Page 131 of Play On

He faced his fears of being hurt to let me into his heart. He had to put down his carefully built walls to not only take a chance on me, but to trust me after I shoved him away. Now that I know his past, I can’t believe how brave he was to even consider it, let alone do it.

Suddenly something hits me.

I made a mistake with Noah, a massive one, and he not only forgave me but went on to love me.

To trust me with his heart.

I’m going to make mistakes. As Aimee says, everyone does. Unless it’s something catastrophic, they can be forgiven. Hopefully corrected. But most likely, they can be things that people can move on from.

I know I love art, and I know I could do great things if I allow myself to try.

If I allow myself to fail.

There’s no need to abandon things out of fear I won’t do them right or disappoint people. That is going to happen because it’s life.

A life I haven’t been brave enough to try and live until I met Noah.

But now I am. I want to change my life. I’m ready to start a career and move to London and do everything I’ve dreamt of doing. I want to put together shows for a gallery. I want to launch artists into the world or work in an auction house assessing works of art.

There are so many things I can do.

I see that now, thanks to this man holding me in his arms.

“Noah?”

He takes a step back from me. His fingertips move to my chin, tilting it upwards towards him.

“Butterfly?”

I smile at both the gesture and hearing my nickname come across his lips.

“Next week everything is going to change. I’m going to present my ideas to my parents, and I know that’s the first step in getting a career in art. But I’m not scared. I’m excited. I’m excited about the future, about working, and seeing what I can do. I owe that all to you, Noah. Thank you for believing in me. For seeing me in a way nobody else has. I promise I won’t let you down.”

“This isn’t about letting me down.” He shakes his head. “It’s about doing what you want to do. I’m already so proud of you, Violet. I can’t wait to see you spread your butterfly wings beyond Dorset,” he says, taking his index finger and tracing it down the slope of my nose, “because I think you’re going to surprise yourself with what you’re going to accomplish.”

Then he drops his index finger and brushes a sweet kiss onto my lips.

I smile to myself. He’s right. I am going to do great things.

And next week, this butterfly is finally going to fly.

Chapter Thirty-Two

Lady Violet Banfield

“Hello,” I call out from behind the till to the tourists who have just entered the gift shop. “May I help you find anything today?”

“Oh no, we’re just looking,” a woman says, smiling at me. She’s with a group of women who appear to be in their fifties, and they immediately descend upon different corners of the gift shop, picking up and examining items.

“All right. Please let me know if you need any assistance,” I say cheerfully.

“Thank you,” they all reply.

I go back to putting price tags on new jars of preserves. It’s Monday afternoon, and I don’t think I’ve fully recovered from my whirlwind trip to Australia. I’m so tired. I think it’s going to take a few days to fully adjust to being back in England again.

However tired I might be, there’s one thing that can’t wait.

I’ve decided tonight I’m going to bring up my art ideas during dinner.

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