AllFreeNovel
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Once we’re outside, we make our way to a cluster of trees. It’s a winter wonderland, and on the other side of the park, a handful of kids are making the most of the slick slides on the playground. Once we near the trees, I break my fortune cookie in half. Before I can talk myself out of it, I hand her a white slip of paper. “Want to read mine for me?”
“With pleasure.” She takes the slip of paper in her hand, and I watch as her eyes read the single line. Her cheeks glow a rosy-pink hue, and she glances up at me.
I clear my throat. “Aren’t you going to read it out loud?”
Her smile grows. “It says I love you.”
I borrowed a paper this morning from the nurse’s station and wrote it out just for this moment. Any relationship expert would say my delivery is too early. I couldn’t wait another minute though. Not after spending every minute together the last few days in the hospital. Brie seamlessly went from holding my hand when I needed her, to holding my mom’s and whispering all the right assurances.
I’m not the best with relationships—an obvious fact—but I think I surprised Brie with my fortune. It’s a good surprise, I hope, if her smile is any clue. I push aside my mounting nerves and slip my arms around her waist. Here goes nothing. “I’ve always loved you, Brie. Ever since the talent show in seventh grade when you performed your ballet piece.”
She scrunches her nose. “Did you forget I messed up and embarrassed myself during my dance?
I shake my head. “You stumbled in one of your turns and almost fell. I don’t know why I was sitting in the front row when I’m a back row kind of guy. I held my breath even though I didn’t know you well back then. But your subsequent actions are what captured my attention. You kept going. You didn’t miss another beat. There were tears glassing your eyes, but you kept dancingandsmiling. You were amazing. I clapped harder for you than anyone else.”
Brie shyly ducks her head, her long lashes catching an errant snowflake. “I can’t believe you remember all those details.”
I wipe off the snowflake for her, trailing my hand down her cheek. “I’ve thought about your dance frequently over the years. It’s pushed me to keep going too. Brie, you might not have fallen that day, but I did. I fell a little in love, and I’ve been falling again and again ever since. Everything about you is memorable, including you coming and staying with my mom and me this week.”
Brie’s eyes are bright and shiny. “I was scared you wouldn’t want me here.”
“And you still came. Another reason I love you, Brie. In all these years, I’ve never met someone who makes me as happy as you do. Words can’t adequately express how much it means to me that you’ve allowed me back in your life.”
“You make it sound like it was a sacrifice.” Brie steps up on her toes, bringing her face deliciously closer to my own. “I didn’t care for all the waiting, but you made it all too easy for me to fall for you again. No one else makes me feel as adored as you do. How am I so blessed to be with you again? I love you too, Rocky Davenport.”
I kiss her slowly, savoring the moment. After a minute, I pull back so our foreheads touch. “I want you to know, this isn’t kismet.”
“What?” She blinks, her eyes out of focus and completely adorable.
“It isn’t kismet,” I repeat. “It’s a blind man in need of his eyes opened and a generous woman willing to give him a second chance.”
She shakes her head, disbelief and awe lining her features. “You know what kismet is?”
I nod solemnly. “I Googled the word after accidentally reading your list, Brie.”
Her blue eyes sharpen. “You didn’t!”
I’m glad I told her I loved her before I confessed to my crime. “I didn’t mean to pry, I promise. But I’m glad it happened. I needed a glimpse of how you felt to encourage me to act on my own feelings. And I might also be the crazy peeper at the dance who hit the window. You looked amazing, by the way. I wanted to be with you and not stuck on the phone with my dad. I guess I took the frustration out on the window.”
Brie blinks her wide eyes, and she shakes her head. “I’m going to need a minute to process all of this.”
“I want to make one thing clear.”
Her brows fly upward. “Another confession?”
I nod. “I don’t know about love stories being meant to be or not, but I’ve learned from my parents and my sister that love requires constant effort. If we’re brought together for a reason, it’s going to be work that keeps us together. I’m confident we have what it takes this time to make this succeed. I want you to know I’m committed to you, Brie.”
I don’t expect her to forgive me right away, so I’m surprised when her face softens and she smiles again. “I have a confession too. I admit to being confused by what life had in store for me. The whole kismet thing is proof. I focused on what I couldn’t control instead of what I could control—with dance, with relationships, with everything. I don’t want to wait and see what happens to us. What we hope and work towardisthe kind of love that is meant to be. I want that with you, Rockwell. I’m committed to us too.”
Her words tug at my heart. I wish I would’ve learned these lessons earlier, but I’m not mad about learning them alongside Brie. I like her answer so much, I dip my head and kiss her. After too brief a moment, I pull away, not because I want to, but because I have an important follow up. “Brie, will you dance with me?”
She wrinkles her petite nose. “Here? Now?”
I nod. “It’s late, but I want to finish your Christmas list.” I release her before she can object or I can remember I prefer kissing to dancing. I pull out my phone and swipe through my music. When it starts playing, I hit the volume up all the way.
She grins. “This was on our high school playlist.”
I put the phone in the hood of her coat. “We’ll make more playlists with new favorites soon, but until then, this will suffice.” I extend my arms, and she slips into them. We’re like two sides of a Christmas greeting card, folding together at the close of the holiday season with contented sighs. “I hope you’ll keep making wishes, Brie,” I whisper into her ear. “And I hope to be the one who fulfills them.”
