Page 378 of His Virgin Romance Series

GABBY

“It feels strange,” I said, looking around the apartment.

“What feels strange?” Leah asked, stepping up behind me.

She had some free time so she had decided to come and visit me for the weekend and help me move into my new apartment. It was great having her around. I could vent to my heart’s content, I could tell her things I couldn’t tell Mom or Seth, and I could be as vulnerable as I wanted to without feeling like I needed to justify my feelings all the time. Sometimes all you needed was a girlfriend who understood without needing explanations for everything.

“This apartment,” I said, looking around. “Especially with Miles gone.”

“Isn’t that what you wanted?”

“No,” I admitted quietly. “I never wanted this… but it’s what I got. Honestly, I don’t even know why I took him up on the offer. I can’t afford to keep this place on my own. I’ll need to look for a roommate, and we all know my track record with roommates.”

“That depends on how you look at it,” Leah said, with a shrug.

“You’re joking, right?” I asked incredulously.

“Hey, it’s all about perspective,” Leah told me. “You could say that you moved in with a drug dealer who lied to you, deceived you, and broke your heart, or you could think of it another way.”

“Which way is that?”

“You moved in with a man who you fell in love with, and you shared something with him that you’ll remember when you’re old and grey and have only your memories to keep you going.”

“That sounds like a wonderful perspective,” I said sarcastically.

Leah smiled and gave me a wink. “It’ll take some time to get over him,” she said. “Just be patient.”

I sighed, unsure if my heart could take too much more patience. I missed him terribly, and it felt like that loss only seemed to grow deeper and more acute with each passing day.

“I’ll get the last box from the car,” Leah said, as she headed back downstairs.

I stared at the empty walls, and the sight made me sad. I shook my head and went to my old bedroom. It was nice to be back there, but again I felt that aching loss that told me everything was going to be different now. I walked in and noticed an envelope on my bed. I recognized Miles’s handwriting on the front of it, and I rushed to see what was inside.

It turned out to be an invitation to the exhibition at White Lines Gallery for tonight at eight o’clock onwards. I turned the invitation over, and there was a little note that Miles had scribbled to me.

“Dear Gabby… I know it’s presumptuous of me to ask, but I would love if you could come to the exhibition. But know that if you don’t, I will understand. Yours always, Miles.”

I stared at the note for a long time and slowly I felt the sadness lift. I heard the door open and shut, and I heard Leah move around in the living room just outside.

“Zo?” she called. “Where are you? Are you gonna make me do all the moving in on my own?”

I read the note once more and then walked out into the living room to join her. “Sorry,” I said, brandishing the card at her. “I was… discovering this.”

Leah frowned. “What is that?”

I passed it to her, and she read it quickly and then looked at me with wide eyes. “Oooh!”

I laughed. “Is that all you can say?”

“It’s not up to me to say anything,” Leah replied. “The question is… are you going to go?”

“I don’t know,” I said, shaking my head.

“Please,” Leah scoffed at me. “Look at your face… you’ve already made the decision.”

“I have?”

Leah glared at me. “Zo… come on. It’s me. I know you better than you know yourself sometimes. And let’s face it; it is a sweet invite.”

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