“How did you know I wouldn’t be here?”
“I didn’t know you wouldn’t be here. I just showed up. But then when you weren’t here, I thought bigger.”
“It’s… beautiful. Thank you.” All around us people were chatting and laughing and looking at the pictures. Inside, through the window, I saw Presley refilling trays of finger food. Behind me, Raya was still chatting with the reviewer. Over Elijah’s right shoulder there were more leaves made out of photos. “Did you take all these pictures… recently?”
“Some,” he said. “But I borrowed a lot from my childhood bedroom as well.”
“You did? Your mom hates me,” I said. She loved that setup. Had left it up for all these years.
“She doesn’t. She really likes you,” Elijah said, then he sighed. “I didn’t know about Dr. Franklin. That she wasn’t real. That she was a friend. She washisfriend, not mine.”
“I know.”
“You know?”
“I mean, I believe you. I was in Clovis, at a boxing tournament yesterday, helping.”
“You went to the boxing tournament?”
“I did.”
“Why?”
“Because it was important to you, and I knew you were stressed about it. And I found an app that I didn’t end up using because I didn’t want to be controlling, but it ran just fine anyway. And I’m pretty sure I love you.”
A smile spread across his face. “Prettysure?”
“All the way sure.”
He nodded and again a breath of doubt whispered into my ear. Why was he still five feet away? Why wasn’t he saying it back? Why hadn’t he kissed me yet?
I swallowed.
“Can I just… can we just…?” He took my hand and led me inside, then around the tables and groups of people. He pushed through the doors to the back, continued down the hall and into the office. “It was loud out there,” he said, facing me. “Say it again.”
“I believe you. I know you weren’t lying about Dr. Franklin.”
“No, not that part.”
“The tournament? It went really well. I’m guessing you did a lot of that setup work. I’m sure that’s why it ran so well.”
“Sutton. Not that part either.”
“Which part?” I asked with a smile.
“You know which part.”
I took a step toward him, put a hand on his chest, and said, “I love you, Elijah.”
He pulled me into a tight hug. His lips brushed along my temple, and he said, “They weren’t talking about you. My brother and Fake Dr. Franklin. They were talking aboutme. The daddy issues thing. That was me.Ihave those issues. My brother was telling her about those issues, apparently. And the boxing gym,thatwas temporary, at least me working there was. I’d told my brother the gym was temporary, that I wasn’t having fun anymore. It was never about you.”
“Are you not going to say it back?” I asked. I’d heard what he said, and that all helped me feel even better about everything, but I was hung up on what hewasn’tsaying.
“What?” he asked.
“Do you not feel the same?” I’d put some space between us so I could look him in the eyes with the question.
He only seemed confused.
