Page 76 of The Probability of Us

I wait until she’s gone and there’s no one around to open the envelope.

I tilt it into my hand and a hotel key and small piece of paper fall out.

Room 305.

I know what you’re thinking, and no, I didn’t go after him . . . even though I really wanted to.

I let out a long sigh of relief.Thank god.

But if it’s not about that then whatisit about?

* * *

I double-check the room number against the note one more time. This is it, room 305. I take a deep breath and scan the room key. There’s a soft click and the light turns green. Slowly, I turn the handle and open the door.

The light from the hallway floods into the room and reflects off the ground. Or rather what’s on the ground. Blue tulips line the entryway and as I step further into the room, I see they cover every surface. My eyes flash around the room, taking in every detail—the trail of flowers leading me down the small corridor past the bathroom and into the open room, the dim lighting, and the flowers scattered atop the bed—and eventually land on Warren.

He’s standing in front of the bed, in the same navy suit he was wearing earlier, but the jacket is now draped over the desk chair and the sleeves of his white button up are rolled up. In his hand are two blue tulips, and he’s looking at me with a smile that has me gravitating towards him even before I’ve consciously told my legs to take me there.

“Looks like Lola’s forgiven you,” I say, with a raised brow that asks:What is all this for?

He laughs, but his face quickly turns serious as he looks me over. “Are you okay?”

I reach out and run my hand down his arm so he can feel that I’m truly here, that I’m okay, because it doesn’t look like he quite believes it yet.

“I’m okay,” I say, softly, letting his arms wrap around me and pull me as close as he can. I breathe his scent in and sigh in relief at the comfort it brings. “They got there before anything happened.”

He goes rigid around me. His voice is rough when he says, “Why are you always so quick to brush things under the rug? None of what happened was okay. Not one second of it, and I’m sure I only know a small fraction of what actually occurred in that room.”

“I know it wasn’t okay.” My voice squeaks, and my vision blurs with pooled tears I don’t want to fall. My body starts to shake as the horrid feeling of being pinned against that wall comes flooding back. I pull myself tighter to Warren. “I’m not okay, but I will break if I keep thinking about it. If I let myself become a victim, he wins, and I won’t let him leave any legacy behind. Iwillbe okay, in time, but not by giving him power over me.”

It might not make sense to most people, but I have my own ways of dealing with bad things. Warren leaving, my mom dying, my dad drinking, and now this. I’ll survive—I always do.

Warren pulls back and looks at me, a frown on his face. “I will let you do this your way, for now, because I know how strong you are. But say the word, and we’ll get you an appointment with my therapist.”

I narrow my eyes back at him. “Your therapist is in D.C.”

“That brings me to my next point.” A smile grows on his face—a smile that melts my heart and makes me glow from the inside. “I made the biggest mistake of my life six years ago when I left you, and I don’t want to make the same mistake again. Analise, you are my everything. Now that I have you in my arms again, I never want to live another day without you, without your love, without your touch. If you’re not comfortable taking the job, then I’ll quit and move back here. I don’t care what city we end up in, I just want to be where you are.”

My eyes widen—he loves that job, he loves that city.

“I love you, Analise. I never stopped loving you. It’s like you said, there are thousands of jobs, but there’s only one you. You are all I need to be happy in this life. I want to be wherever you are.” He drops to both knees in front of me, holding the two tulips and now, my two hands.What is he doing?“Before you call me crazy, I’m not proposing.” My heart drops slightly. “I don’t even have the ring with me, and I think it’s only fair that I earn your full trust back before actually asking you to marry me. What I am asking is for you to stay with me forever, by my side—not states away. I’m asking you what you want so we can make a decision, together, this time. A few days ago you asked me what the probability of this working was, and I didn’t have time to answer. But to me, the probability of usisn’ta probability at all—it’s a certainty. It was always meant to be you and me.”

I was wrong last week, because he loves me more.

“Warren.” I gently tug his hands until he finally stands again. I put my hands on his cheeks and kiss him. Then I pull back just enough to be able to look in his eyes as I say, “I accepted the job—in D.C.”

“What?” His eyes light up and his smile grows brighter and brighter until it is blinding, and his shine is all I can see. It’s all I can feel. “When?”

“Earlier, when Peter and I talked.” I smile. “Apparently,someonetold him about us this morning.”

He smiles sheepishly at my raised eyebrow. “I didn’t want this to be a secret—whether you accepted or not—and I would’ve needed a reason eventually regarding why I was asking to work from Hartford so often.”

I laugh, but then my expression softens. “Thank you, for not letting me make the mistake this time.”

“We have plenty of time to make many more mistakes,” he whispers, leaning in until our lips are just touching.

“I’m looking forward to it,” I say, then press my lips to his.

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