Page 151 of Love Arranged
“Hi,” he says, completely serious.
“I’m sorry I don’t visit you here,” I whisper. “But I think of you every day. I miss your laugh. I miss your jokes. I miss the sound of your voice, especially in the mornings because you were always my favorite alarm clock.” I breathe through the pain in my torso. “I just…miss you.”
I struggle to come up with much else. Maybe if I had known we’d be stopping by, I would’ve prepared a speech, but it was a spontaneous decision that makes me feel inadequate compared to Lorenzo’s earlier visit.
“I don’t know what else to say.” My voice wobbles.
“Hey,” he says, his smooth voice a much-needed comfort.
I turn my head to get a better look at him. “What?”
“There’s no pressure to speak. We can stand here in silence for as long as you want, or we could go.”
“You made it look so easy. I’m a bit jealous.”
“I’ve been at this for a while.” His smile is slow, and I appreciate every second of it.
Just like I appreciatehim.
His strength. His resilience. The confidence he exudes, and the way he brings out the same in me. He makes me want to believe in myself again and my ability to handle anything that comes my way, because I know that if I struggle, he will be there to support me until I can hold my own.
I don’t say the words aloud, but I feel them with every fiber of my being, and I hope one day I’ll finally have the courage to share them.
* I brought Lily here today so you can finally meet her. I’m pretty sure you’d love her more than you love me.
40
LILY
After our trip to the cemetery, Lorenzo asks if I want to have dinner together. Since I hardly ate much of my lunch, I agree, so we head back to his house, where he gets to cooking while I play with Daisy outside.
Once I tire her out, I rejoin Lorenzo in the kitchen, and we talk about random subjects, like what Healing Hearts plans on doing with all the money they raised. I tell him about how I tried and failed to win a silent auction item, which seems to surprise him.
“What were you bidding on?” he asks while checking an expiration date on the same bottle for a second time.
“Fifty thousand frequent flyer miles,” I say wistfully.
“Where do you want to go?”
“Netherlands,” I reply without hesitating.
“What for?”
I stare at him like he must be joking, except he doesn’t laugh.
“Lorenzo. Do you know me at all?”
His eyes narrow. “I’m going to guess it has something to do with flowers.”
“Yes!” I throw my hands into the air. “I was about to call off this entire engagement.”
“I’ll have to brush up on my international flower knowledge, then.” His tone is teasing.
“Please do. I recommend familiarizing yourself with every important festival on the planet to be safe.”
“My kind of trivia night.”
I laugh. He smiles.
