Page 76 of The Amazing Date

I push to my feet and turn. The large, framed photo of a sun setting across an ocean dominates the space above the couch. “Yeah, I’m looking at it right now.”

“Take it down,” Gabby orders.

“What?” I hesitate as my fingers trace along the bottom of the frame, lifting it an inch from the wall.

“Take it off the hook. Don’t worry, you will put it right back.”

I pull the frame a few more inches away and notice the flash of white paper behind it. With the phone pressed between my ear and shoulder, I use both hands to lift the frame off the hook. I step back, nearly tripping over the coffee table.

“I’ll give you a minute,” Gabby whispers before her phone goes silent. She must have put it on mute.

I step around the coffee table, eyes glued to the wall in disbelief. Hanging behind the picture is the sketch I did of Rylee so many years ago. It’s held by pushpins into the wall. The unrestrained joy across her face instantly pulls me back to that day, back to that moment. One of my happiest days on an island full of happy memories.

Gabby’s voice breaks my thoughts. “Put the frame back up.” I follow her instructions in a trance. “She’s held on to that picture as if it’s her most prized possession in the world, Roberto. It’s not just the artwork that’s important to her but the artist.

“Back in school when Rylee was my roommate, there was an all-night movie marathon in the student union. You know, the silly college type where you watch movies in your pj’s and eat snacks all night long. Halfway through the marathon when the movies shifted from comedies to horror, Rylee decided to go back to the room for the rest of the night—something about hating scary movies. I decide to stay up with our friends. About two hours later as people begin to doze off, I realize I didn’t bring my favorite blanket. I snuck back into the room to find Rylee sleeping, and hanging above her bed where her poster of Alex Rodriguez normally was, was your sketch of her.”

“And you didn’t say a word?”

“Why would I? I was rooting that my two favorite people in the world would somehow get together. I stayed out all night and texted her to meet me for breakfast so she could cover it without me seeing it. I didn’t mention it, and neither did she. However, the rest of the time we shared a dorm, I’d check periodically. Her posters and artwork would change but never your sketch. I checked when I visited her in New York, and as you can see, it’s never changed.”

I adjust the frame, making sure it is perfectly aligned. I step back to take it all in, the knowledge of my sketch behind it changing how I view it.

“You can’t tell her,” Gabby says over the line.

“I won’t,” I ease her concern. “But Rylee and I have to come clean to you about what happened in Puerto Rico between us.”

The background noise picks up once again on the line. “Listen. They’ve just started boarding. You guys talk it over, and I’ll act surprised if you want. It doesn’t matter to me—all that matters is that you two are finally going to give it a go as a couple. Because it’s last-minute, I have a five-hour stopover in Colorado and won’t get in until late afternoon your time. I’ll text you my itinerary once I’m off the call. And hermoso?”

“Yeah?”

“Congrats.”

It’s one word, and I know my sister so well. She is not speaking about the competition.

“Thank you. Your words mean the world to me.”

I disconnect just as the water from the shower ends. I kick my feet up on the coffee table and stare blindly at my phone as if I’m mindlessly catching up on social media. My eyes glaze over as I attempt to process all that Gabby has exposed.

A beaming, makeup-free Rylee pops her head around the hallway, hand on the wall, wet hair the color of mud matted down on her head, a naked shoulder teasing me. “All yours.” She giggles and turns to race down the corridor toward what I assume is her bedroom.

I catch a final glimpse of her, a long fluffy pink towel wrapped around her midsection. She twists in the doorway, hand on the doorframe, and blows me another kiss. “I placed towels and a washcloth on the counter. Don’t be long.”

She shuts the door before I can react. It’s a good thing because my heart is pounding hard, the sliver of this woman merely cementing what I already suspected.

She is a vision from heaven. She is the muse I’ve struggled to find for years. It’s crazy for the thought to even form in my head. We’ve been reunited for less than a week. Yet I know. Know it as surely as I’m standing here breathing.

I need her in my life. Today, tomorrow, always.

Chapter 44

Rylee

I lie on my bed under the covers, naked, alone, and exposed. Soft peppermint-spiced candles provide the scent and what I hope Roberto finds as seductive lighting. It’s the first time I’ve ever lit the candles.

“Alexa, play instrumental Spanish guitar music.” The soft, sexy strings of Paco Peña fill my small bedroom, and my nerves race. I’ve been with other guys, but Roberto is different. The way he looks at me as if I’m the most precious creature on the planet. The way he touches me, as if I’m an irreplaceable pleasure. This is why the butterflies are swarming everywhere, my nerves amped up to seventeen, and the thought of being with a man who not only wants me but also wants a future together has me on edge.

The song barely makes it to the chorus before the squeak of the bedroom door forces a silly schoolgirl grin to spread across my face. His intense gaze captures mine, freezing me in place. That look does me in, always has. I kick the thought minions to the curb and trust my gut. I pull the edge of the covers up to my neck.

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