Page 99 of Mending Hearts

“Do you think anyone else is in there?” I slid a ring off my index finger and pushed it back on. Anxiety zipped through at the realization I hadn’t talked to Tyler for months.Months.What had he told me about love? Untended, it withered and died.

“We here fifteen minutes. No customers.” He glanced at his phone. “Gerald says they alone.”

“I should just go in, right? He’ll be happy to see me, right?” I heaped my hair onto my shoulder and toyed with the ends. “What if he’s not happy to see me?”

“Only question right now. Areyouready?”

Before we’d arrived in the parking lot, I’d been sure surprising him was the best idea. Happy Birthday! Merry Christmas! We could be each other’s presents.

Faced with entering the building, I was second-guessing my impulsiveness. I’d left him and his love untended, and while leaving had felt as necessary as returning did now, I couldn’t open my door.

“I’m ready,” I said. “But what if he’s angry with me for being gone this long?” He hadn’t given me any indication he felt that way, but I couldn’t imagine not being angry if our roles were reversed.

“Own it. Move forward.” His lips twitched, and he patted my leg. “You need space. He give you. You think he angry.” He placed his hand over his heart. “I think he heartbroken, and you,” he tried to catch my gaze, “coming back can mend together.”

“You think he’ll forgive me?”

“It me? Nothing to forgive. Confused. Need time. Come back. All’s well.”

All’s well. I wanted to believe it could be that simple. If I never went in, I’d never know, and I’d spent all these months yearning to be here. I took a deep breath and released it slowly. “I’m going in.”

“Want me to come?”

“No.” A chuckle escaped. “If you could get Gerald to make himself disappear, that’d be awesome too. No need for anyone else to witness this potential disaster.”

Once I was out of the car, I brushed my hands down my skirt, and it swished around my thighs. Maybe I should have worn something warmer, but it was too late now. I opened the door, and the doorbell above signaled my arrival. From the racks of clothes near the back, I could just spot the top of Tyler’s head. Normally when he wasn’t busy, he’d be in the back stitching together some masterpiece. Not today.

My heart thumped, and my palms became slick with sweat.

“Be with you in a minute,” his deep tenor called out.

His voice, in person. Oh, God, I loved that sound. my stomach dipped. I was really here. I took another deep, steadying breath, but I didn’t call back to him. In my head, we would have locked eyes from the moment I entered, but of course, reality never went quite as expected.

When he rounded the rack of clothes, an ugly checkered shirt clutched in his hand, he glanced in my direction and did a double take before stumbling slightly. His hand went to the back of his neck as he righted himself, and he stared.

“Oh, wow. Mia.” My name was a rough almost whisper. “You’re here.” The reverence with which he said it made my stomach clench, and the way his shoulders rose as though I’d lifted a weight off him made my heart ache.

“Surprise,” I said, afraid I looked as stunned as him. He’d missed me, and I breathed a sigh of relief he wasn’t hiding his feelings.

The glib videos he’d posted had been a front. Maybe he’d been as miserable as me. The videos had been a blessing and a curse. I’d missed him as though I’d cut off a limb, but seeing him happy and joking had sliced into my sadness, causing it to ooze everywhere. Sometimes, I’d wondered if he was happier without me.

A few times my fingers had hovered over the comment icon. Did I dare ask?

I didn’t have to wonder anymore. The old familiar tension hummed in the air, a shock to my system. The air was alive. To love someone and to have it so clearly returned was a revelation.

“Happy birthday, Pretty Boy.”

He closed the distance between us until there were only a couple of feet separating us. “Are you…” He scanned me from head to toe, longing settling over his face. “Are you my present?” His voice was hoarse.

“Would you like that?” Goose bumps rose on my arms, and I clenched my thighs at the lick of desire.

A deep chuckle emerged from his chest, and his hand smoothed my hair before drawing me closer. “For the first time in my life, I don’t mind if my birthday and Christmas present are the same. You’re the…best…” He kissed my forehead. “Present.” He pressed his lips to my temple. “Ever.” He buried his head in my neck and breathed me in. “I can’t believe you’re here.”

“Where’s Victoria?” I whispered, clutching onto his broad back.

“My mom has her.” He kept his head buried in my neck, his hands running along my body as though he was trying to remember every curve. “Gerald knew you were coming to New York State, so we keep Victoria under lock and key in case the press swarms.” A chuckle rumbled through him. “I guess they’ve given up.”

“But you didn’t?” I toyed with the tips of his hair, and the scent of jasmine surrounded us. No matter how many jasmine-scented things I bought, none of them quite smelled like him.

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