“But we’ll learn from it when we do,” I interject and revel at the feel of his stubble on my palm as I cup his cheek. “There’s a learning curve involved here.”
“Are you saying that you’re willing to give this a try?”
“No,” I reply and lean closer when he frowns. “I’m saying that I want to commit myself to you. I’m not a tryer, I’m a doer. We can’t pick it up where we left off, Simon, but we can grow from it and move forward.”
“That’s more than I deserve and everything that I’d hoped for,” he replies and pulls me into his arms, rocking us back and forth. “God, I missed you, love.”
“I missed you, too.” He kisses my temple.
“What made you decide to come here now?” he asks softly.
I swallow hard. “My dad. I had a great conversation with him.”
He pulls back to look in my face. “Did you now?”
I nod. “He likes you.”
“Savannah thought he might,” he replies and brushes a piece of hair off my cheek.
“You saw Savannah?”
He nods.
“What did she say?”
“To fight for you.” He grins and kisses me, softly at first, and then more passionately, waking up parts of me that have been asleep for more than a month. “And if you hadn’t shown up here when you did, I was going to come to you in about four hours.”
“I beat you to it.” I stand and take his hand in mine, leading him toward the bed. “I don’t want to sleep alone anymore.”
“I don’t have any sleep in mind,” he replies with a wicked smile.
“Thank goodness.”
“You have done an amazing job with this,” Simon says six months later. He’s standing in the middle of Head Over Heels Miami, taking in everything. It’s the night before our grand opening.
My stomach won’t settle down.
“I’m nervous,” I admit.
“Trust me, it’s going to be fantastic. And I’m going to insist that we go back to the condo now.” He takes my hand and kisses my fingers. “It’s almost midnight, you’re exhausted, and I haven’t seen you in days.”
“That’s an exaggeration.” I roll my eyes, but stand on my tiptoes and kiss his cheek. I have absolutely nothing to complain about. Simon has been in Miami with me for the past month while I put the store together. He helped me when he could, and we bought a condo on the beach to use when we’re in town.
“Okay, I haven’t seen you much.”
“After grand opening week, things will slow down a bit. I hired a great team to take the reins.” I smile up at him as we walk through the displays and racks of gorgeous shoes. I decided early on that I didn’t want to live in Miami full time. New Orleans is where my heart is, but we will come often to check in on things. “When do we leave for London?”
“In about ten days,” he replies. “My parents are anxious to meet you.”
“Your mom is sweet.” I’ve spoken to her on the phone a few times, and I’m looking forward to meeting her too.
“She already likes you very much.”
He leads me outside. The shop is on the boardwalk, nestled amongst designer shops, looking out on the water. Our condo is only a few blocks away.
But rather than lead me toward home, he pulls me out onto the pier and leans on the railing, looking out into the night. He wraps his arm around me, tucking me against him.
“Are you okay?” I ask.
He doesn’t say anything at first, and finally after a long, silent moment, he turns to me and hugs me close, then pulls back so he can look into my eyes.
“I don’t know how to answer that question because I’m so much better than okay, I can’t put it into words. You’ve changed my life, Charly.”
I blink up at him, moved and a little curious about the fierce, almost nervous look in his eyes.
“I never wanted to need you,” he continues. “It’s a vulnerability that I didn’t think I would ever be comfortable with. I wanted you. I still want you, and I always will.
“I’ve come to learn that despite what I thought I wanted, I do need you, and the vulnerability is a beautiful thing when it’s with someone you trust.” He kisses my knuckles, and gazes deeply into my eyes. “I need you, Charly, in the most elemental, basic ways. I can’t see myself ever without you. You’ve brought such humor, love, and happiness to my life. I can’t promise that it’ll be a perfect life, but I can promise that I’ll do everything in my power to make sure that it’s a life we’re proud of.”