He shook his head. “Nope. It was you I wanted. You, with this sexy tattoo”—he ran a finger over my shoulder—“and your cute knees poking out of the holes in your jeans, and your silky hair … and … I could go on and on about your … sexiness, but it’s really the person you are that won me over, Morgan,” he said. “The way you listen to me go on and on about Nathan. The way you care. Your passion about the mural. Your … what’s the matter?”

I’d started to cry. He leaned across the console to wrap me in his arms. “What is it?” he asked, his breath warm against my temple.

It took me a moment before I could speak. “I just … It’s been a long time since anyone said anything nice about me,” I said. “It’s been a long time since I deserved it.”

“I don’t buy that.” He tightened his arms around me. “You hit a rough patch. Maybe some of it was of your own creation, but we all screw up. I had a son at seventeen, remember?”

I smiled, my chin resting against his shoulder.

“It’s all behind you.” Drawing away from me, he looked into my eyes. “Now you move forward.”

“I love you, too,” I said.

“I know.”

“How did you know?”

“I’ve been picking up the vibes,” he said. “I didn’t want to act on them, though. Didn’t want ‘us’ to get in the way of our work.”

“God, you are so mature!” I laughed, giddy with a joy I couldn’t remember ever feeling before. I felt safe with him.

He let go of me then. “Get a good night’s sleep,” he said. “Tomorrow’s going to be crazy.”

I instantly sobered. “Do you think Adam and Wyatt will get the mural up in time?”

He nodded. Tugged at a lock of my hair. “It’s going to be fine,” he said, leaning in for another kiss. “Everything’s going to be fine.”

Chapter 65

Chapter 65

August 5, 2018

The gallery opening was scheduled for noon, and I intentionally took my time getting ready, aiming to be there no earlier than eleven. If Adam and Wyatt hadn’t shown up at six A.M. as promised, and the mural was still resting on the foyer floor, I didn’t want to know. I sped up as I walked toward the gallery, though, checking my phone with every other step. If there was a problem, surely I would have heard. So far, not a single text this morning.

Even though I’d dropped exhausted into bed at three thirty that morning, it had taken me a while to fall asleep. That last-minute surprise from Oliver? Wow. It felt real, everything he’d said. It felt genuine and it felt right. And that kiss! I smiled to myself, remembering, and a woman walking toward me on the sidewalk smiled back.