Her soft voice cuts through my thoughts, and I turn to face Jasalie. She’s not looking at me but at the clay figure below the placard.
I swallow hard.
Worth the Risk.
She mistakes my silence. “Maybe you don’t remember…”
“Of course I remember.” My voice comes out gruff, and I turn back to look at the sculpture. “But it’s all painted and everything.”
“I know.” I can hear the smile in her voice. “I painted it green and red for two reasons: the colors of the Cougars, and those colors symbolize heart and passion. The two things you showed me most.”
I touch the sculpture lightly with my finger. “It’s amazing. The colors, all of it.”
Shocking the hell out of me, her soft hand covers mine. “This is the only piece here that’s not for sale. Once the show is over, it’s yours. So you’ll always remember your essence.”
“Jasalie…”
We turn to face each other, but she puts her finger to my lips to silence me. “No matter what happened between us at the end, Dylan, you’re the reason I had the courage to start my own business, and you’re the reason I had the idea in the first place, so I wanted to thank you for that.”
“Worth the risk,” I say to her. “Listen, I really wanted to explain to you…”
She cuts me off before I can continue. “I truly believe that we were worth the risk to each other even if you don’t,” she says.
My phone starts vibrating in my pocket, and I ignore it as I take her face in my hands. “Jasalie. You are worth every risk to me. I want to punch myself that I ever let you think otherwise.”
Her eyes widen.
“You were right, about everything you said,” I say. “That day, when Tim called and told me about the threat, I didn’t think about anything but how to keep you safe. I went into terror, and I made all my decisions from that space. I realize now that I can’t live my life from a place of fear. I need to live it from a place of love.”
I take something out of my pocket and put it into her hand. “This is for you. I have so much more I want to say to you, but I don’t want to screw up your big night.”
She looks down at the small bronze key resting in her open palm. “What is this?”
“It’s a key to the house in Malibu.” I shift my gaze to her necklace. “You already have the key to my heart.”
Tears fill her eyes, but I shake my head. “Like I said, the last thing I want to do is throw you off. I’ll wait for you” —I start to back toward the door—“call me when you’re free, and I’ll meet you wherever you like.”
She nods slowly. “Dylan…”
“I love you, Jasalie,” I say softly. “I’m so sorry that I ever broke your trust in me, but I want you to know that I’ll wait for you, and I don’t give up easily. So take all the time that you need. Just know that I’m always here if you need me.”
I turn away and walk across the gallery. I wave at Lilla and then disappear out the door.
Once I’m outside, I walk a few feet past the open windows of the gallery and lean up against the stone wall.
Worth the risk.
She never gave up on me. On us.
All I can do now is pray that I’m not too late in telling her I never gave up either.
My phone, which hasn’t stopped buzzing since it started inside the gallery, is vibrating through my pants. I pull the phone out and glance at the screen.
“Shit,” I say out loud. “I guess that’s some sort of weird karmic timing.”
Before I can decide what to do next, the skies open up, and it starts pouring.
* * *
