Page 103 of Love is an Open Book
I can’t help but smile at how she included the logistics. Of course she’d leave nothing to chance.
Ted clears his throat, and I look up to find he’s been reading over my shoulder. “There’s a boarding pass in there for you,” he says. “She wanted you to know it’s no strings attached. You can go and just tour Hollywood if you want.”
As if I’d waste my time doing that when Mia is right there. But I can’t imagine her being okay with Ted delivering this message, of all people. “Does she know you’re here?”
He makes a face as if to say,Obviously.
My heart starts beating faster. Ted’s the last person Mia would want to be vulnerable in front of. Their relationship has come a long way, and she gives him way more credit than I ever would, but I know she’s still holding on to the humiliation of baring her soul to him right before he chose her sister instead. If she’s willing to let Ted deliver this message, balloons and all...
“But you said Kim was supposed to deliver this. Does she know it’s you instead?”
“Of course she does.” He glances over his shoulder, then looks back quickly, shoves his hands in his pockets.
I cock my head, eyes narrowed. “Ted,” I say carefully. “Is Mia in the car?”
He winces, stubbled chin puckering. “Don’t tell her I told you, okay?”
I’m already running when he calls out, “You’d better be saying yes!”
I reach the car and bend down to peer through the open passenger window. Mia’s seat is fully reclined to stay out of sight, and I have a flashback to her drowsing next to me the morning we volunteered together. Today she’s in sweatpants and an oversize T-shirt that reads COFFEE FIRST, LAST, AND ALWAYS. That’s the Mia I know and love.
Her eyes meet mine and she scrambles upright, fighting against the seat belt. “What are you doing here?”
I lean my arms on the window, relishing the sight of her, disheveled and gorgeous. “Accepting your invitation.”
“Did Ted tell you I was in here?”
“Nah. I guessed.” Ted deserves a break.
“He insisted on the balloons.”
“That tracks,” I say, and smile. Shifting onto one elbow, I squint over my shoulder at the others, who are watching us with zero shame. They’ve closed the gate on the project, and I need at least another few days to finish it, but I’m tired of waiting for the right moment. “This was supposed to be a surprise, but do you have a few minutes to spare before your flight?”
Mia lights up, eyes bright at the prospect of a surprise. “Technically I have three hours. You know how I feel about getting to the airport early.”
I laugh and pull open the door. The moment she steps out, I wrap her in a tight hug. “I’m sorry. I went back on my word. I said we could be friends, and—”
She pulls away, just enough to look at me. “I can’t. Or maybe I could, with a lot of practice. But I don’t want to. I want all of you, and I want to give you all of myself. No more holding back.”
Her eyes search mine, glowing and warm. Hopeful, not that frightened look from the last time we spoke. “What I’m trying to say is that I’m in love with you. I didn’t plan to tell you until we were in LA, if you came, that is,” she says. “And you don’t have to say it back—”
“Oh, but I want to.” I’m bursting with the need to tell her how I feel. “I’m in love with you, Mia. Romantically, physically, emotionally, wholeheartedly. I love every part of you.” I kiss her then, and her hand grasps my shirt, keeping me close.
When we break apart, she says, “That was a really great line.”
“I wrote it down.” My arms are still around her. I can’t bring myself to let go. “It took so many tries, even though it was only a couple of sentences. How you do that for hundreds of pages, book after book, I’ll never understand. I think I’m better with showing than telling.”
Taking her hand, I lead her toward the garden, heart in my throat, pulse pounding in the spot where our palms meet.
Thirty-Five
Mia
Gavin’s hand is in mine, rough with dirt from working in the soil, warm from the sun, and I never want to let go.
He’s leading me toward a tall chain-link construction fence lined with black fabric that wasn’t here before. We’re at the other vacant lot the crew was cleaning up, the one with the shed where Morris found the kittens. But the shed is gone, or at least not visible, since the fence makes it impossible to see what’s inside most of the lot.
I don’t understand why they’re working here when cleanup finished already, or why Joe’s standing beside Riley and Morris, in gardening gloves and a neon long-sleeve tee looking at home among the crew. They’re all gathered outside the gate, clearly trying to play it cool, but Riley’s toothy grin would be a dead giveaway even if Gavin hadn’t already told me to expect a surprise.
