Page 56 of The Amazing Date

Sitting on the hospital bed, waiting for Gabby to join us, I swore Rylee to secrecy. Our weeklong relationship in Puerto Rico shattered much like my hand, but there was no need to jeopardize the growing friendship between her and my sister with the truth. I told the lies to my sister, but I made Rylee complicit with her silence.

My hand had been fractured in three places. Immediate surgery ordered.

I couldn’t get off the island fast enough, hopping on the first plane after my release from the hospital, not even bothering to say goodbye to Rylee. I was in a bad place, and at the time, I blamed her for everything.

For two months, my hand lay immobile in a sling, each day bringing with it concerns and anger—then physical therapy. Another torturous journey that would have been good enough for anyone who didn’t use their hands for precise, delicate movements, such as an artist. I hit rock bottom.

“I wanted to call you a thousand times when Gabby told me you decided on a second operation.” Her shaky voice floats in my direction.

I adjust the volume of the music on the steering wheel to a barely perceptible one. I flit my gaze toward her for a second before returning it to the road, not sure how to respond. “It was an accident, Rylee.” The five simple words I should have spoken years ago finally leave my lips. Words I’ve held hostage due to petty anger and immaturity. “I’m sorry.”

Her warm hand lands on the top of my knee while she twists to face me. “You have nothing to be sorry for, Roberto. I’m the one who destroyed your dream trip to Europe. Your future.” Her voice fades, the next word a mere whisper. “Us.”

I don’t need to look at her to know tears are filling her beautiful eyes. A sniffle and the movement of her arm raised to her nose give it away. I blink through a tear to concentrate on the road. “I should have never frozen you out. Made you feel unwelcome, unwanted, especially after knowing that’s how you’ve been treated by your parents. I was in a bad place, and I lashed out. I took it out on you. I should have reached out. I’m sorry.”

I risk stealing a glance in her direction. Her gaze is pinned toward her sneakers. Her lower lip quivers, and I imagine a tidal wave of words four years in the making about to be released.

“I’m here. I’m not going anywhere. You can say anything. Neither one of us knows what the future holds, but I can commit to you. I’ll always sit with you like this in what Gabby calls uncomfortable conversations. I won’t ever freeze you out again.”

The sound of her sniffle fills the car, and she clears her throat. “This is going to sound silly…”

I don’t respond, giving her the space to gather her thoughts, the time to compose herself.

“Since we didn’t talk for all those years, I’ve had a million conversations with you in my head. I tortured myself with the game of what if. What if I never injured you? What if I never went to the piers that night? What would our lives look like? Would I even be in your life?”

Her knee bounces, practically hitting the bottom of the dashboard with the last question. Her movement gives away the one true question buried in the avalanche of queries.

“I’ve never felt so special as a woman in my life as you made me feel in Puerto Rico.” Her voice cracks. “Sometimes I convince myself it was all a dream.” A dry snicker escapes her lips. “My best friend’s handsome sweetheart of a brother showing me kindness, making me feel protected, wanted. No wonder I fell so hard, so quickly for you.”

Her words confirm one of the doubts that sat on my shoulder for so many years. Every sentence she speaks is costing her emotional capital. The tremble in her voice, the sniffle, the knee tapping. She is peeling back what remains of every ounce of protection she’s held in place all these years.

She has to know she’s not alone. “You weren’t the only one, Ry.” I shift the car to the right lane, the next exit too far away. I twist the wheel, forcing the car across to the dirt service road. The car rumbles as it skids across the gravel on the side of the road, forcing Rylee to place her hands on the dashboard to balance. I shift the car into park and twist toward her. This conversation is too important.

“I’ve been raised a certain way. To work hard, keep my head down, be respectful, and wait for the world to deliver the rewards you’ve earned along the journey. And then you came along and showed me a different path. That life is the prize that should be celebrated. That rewards are in front of you every single day, there for the taking for those bold enough to reach for them.”

I feel the corner of my lips lift. “I was jealous the minute my eyes landed on you. You were on a foreign island, didn’t speak the language, in the middle of an ocean surrounded by strangers, yet you didn’t give two shits. You created your own happiness. Kicking up water, screaming at the top of your lungs like a four-year-old, not ashamed if people didn’t get you. You were going to be you no matter what. You were going to find happiness no matter where. You were free. You were brave. You were unencumbered. It was so damn attractive.”

I nod. “It only took you a few days, Rylee. A few days to get me to do things I never thought I would. To see the world in a slightly different way, to feel things I haven’t before.”

“You said you weren’t that guy, yet we’ve both said tomorrow be damned.” Her words challenge me, and I know exactly where her head has raced to.

“And I’m not. Until that night on the pier, the plan was always to figure out a future together. I admitted to my sister last night”—a scoff escapes my lips—“hell, I finally admitted it to myself. You are and have been my soul. I’ve fought against it, I’ve tried to shake it, but it can’t be denied. We have a connection that won’t break, no matter how hard I’ve tried. I want you, Rylee Reynolds. And yes, if the only way I can have you is to live in this moment and tomorrow be damned, then so be it, but my secret plan is for us to never leave this moment. If we never separate, this day never ends, tomorrow never comes.”

Her words are whispered through a short smile. “No day like today.” She reaches for my hand and places another ghost kiss on my scar. “Is this a painful reminder of all you’ve lost?” Her words crack with hurt and regret.

I squeeze my hand slightly. “All I’ve ever wanted to do in life is to draw, be an artist. This scar reminds me that everything we treasure can be taken away in a blink of an eye. That there will always be unexpected challenges thrown in your path. That you aren’t defined by your stumbles but how you respond to them. I won’t lie, it’s been a difficult lesson for me at times, but I’ve finally figured it out. I won’t ever take my talent for granted; I won’t ever take the love I have for my family for granted. I will treasure every day and every moment. Even if it’s just driving on a windy country road with my sister’s best friend.”

She lays her hand on top of my free hand. “You mean your extremely hot, I can’t control myself around her, sister’s best friend.”

A loud chuckle escapes from my chest, the humor appreciated. “Keep it up. We just passed an abandoned barn back there. I’ll show you out of control.”

She smacks my hand, a giggle on her lips. “You take me to all the best places.”

“As long as we are together, I don’t care where I take you. And when I say take you, I mean…”

Her smack this time is slightly harder, a quick wasp sting which causes us both to fall into a fit of giggles. I twist in my seat, shift the car out of park, signal, and cross back onto the road.

Rylee turns up the volume of the radio, and Taylor Swift is singing “Don’t Blame Me.” Rylee sings along in her unique way. Unabashed. I can’t help but smile. Wind in her hair, smile on her face, not a care in the world, this is the Rylee I remember. And she still makes my heart pound. It’s as beautiful a sight as I’ve ever seen.

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