“Here we go,” I told myself, before pulling open the door.
Davis waited outside in a black suit with shiny leather shoes and a belt. His button-down shirt nearly matched the color of his eyes. He looked impossibly taller in his fancy business wear, and my skin thrummed with the need to touch him.
“I’m meeting with my dad and an investor for dinner later,” he said. “They ambushed me, and I can’t get out of it, but I won’t need to leave you for about an hour. You should know by then if you’re feeling safe. If not, give me a sign, and I’ll bring you straight home.”
Appreciation welled in me, and I was torn once again between my feelings for the man before me, and a man whose identity I didn’t even know. Forever Yours had left one more letter today, giving me a free pass to not show tonight. No hard feelings. Complete understanding. Then he’d included snippets of letters he’d found and loved. Pieces he hoped might make me smile.
From Napoleon to Joséphine:
When, free from every worry, from all business, shall I spend all my moments by your side, to have nothing to do but to love you, and to prove it to you?
And my favorite of all ...
That I did always love
I bring thee Proof
That till I loved
I never lived—Enough—
That I shall love alway—
I argue thee
That love is life—
And life hath Immortality—
This—dost thou doubt—Sweet—
Then have I
Nothing to show
But Calvary—
—Emily Dickinson
If Forever Yours was half as sincere and genuine in person as he was on the page, I’d be out of my head not to pursue something with him.It would be ridiculous,I assured myself, to avoid a real connection with a man who cared for me, in favor of pining for a relationship with someone that was never meant to be.
I lifted my chin and squared my shoulders. “Let’s go.”
We arrived at our destination a few minutes later, and Davis parked at the end of the block. I nearly shook with adrenaline.
“I love downtown at night,” Davis said, peering through the windshield at the street outside.
Strings of bistro lights crisscrossed the sky above the street, hung from lamppost to lamppost all down the block. Twinkle lights illuminated the awnings and windows of shops and cafés. People walked hand in hand, pushing strollers, or leaning against one another in shared laughter, everywhere I looked.
My door opened, and Davis stood outside, offering his arm. I curved my fingers gently around his bicep, and we moved toward the café.
“Don’t be nervous,” he said, setting a warm hand over mine where it rested on his sleeve. “I think you’re going to have an incredible night.”
I tried to absorb his enthusiasm but couldn’t quite manage. I swallowed my pride and met his eyes. “Question.”
“Shoot.”
I inhaled slowly, steeling my nerve to say something I really shouldn’t. “What if the man who shows up tonight isn’t the one I want?”
