Joel walks away, leaving me and Camryn to inspect the post that has the carvings. My fingers bump over the wood, slipping through the valleys. It’s obvious the person who worked on this put care into it. Camryn jostles me with her elbow.
“What do you think about a little surprise for Dani? Like an old-school heart with C loves D inside it, carved into the other post?”
“Adorable. You should request it.”
Cam peeks around the post at me, stern eyebrows pulled to a point. “Don’t get so caught up in writing that you forget you’re supposed to be planning the bridal shower while you’re up here.”
“I have an entire notebook dedicated to the task.”
Cam makes a face. “A physical notebook? How old are you? Use the notes app on your phone.”
“Don’t judge my process.”
The clomp of footsteps sounds through the huge room. Camryn and I turn at the same time Joel says, “Here he is.”
My breath, my stomach, my heart, they all disappear, leaving me hollow but somehow still heavy. Blood pounds in my ears, throbbing and pulsing.
It’s impossible,impossible,except it’s not because there Gabriel is, staring at me, shocked gaze piercing my soul in the way only he can.
He says my name. Each letter slams into me, five separate wrecking balls decimating me where I stand.
“What the hell?” my sister’s disbelieving whisper catapults me into action. I’m moving, searching, trying to find a way from this place. I have to get away. There’s a door on the right, it’s not the way we came, but it will do.
I burst through. It’s the same parking lot, but on the other side of the building. The rain hasn’t let up, and I’m drenched in mere seconds. It doesn’t matter. Nothing matters.
Not anymore.
Not when Gabriel is here, in the flesh.
I tip my face to the rain because I need to feel something to remind me this moment is real.
Gabriel comes through the door, charging into the parking lot, and I am his goal. He reaches me, stopping only a foot away. Wet hair hangs over his forehead, tiny rivers of rain running over the planes of his face. Heavy breath pushes his chest, his eyes are wide and brimming with emotion.
We stare at each other, neither of us able to get a handle on this moment. Then he reaches for me, and I let him touch me. His fingers wrap around my upper arms, and the memory of histouch resurfaces as though it never left. A ragged breath drags through my lungs.
Gabriel is touching me.Gabriel.
How many nights did I yearn for him? An ocean of tears did not return him to me, and now, here he is, his presence more impossible than I could’ve ever imagined. How long did I beg God for mercy on his behalf?
Months.
Weeks.
Days.
Hours.
Until I was nothing but alone, in our bed, accepting our ending.
Now here he is. He pulls me closer, and his lips are near my ear, his hands gripping my arms. The rise and fall of his chest pushes against mine. His smell. My God, how I’ve missed it. Even diluted by rain it is there, curling into me. Beneath his touch my skin is seared, but then the desperation for his touch subsides as the memories trickle in.
He once saved me from a fire. But when it was all said and done, he’s the one who burned me down.
Camryn pulls my car alongside us. She motions for me to get in.
I take a step back. His hands fall away, but they don’t go far. His grip is there between us, suspended in mid-air, and all I have to do to be held by him again is simply step forward.
I don’t.
