I laugh aloud. Whenever he took me out on his parents’ sailboat he’d say that to me. The first time I heard the compliment, I accused him of trying to charm his way into my bikini bottoms. He laughed and winked. The second time he said it, my bikini hit the deck as soon as we were in open water and out of view.
I glance up at the late afternoon sun before my gaze drops back to my phone and the last message he sent.
Gage: Today is Kate-day, isn’t it? I hope it’s everything you need it to be.
With tears clouding my vision, I read the last two lines of his text in a whisper, “He knew where she was without a word from her lips. She lived in his heart; today and forevermore.”
Chapter 43
Kate
Two hours later, I walk into Tin Anchor with a red dress on and a poetry book in my hand.
After I got home from Central Park, I pulled a cardboard box out of my bedroom closet. I stared at it for at least ten minutes before I opened it and tossed all the contents onto my bed.
Most of it was my collection of winter accessories. The countless pairs of knitted mittens and scarves are courtesy of my mom.
I have at least one set in every color of the rainbow.
Hidden beneath that treasure trove was the item I needed to see.
It’s the poetry book that I’m clinging to now.
It was the last gift that Gage ever gave to me. It was wrapped in newspaper and a pink ribbon when he put it in my hands.
My favorite poet, Grayson Marks, inscribed the book to me. Crying, I thumbed through it noting right away that Gage had dog-eared a page. On it was a poem and a circle of red ink.
Inside the circle were two simple lines.
He knew where she was without a word from her lips. She lived in his heart; today and forevermore.
Gage told me to always remember that I would live in his heart until the day he died and that if he closed his eyes, he’d feel me with him.
Just a few months later, he set sail without me and everything changed.
I approach the bar, hoping that he’ll be finished with the male customer by the time I reach him.
I have a million things to say, but only four words have been playing on the tip of my tongue since I read his last text. It’s the words I haven’t said to him since the day before he left me.
I love you, Gage.
He spots me as I near him. The serious look on his face softening into something I’ve seen countless times.
It’s love, compassion, kindness, and a heavy dose of lust.
He always loved me in red.
He used to tell me that it was a reflection of the spark that’s inside of me.
I watch as he smiles at the man before he moves to the side.
“Katie.” My name leaves him in a low growl as soon as I’m standing next to an empty stool across the bar from him. “Red is your color.”
“You love me in red,” I say softly. “You used to tell me that.”
“It captures your fire.” His gaze drops to my hand. “Is that…”
“The book you gave me.” With a shaking hand, I rest it on the bar. “You remembered the passage.”