Page 68 of The Story of Us
Anita gave a little shrug. “She’s not here.”
“Okay.” Sawyer glanced from one of them to the next. They looked like three identical cats who’d swallowed the canaries. “Where is she?”
“She told me to give you this.” Lucy pulled something from her pocket and handed it to him. A red envelope with his name written on it in Jamie’s swirling, romantic script.
He took it, tracing the distinctive handwriting with the pad of his thumb. It looked like something from Jane Austen’s day. So perfectly literary; so perfectly Jamie. “What’s this?”
“It’s a red envelope on Valentine’s Day. It’s a Valentine,” Rick said, because apparently he was an expert on romance now that he’d gotten his girl.
Sawyer laughed, shook his head and opened the envelope. It contained a square card— vintage, of course—with a single letter written in the corner. J for Jamie. He turned it over in his hands, wondering what he might be missing, but then he realized the envelope still felt weighted down by something else inside.
He turned it over, and a flash of silver fell into his palm. A single, shiny key on a sterling heart-shaped keyring. Fresh energy filled him. He felt light on his feet all of a sudden, as if maybe Olga could actually turn him into Prince Charming on the ballet stage. The key in his hand wasn’t just any key…
Jamie had given him the key to True Love, the one and only key to her heart.
He closed his fist around it, holding it tight.
Rick winked at him.
And as Sawyer all but sprinted for the door, Anita called out, “Have fun.”
He ran all the way to the bookstore, his wingtip shoes pounding the cobblestones for the entire three blocks. The moon shone high overhead, casting a soft glow over Waterford, as pink as a bouquet of cotton candy carnations—a Valentine’s moon, a moon for sweethearts. The old oak’s branches swayed as if the tree were dancing to some invisible music, and Sawyer was so hopeful, he could practically hear it. It was lilting and lovely and reminded him of the song he and Jamie had danced to at their senior prom.
That night seemed so far away now, and at the same time, it felt like yesterday. He could still remember the scent of Jamie’s bluebell perfume and how soft and delicate her tulle princess dress had felt against his palm when he slid his hand onto the small of her back. He’d felt invincible then, so full of dreams and plans for the future. How had it taken him so long to find that feeling again?
It no longer mattered. He was here now, for good. His pulse roared in his ears, and he squeezed the silver keyring so hard that when he reached the threshold of True Love Books and unclenched his fist, the shape of a heart had pressed itself into his flesh.
He stood at the door, breathless in the cold of a pine-scented, Pacific Northwest night. The windows of the shop were darkened, but flickering shadows of candlelight waltzed across the shelves of books. As he reached to slide the key into the door’s lock, he spotted Eliot in the front window, watching him with his fat orange tail wrapped contently around his paws.
The door creaked open, and Sawyer stepped inside, heart still thumping wildly in his chest. But the sight that greeted him caused him to grow still. Reverent. It was the same True Love he’d known since he was a boy—of course it was. But now a path had been laid out for him—a trail of red rose petals, flanked on either side by luminous votive candles.
So this was why Jamie had disappeared so quickly after the town council meeting. He smiled to himself and walked gingerly over the rose petals as the trail wound through the branches of the cherry tree dripping with ribbons and Valentines, past the corner where the classics met fantasy, toward the blooming pink flower wall and the French doors leading to the courtyard.
A light fog had blown in from the coast, giving the courtyard a dreamy, ethereal feeling as he made his way toward the café table closest to the fountain. It was the same table where he’d sat just a few nights ago, reading the letters Mary and Harrison had exchanged while they’d been apart. Now a gourmet spread was laid out on the table—the Valentine’s dinner they’d promised to share. Jamie must have gotten a little help from Rick, which seemed only fair after all they’d done to help Rick and Lucy finally get together. Sawyer let out soft laugh. It hung in the air as vapor as he picked up the hardback volume that had been placed next to his plate.
The Princess Bride.
Naturally. Sawyer shook his head in wonder. The book’s worn spine and gently loved cover hinted it might be the exact same copy he and Jamie had both tried to nab on the day they’d met. She’d kept it, all these years.
“So I started writing something new.” Jamie’s voice reached him from somewhere behind him as he flipped through the book’s soft pages.
He turned around, and there she was, bathed in the pale glow of fairy lights and a sweetheart moon. She wore a pink dress with a pleated ballerina skirt that looked as light as air, and the love in her eyes as she looked at him nearly brought him to his knees.
“A love story.” She came a few steps closer. “And I would like your opinion on it.”
His throat grew thick with emotion, but somehow, he managed to form a few words. “What’s it about?”
“Well, a girl and boy meet. Fall in love. Then they get separated, only for circumstances to bring them back together again.” She closed the remaining distance between them and laid her dainty hand over his heart. “And they realize they never stopped loving each other the entire time. And that’s how you know it’s true love.”
He reached for her hand, still resting on his chest, and covered it with his. “That’s my favorite kind of story.”
“Mine too.” She took a deep breath and gave him a tentative smile. “But I’m going to need your help to finish it.”
It was her way of asking him if he was back in Waterford to stay this time. He knew this as surely as he knew his own name.
The answer burned deep within him, warming his soul. “And you will have it.”
He cupped her face in his hands and ran the pad of his thumb over her trembling bottom lip. She gazed up at him through a veil of unshed tears, and it felt as if they were truly seeing each other for the first time.
