He rolled his eyes. “His client’s name is Frederick Gordon. Sound like a beautiful woman to you?”

I huffed. “You never know.”

Five minutes turned into ten, then fifteen, then twenty. There was a bench on the sidewalk with a great view of the restaurant’s door, but it was too cold to sit still. Or maybe I was just too worked up to sit still.

“Lane, if you don’t stop pacing, I’m tying you to this bench with your shoelaces.”

“I’m wearing boots. I don’t have shoelaces.”

“Then I’ll use my shoelaces. Come and sit. Please.”

I froze. “There he is.”

Jamie stood. “Which direction is he going? Does he see us?”

“I don’t think so. He’s still talking to his client. Oh gosh, this was a bad idea.”

“Stop it. It’s not a bad idea.” Jamie turned me to face him. “Hey, I’m going to get out of here.”

“You’re not staying?”

“Do you really want me to stay and witness whatever moment this is going to be for the two of you?”

Good point. “No. I guess not.”

He leaned forward and kissed my cheek. “I’m happy for you, Lane. For both of you.” He disappeared into the parking garage, and I turned back to find Simon. He stood at the corner, waiting for the light to change so he could cross the street. I took a step back into the shadow of the building behind me, willing my nerves to calm the heck down.

When he made it across the street, I stepped forward and called his name. “Simon.”

He stopped in his tracks. “Lane? What are you doing here?”

I had no words. Rare for me, but everything I thought to say sounded too shallow, too silly for how intensely I felt. He was there in front of me, and for the first time, there was nothing to stop me from making him mine. I did the only thing I could think of—the only thing that felt right: I walked toward him, driven by momentum and will and love, and kissed him, pulling him close against me, holding his face with my hands.

In a second, his arms were around me, anchoring me to him, his lips returning the kiss with a fervor that made me glad I had him to lean on. When we finally parted, breaking the kiss, he kept his arms in place, holding me tight.

“Hi,” he said, his voice soft.

“Hi.” I pulled the book out of the oversized pocket of my coat, the open letter on top. “Oh, wow,” he whispered. “I guess you’ve been talking to Jamie.”

“It is enough,” I whispered, “for me to be sure that you and I exist at this moment.”

He leaned his forehead against mine. “That’s my favorite line from the book.”

“Well, now it’s mine too.”

He grinned. “Man, I love my brother right now.”