Page 134 of Rules Of Engagement: St. Louis
Naomi. In her signature style, a brown bandage dress, her hair swept back from her face, her brown eyes locked on mine, and her appearance created a ruckus behind my now fluttering heart.
My voice faltered mid-sentence as I stared at her in complete shock.
Was I hallucinating?
I thought I must be, but then she continued her progression, climbing the steps to the stage.
“Excuse me,” she said, her voice barely audible at first. Then she stepped toward the microphone: “Excuse me,” she said, louder.
The ballroom fell silent, and everyone turned their attention from me to her.
I stepped back from the podium, my heart hammering against my ribs. What was she doing? Why was she here?
Someone near the back called out, “Security!”
“It’s okay,” I said quickly. “Let her speak.”
Naomi reached for the microphone with hands that trembled visibly from where I stood. She looked out at the crowd, then at the television cameras, and I saw her take a deep breath before she began.
“I’m sorry to interrupt, but I have something to say about Christian Valentine.”
My confusion ignited, but I remained still to hear her speak.
“Christian Valentine is an exceptional attorney,” she said, her voice growing stronger. “He fights harder for his clients than anyone else in this room. He doesn’t just win cases, he changes lives. He takes on opposing counsel with assurance and confidence, and he cannot be intimidated.”
I watched her find her rhythm, and her confidence built as she spoke about my work, making my throat tight. The crowd was listening now, their confusion shifting to admiration.
“But Christian’s legal skills aren’t what make him extraordinary. It’s his heart.”
Her voice cracked on that word, and I felt my own heart skip a beat.
“He’s patient with people who are afraid to trust. He’s gentle with hearts that have been broken. He fights for what he believes in, even when, especially when, the person he’s fighting for is too scared to fight for themselves.”
She turned to look directly at me, and the rest of the room faded away. It was just her and me on that stage, just like it had always been when we were together.
“A month ago, I walked away from the best thing that ever happened to me because I was terrified of getting hurt again. I convinced myself that protecting my heart was more important than risking it. But since then, I’ve come to understand something.”
She stepped so close I could smell her perfume and see the tears she was fighting back.
“Fear, when there’s no real danger, is just a debilitating mental dance that does more harm than good. It’s not fear that kills you, it’s the decision to not put one foot in front of the other that keeps you paralyzed.”
My entire body was warm now, and my heart was racing.
“Christian, I’ve been paralyzed by the fear that you might hurt me, that I might not be enough, that forever is too big a promise to make. But you know what terrifies me more than any of that?”
“What?” I managed to whisper.
“The thought of spending another second without you and letting fear steal the love we found together.”
The ballroom was dead silent. Two hundred people were wrapped in her confession, waiting for what came next. Television cameras were capturing every word, expression, and tear that was now sliding down Naomi’s cheeks.
“There are no guarantees in love. There are no promises that can’t be broken. But I want us anyway.” Her voice rang clear and strong through the microphone. “I want Wednesday morning coffee and Saturday night dinners. I want to fight about whose turn it is to do laundry and make up by cooking together in the kitchen. I want all of it, even the scary parts.”
I couldn’t breathe or think. Naomi had laid her heart bare in front of hundreds of strangers, where she’d kept me hidden before.
“And I choose you,” she said, her voice breaking with emotion. “If you’ll still choose me.”
I moved to stand in front of her. Her whole body was trembling, and I could tell she was scared to death. I drank in every detail of her face, hardly able to believe this was real. That she was here. That she’d chosen me.
