Page 104 of If My Wishes Came True
And when she turns to walk away?—
I’m looking at myself.
It’s one of the pictures Charlie took of me at Olive Park, during our mini photoshoot. He showed me some of the photographs afterward, but never this one.
It’s cropped the same way I paint my portraits—with the focus on my eyes. And the way I’m looking at him…
“It’s the exact same way I’m looking at you,” he says, nodding toward his portrait, behind me. I look back and forth between my painting and his photograph, both smack dab in the center of opposite walls. Jenna and Charlie, gazing into each other’s eyes from across the room—lovestruck.
My lip quivers. “This is the most romantic thing anyone’s ever done for me.”
“Jenna, this is our love story. You’re the woman of my dreams. And I’m the man of your…doodles.”
I giggle and wipe a tear from my cheek.
“And I would love for you to come to Italy with me thissummer,” he says. “So we can make all your drawings come true.”
My hand flies to my heart.
“I would love that, too,” I say, right before I start sobbing.
Charlie walks to meet me in the center of the room. But as soon as he takes me in his arms, the fluorescent overhead lights turn on.
“So much for mood lighting,” Charlie says, squinting as his eyes struggle to adjust.
“Sorry, kiddos!” Odette yells from the front of the gallery, over the bossa nova still playing in the background. “You’re welcome to stay, but we need the overheads on to clean up.”
“We’ll be out of your hair in a minute,” Charlie says with a grin, then turns back to me.
I heave a sigh, smiling ear-to-ear. All I can think about is how much I want to kiss him, and run my hands through that adorably mussed-up hair.
“I’ll try to make this quick, while we still have mood music,” he goes on with a chuckle. “Jenna, when I realized I was going to miss your show, my instinct was to beat myself up for disappointing you. And that’s what I did—for hours, driving through Nebraska. Even after I’d just stood up to my father. You know what they say about old habits…”
He purses his lips.
“But somewhere just outside of Omaha, I forgave myself. And that’s progress. Because normally I’d ruminate over something like this until I had the chance to fix it. The need to please is so ingrained in me, Jenna—I can tell you right now, I’m not going to change overnight. But I’m working on it. Two weeks ago, Inever would have shown up here looking this way.”
He glances down at the hole in his shirt and pulls at it.
“Thisis me trying,” he goes on. “This is my grand gesture. It’s not what I originally planned. And it’s not perfect. But it’s me.”
If this were a romantic comedy, the music would swell, and the camera would orbit around me and Charlie Sutton as we locked lips, undisturbed, until the credits rolled.
Instead, the bossa nova cuts out, and someone starts vacuuming up front.
But that doesn’t stop me from kissing him.
And afterward, when his loving gaze meets mine, I say, “It’s better than perfect, Charlie. It’s all I ever wished for.”
Iwake up early, even though I have a long day ahead of me and could use the extra sleep. But I’m too excited—and nervous. I’ve been dreaming of this moment my entire life, and it’s finally here. Our friends and family from out of town are on their way. All of the planning is behind me, and the only thing left for me to do is put on my dress and show up.
Charlie’s sleeping soundly. But I may just have to wake him, because there’s only one thing that can help me relax right now, and I’m sure he won’t be too upset if I ask for it.
I snuggle up to him, reach my hand under the covers, and into his boxers. A smile forms on his lips, even though his eyes are still closed.
“Last night wasn’t enough for you?” he jokes, a sexy, sleepy rasp in his voice.
“I need another fix to get me through until tonight,” I tell him, grinning when his gaze meets mine.
