The crisp white walls were so freshly painted the smell of latex still hung in the air.
Floor-to-ceiling windows showed off the herringbone bricksidewalks of Abingdon andEvergreen Galleryin delicate green script on the outdoor signage.
Track lighting beamed neatly over each canvas, each one a new angle on the sparkling night sky.
Only one thing was missing. As she was just reaching Luke—who stood squarely in front of the largest canvas, a blue-eyed baby strapped to his broad chest as he haggled with an elderly woman dripping in pearls—she saw it.
Passing Luke, she moved to the open front door and stepped outside.
Directly across the street, Theo, just having turned the lock on his own office door, turned around. When he saw her, he stopped. Gave a little lopsided smile as he lifted one hand, the oversized scissors dangling from his fingers.
“Found the ribbon cutters!” he called out.
He dodged the oncoming traffic, jogged lightly across the street, and met her on the other side, eyes shining on the woman who’d turned from childhood best friend to lost love, to next-door neighbor, to wife, and now the latest: neighboring business owner and daily lunch date. And all it took was thirty-six years.
She took the scissors from his hand and reached on tiptoes for a kiss, her cheeks glowing like the soft pink rose petals on their wedding day. “Just in time.”
