Page 73 of Tender Offer
“What?” I frown under his appraisal.
“I want to show you your gift.” He stands to put on his coat, then pulls my chair out.
My eyes narrow. “This was gift enough,” I say to his chest as he secures my coat around my shoulders. “Where are we going?”
I’m guided by the hand for the second time tonight. Unlike Kojo’s little scavenger hunt, we don’t go far.
Preston takes us to a bench on the other side of the fountain. High-rise buildings freckled in lights wedge us between the Upper East and West Sides under a few stars and the moon behind the clouds.
“Remember when you told me the Pont des Arts was your most memorable date?” His eyes shift to mine.
I nod.
Our video call during his recent trip to Manchester turned into a night of twenty questions. From his suite and my kitchen, we rediscovered old truths and learned new details about the people we’ve become.
“It was a night I’ll never forget,” I say about our date at the Louvre fifteen years ago that ended with a slow dance next to the famous bridge. My fingers hover over the padlock necklace hanging under the halter neckline of my dress. It felt right to wear it close to my heart tonight.
“Central Park has thousands of benches with engraved love notes. I purchased one in memory of my mother, in the Conservatory Garden she loved.” His thumb grazes a silver plaque. “Gioia ru me core,” he reads. “It’s Sicilian for ‘joy of my heart.’”
Tears form in my eyes at the longing and affection wrapped in the declaration. “Beautiful.”
Preston offers a sad smile and reaches for my hand. We walk to the next bench, feet away, which has a silver plaque just like the one we left. He shifts me to his chest, his arms a wool-lined shield from the chill in the air. “This is a place of peace for me. A reminder of love lost but contained in eternity. That’s what you are to me, Puff. My peace. My heart. My future.”
I draw a sharp breath when he turns us toward the engraving.
Madison
Ti amerò fino al giorno dopo per sempre.
Preston
“This one is in Italian. It means, ‘I will love you until the day after forever,’” he whispers against my ear.
Every tear I’ve held back finds its way down my cheeks. I cry for the time we lost. But it’s right here, next to the lovehe memorialized for all to see. The dawn of a smile finds the strength to grow.
Love isn’t always lost.
Sometimes it circles back. Louder. Bolder.
My “Thank you” is smothered by Preston’s mouth on mine. His hands slip up my arms, pulling me into the rapid thud of his beating heart.
What lies ahead remains unknown. Tonight, I want to focus on the present moment and the gift that’s been mine all along.
His heart.
Chapter 38
Preston
Neon signs bathe our town car in a glow. The seventeen-minute ride to Madison’s flat is a silent countdown. Her head is on my shoulder, our fingers threaded together on my knee.
My life until this point has been an autopilot blur. I’ve existed, but now I feel myself coming back to the real me, and it’s because of her. I expect at any moment to wake up from a dream without the fresh scent of magnolia or her textured curls brushing over my cheek.
I type out a message to Dayo, pocket my phone, and take Madison’s hand once we arrive. The security we had at the park will disperse for the evening.
Madison guides us by the front desk attendant with a smile. We step into the lift and float up floors to the twelfth. Our destination is at the end of a long, carpeted corridor with black doors. Whoever the designer was spared no ceiling lights. They’re illuminated breadcrumbs, leading us to the place we’ll share our first night together.
“Home sweet home.” She unlocks the deadbolt. Another lock unfastens to reveal an open floor plan with a backdrop of windows. “It’s no Westminster penthouse, but it has a view.” There’s no animosity in her tone, only pride for the space she calls her own.
