
She eases closer to me, and I tangle my fingers in her hair, relishing in having her in my arms. I’d been numb to the loss of her, pressing on like I always did, trying to only think about building my empire. But now that she’s back in my arms, I mourn the loss of her from before.
“I want to cherish you, every day, Elianna. You mean everything to me.”
We stand there for a long time, my hands at her waist, the moon climbing above our heads in the warm, clear sky.
“It’s nice to finally see the playhouse.” Now that we’re in the side area, I can see the outdoor stage, visibly sunken on one side, with its rows of seats leading back around three of the four sides of it. There are tall, straight trees acting as a fence around the back perimeter.
“I’d invite you in, but I don’t have a key.” Her laugh is apologetic.
“Someday. I’ll be able to see inside someday.”
“Actually, come with me.” She grabs my hand and wheels around, running around to the back of the building. She stands at a back window, going on her tiptoes and pressing her ear to the glass.
“Still loose,” she says as she shakes the pane. It rattles slightly. She then unhinges the screen, sets it on the grass below, and presses on the glass again, harder this time.
“Breaking and entering?”
“Trying to,” she mutters, sliding her fingers to the bottom. “I haven’t done this for years. Here. Slide the window up while I get my fingers under it.”
I press my palms on the glass and shimmy it up, and soon, we’ve pulled the window all the way up. She glances both ways before pitching herself through and jumping down, her footsteps clanking hard on the floor inside.
“I’ll let you in through the front!” she shouts.
I jog around and she’s already opening the arched door when I get there.
“Follow me,” she whispers and grabs my hand. She snaps a light on, and we wander in through the front entry, the ticket office, the dressing rooms, and long, cluttered storage rooms. As she gives me the tour, she tells about her first visit here as a kid, stories about her grandparents and aunts and uncles involved in productions, and all the plays she was personally involved in.
“I’m scared to ask, but how’s your big goal coming along?” she says. “Any ideas on how it’s going to turn out?” She bunches up her mouth.
“The Deca Arete list?” I shake my head. “I don’t know. We gave it our best effort, and of course I’d still like to be on it. We won’t find out until next year. But that’s not my ultimate goal anymore.” I lift a shoulder. “My priorities have shifted.”
“In what ways?”
“I’ve built the kind of company I want to have, with the values that are important to me. I don’t need external validation in the form of an elite list. All that doesn’t matter.”
She places her hands on my shoulders and kisses me on the cheek.
I breathe in her raspberry scent.
“And your father?”
“That doesn’t matter as much. I can’t allow him to have such a grip on my happiness.”
