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I put my forehead against hers. “You’ve never been weak.”
She smiles. “I know. I’m sorry,” she says in a whisper.
She doesn’t need to explain or tell me what she’s sorry about. I don’t need an apology. But with those two words comes the realization that she’s learning to let go of those bullshit misbeliefs she had about us.
“I’m never letting you go,” I tell her with all of the fierceness my body contains.
Her eyes water. “Good, because I’m not letting go of you either.”
The sentence my heart has been waiting to hear for years. It washes away years of doubt and fear.
CHAPTER37
Monique
I inhale as I look around my art gallery. The beautiful paintings on the walls make my heart sing. Right now the gallery is empty, but in less than two hours is my opening.
Everything is set up and prepared since I had the caterers come in early. Bottles of champagne are chilling on ice in the back where the industrial kitchen I had installed to be able to host events is. Hors d'oeuvres are in the refrigerator, waiting to be served or being created. I’ve come out to survey my space before everyone arrives.
I asked Diego to give me a few minutes alone. He’s supervising in the back. I can’t believe my dream is staring me in the face. What I’ve longed for, for so long. In addition to my best friend and the love of my life being here to support me, he’s also responsible for this dream of mine coming true.
I thought I would feel like a failure or more of a burden if anyone besides myself was responsible for helping to open this gallery. Yet, as I look around all I can feel is immense gratitude and love.
My heart is bursting open with love.
As this thought rolls through my mind, there’s a knock on the front door of the gallery. Thinking it might be one of the caterers who couldn’t get into the back door, I move to open it.
“Lawrence?” I say, surprised to find myself face to face with my ex-fiancé. There’s a bouquet of flowers in his hand.
Tulips.
“Hi,” he says as if he isn’t quite sure of where to go from there. “These are for you.” He extends the bouquet my way.
“Thank you.” I take the flowers. “Would you like to come in?”
He shakes his head. “No, I don’t want to mess up your big night.
“I, uh …” He pauses and runs a hand over the back of his head. “I was in town, and I heard tonight was your big opening. I wanted to drop by and say congratulations.” He shrugs.
“That’s really kind of you.”
I scan over my ex-fiancé. The man I once thought I was going to marry. And I don’t feel anything. No anger or disappointment.
Well, in all honesty, there’s relief. I’m grateful he was the one who ended things because I might have moved ahead with marrying him. That would’ve been a terrible mistake. My heart has always belonged to Diego Townsend.
“Um, I also wanted to apologize,” he finally says.
I wrinkle my forehead. “For what?”
“That night at that club.”
I think for a beat and realize that he’s referring to the night at The Black Opal. “Don’t worry about it.”
“It wasn’t true, you know,” he says. For the first time since I opened the door, his eyes meet mine. “The reason I gave you for breaking up.”
That stuns me. “You mean because of my illness.”
He shakes his head. “I’m sorry I even said it. It was just …” He sighs. “Do you remember that night you were in the hospital?”
