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I look at Maria, eyes wide with panic. I’m not ready to face Gage yet. I’m not strong enough.
She smiles encouragingly. “I’ll be outside if you need me.”
“But—”
She takes me by the shoulders and turns me around, so I’m forced to face Gage.
I’ve seen a lot of amazing artwork in my life, but in this moment Gage’s face is the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen. He’s got dark shadows under his eyes like he hasn’t been sleeping, and his suit is a wrinkled mess. But he’shere,and despite everything, that’s enough to make my poor heart start sparking back to life.
Maria squeezes my shoulders and whispers, “I’ve got your back, whatever you decide. But just hear him out, okay?”
Then she releases me. The room sounds with her retreating footsteps, and the door closing behind her.
And then it’s just me and Gage, standing alone in an old, empty storefront. It’s a far cry from the flower-filled top deck of the Empire State Building.
“Violet.” He breathes my name like it’s a prayer.
“Gage.” I wrap my arms around myself because I want so badly to run to him and jump into his arms. Even if it doesn’t solve anything. Even if it leaves me hurting even worse than I am now.
He clears his throat. “Violet, I thought a lot about what you said. And I realized I need to tell you—”
“I can’t do this,” I decide, and abruptly turn to leave. I don’t know what Gage told Maria to get her on his side, but I can’t stand here and let him throw more useless, tempting arguments at me.
It hurts too much.
“Stop. You owe me,” he calls.
I whirl to face him, outraged. “Ioweyou? How dare you—”
“The day the power went out. You bet you could teach me to be a better drawer before the power came back on. Well, I won, and I’m calling in my favor.”
I cross my arms, exasperated affection welling up inside of me. That’s Gage. Fighting with everything he has, until the bitter end. “What’s the favor? Do you need me to play fake fiancée for one more event?”
“I need you to listen to me,” he says, something raw and desperate in his face. “I need you to listen to me and believe I’m telling you the truth. If you still don’t want me—us—after I’ve said my piece, I won’t bother you again. Just listen to me.” He swallows and repeats. “You owe me.”
He’s right, I realize. I do owe him, though not because of a silly bet. I owe him because I love him. He’s going to be the father of my child. And whatever he has to say is important enough he went behind my back to talk to Maria to arrange it.
At least she made me wear something cute, I think.
I back up until I can lean on the wall for support. “Okay,” I say. “Talk.”
He nods. Opens his mouth. Closes it. Then he shuts his eyes and frowns slightly, his mouth moving silently like he’s practicing the words in his head.
“Oh, just spit it out,” I say, because I can’t stand the tension.
He glares at me. “This is important, okay? I need to get it right.”
It occurs to me that I’ve never seen him this careful with his words. I have the uncanny sense we’re standing on the edge of a cliff together. And if either of us says the wrong thing, we’ll both plummet over the edge.
Gage takes a deep breath. “Right. Well. First things first.” He takes a set of keys out of his pocket and tosses it to me.
I catch them on reflex. “What are these for?”
“This building. You said it was your dream location for that community art center of yours. I bought it for you.”
“Youwhat?”
“I also started a trust for you. To fund the arts center. It will last somewhere between ten years and a hundred years, depending on your organization’s expenses.” He shrugs like his unimaginably generous gift is no big deal. “I looked into the financial needs of nonprofits, and they kind of run the gamut. If you need more in ten years, we can talk about it then.”
