My heart thudded in my chest. It was his handwriting. It was the same message as the notes he had sent me this way in the past. I knew what it was asking me, but why? How? He was supposed to be in Miami. I vaguely remembered myself yelling at him to leave me alone because I was done with us. I wanted my old life back. What a joke. He thought so, too.
I read it again, my heart thumping. Tomorrow at noon. Tomorrow at noon something would happen. Whatever it was, I was excited.
Chapter Thirty Five
Roman
I looked down at the spread. Suddenly, sandwiches seemed too easy. I hadn't made them, I had bought them. Sun dried tomato, pickle, and Swiss cheese. Her favorite. Was it enough? Was a picnic too casual? I thought I'd go with something thoughtful instead of direct, like asking her to dinner. We could be alone here, and this was our spot. It was lower stakes, too, in case she was nervous and didn't want to go on an actual dinner date.
I was a little sad, remembering the last time I had tried to get her to do this with me. It had worked in the end, after about a week of false starts. It wasn't noon yet. It was a few minutes to twelve, so she technically had time. All I wanted was for her to show up. If she didn't then I didn't know whether I could commit to waiting for her to come around like the last time. I was on a much tighter schedule these days.
I hadn't told her anything in the note, but she'd know what to expect. Right? She was a smart girl. I took the brownies out of the basket and looked out along the boundary of the trees. A couple dog walkers in the distance. Some people with kids. Nobody that looked like Veronica. Yet.
I was hopeful. I felt like, the way we left things, we both wanted to make it right. The next time I looked at my phone, it was officially 12:03. I'd give her... I didn't know how much time to give her before she was late. I stood, making sure everything looked okay, walking around the blanket.
Maybe I should have gotten wine? Would she have liked that? Why was I so nervous? This was Veronica. The girl I had been in love with for almost the last four years. I knew her, and what she liked. I knew what I felt about her and I was pretty sure about what she felt about me too. I just needed this to be perfect. We needed to talk about some things. If today went well, everything would change.
A sound behind me made me look over my shoulder. She was wearing shorts and a white tank top. Her hair was tied up in a ponytail. Our eyes met and then I was moving. Then she was. And then, I was holding her. My arms were around her so tight I might have been crushing her, but I didn't want to let go.
I lifted her into my arms, feeling her legs wrap around my waist. It was like this rush of relief getting my arms back around her. I kissed her, and she opened up to me. I sucked her tongue into my mouth and tasted her. I groaned, squeezing her tighter. I couldn't have predicted what could have happened when I saw her, but this reaction was about as good as I could have asked for.
"I couldn't believe it when I saw the box last night," she said, pulling away.
"I was nervous that you wouldn't come," I confided, lowering her to the ground.
"This might be the only chance I have to come clean," she said. "I pushed you away and I shouldn't have done it, Roman. It was your choice to make and-"
"Babe, slow down," I told her. "Come sit." I took her hand and led her to the blanket. I sat and she sat next to me.
"I need to apologize to you," she said. "I shouldn't have said those things, pushed you away like that. Tiffany told me about your talks with the team and I couldn't... I didn't want you to lose the opportunity because of me."
"I know," I said gently.
"How?"
"Tiff talked to me." She shook her head.
"You need to tell that sister of yours to mind her own business," she said smiling.
"You let your meddling best friend know that, too," I shot back. "Honestly? I'm glad she told me. I'm glad she set us up on that blind date when I got back from Afghanistan."
"I am, too," she said. "I'm sorry, for breaking up with you. I didn't mean it. Any of it. I didn't miss what I had when you were gone. Being with you was better."
"I did the same thing. I shouldn't have dumped you the way I did. I only did it because I wanted to protect you."
"I did it so you'd be happy. I love you, and I didn't want you getting stuck trying to move your career forward when a chance was looking you in the face."
"I love you, too. I guess doing some things because you love the person doesn't change the fact that it'll hurt them."
"Aren't you supposed to let someone go if you love them? Something like that? And if they're yours, they'll come back?" she asked. I leaned back on my elbows.
"There wasn't a good enough reason for us to let each other go. Not the first time. Not the second one, either."
"We found each other again eventually, right?"
"Yeah. But we didn't need the time apart in the first place." She sighed. The food was sitting there, but I wasn't hungry anymore. I didn't think she was, either. She leaned on one of her arms, looking down at me, touchin
g my face.