Total pages in book: 98
Estimated words: 95049 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 475(@200wpm)___ 380(@250wpm)___ 317(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 95049 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 475(@200wpm)___ 380(@250wpm)___ 317(@300wpm)
“Thank you,” Dani says, standing and hugging her brother.
Leo gets squished in their hug and squeals, making everyone laugh.
“And thank you,” she says to me, hugging me.
“For what? Listening?” I scoff, waving her off.
“For not judging and making me feel like it’s okay to do what will make me happy.” Dani smiles a watery smile. “I’m going to miss you. Promise you’ll visit often?”
She hugs me again, and as I hug her back, emotion clogs my throat, preventing me from saying anything back. Even though the words I spoke were meant for her, I can’t help but wonder if they were also meant for me—because my dreams … they used to be clear as day, and now, they’re starting to look a little different.
32
Lorenzo
When I walked into the condo, using the back elevator, I wasn’t trying to sneak up on Vanessa and Dani. Maintenance had been fixing an issue with the main elevator, and rather than wait, since only one elevator goes up to my floor, I had gone around to my private elevator, not wanting to wait to pick up Vanessa and get our weekend started.
My plan was to show her how much I loved her and convince her that we were worth fighting for. That even though she’d be living across the country, I wanted to be with her.
But then I listened to her tell Dani that life was too short not to follow her dreams, and it reminded me that Vanessa deserved to follow her dreams and not have them weighed down by me and Leo.
She had told me once that after graduation, she wanted to get a job with a fashion designer and that most headquarters were in New York and Los Angeles. If she thinks that I’m in Harbor Point, waiting for her, she’s not going to follow her dreams. And she’s worked too hard to throw it all away for anyone, including me.
At first, the age difference kept me from touching her because I didn’t want to look like a creeper, but as I got to know her, her age was pushed aside and replaced by her personality and selflessness. She’s far more mature than most people her age. So, I stopped focusing on her age and let myself see her for who she was—a beautiful, caring woman on the inside and out.
But as I listened to her tell Dani to follow her dreams, I was reminded not only of her age, but mine. We’re in two different places in our lives. I already went to college and followed my dreams. I get up every day and do what I love. I want to find someone to share my life with, but not at the expense of the other person’s dreams, and if I were to tell Vanessa that I was willing to wait for her, that’s what I would be doing. Every decision she made would be tainted, and we’d always wonder if the choices she made about her future were what she genuinely wanted or if she was compromising to be with me.
This trip was supposed to serve as a way to show her that what was happening between us was real and could be just the beginning, but now, despite it tearing me apart inside, I know it has to be our goodbye because I love Vanessa too much not to let her walk away.
“Lorenzo,” Vanessa gasps when we step into the Presidential Suite at the Hard Rock Hotel.
It’s not my favorite hotel, and in my opinion, it’s overrated, but it has a legal casino, and I thought it would be fun to wine and dine her and gamble the weekend away.
“What are we doing here?” she asks, taking in the twelve-hundred-square-foot suite, complete with a living room, dining room, and wet bar.
“Well …” I say, snaking my arm around her waist from behind and pulling her into my chest.
She smells like her signature floral scent, which I learned is Tom Ford Rose—a gift from one of the parties she attended with the designer she interned with. She joked that she was careful with it because once it ran out, she’d never be able to afford to replace it.
“We’ve spent the past few months playing cards, so I thought it’d be cool to watch you play with people who are worthy opponents.”
She spins around and looks up at me with wide eyes, and now that I know our time is limited, I find myself trying to memorize every detail about her. The way her violet eyes sparkle when she’s happy and turn almost gray when she’s upset. Her face is damn near flawless, except for a beauty mark that rests on her cheek, which adds a touch of character.
“You didn’t have to do this,” she says.
“I know, but”—I swallow down the lump of emotion and say the words I don’t want to say, but know are necessary—“with the threat gone, I imagine you’re going to be heading back to Seattle soon, so I wanted this weekend with you.”