Page 90 of Unconventionally, Elle
Congrats, Elle. Wishing you the best. So proud.
Finn used way too many exclamation points, but all were appreciated.
Let's go, my future bestselling author!!!!
Five minutes later, I had a text from Jude.
I always believed you could do it. Dinner to celebrate? Xo
We all met at a vegan restaurant in Tribeca to celebrate. Rach and Josh, Finn and Jackson, Jude--everyone was there except Sarah, who told us to FaceTime her when we sat down so she could officially be there.
It was a round table inside, close to the bar, and Jude arrived before us. The boys had been in New York for a musical, so they hopped over after their matinee. Greetings were exchanged, and as I went to sit, I noticed an empty seat next to Jude's jacket. I glanced sideways to catch Rach's eye. She nodded and smiled in encouragement.
Jude was standing by me in the bustle of bodies trying to take a seat, so I leaned over and asked, "May I?" I pointed to the empty chair by his jacket. "Or are you saving it for your girlfriend?" I said with a glint in my eye.
He leaned down, his lips brushing my ear. "It's yours."
Goose bumps erupted down my arms and a tingle spread throughout my body. "Good." I lifted my chin and gave him a sly grin.
We all sat down and ordered cocktails to celebrate my getting an agent. As if we were still in New Orleans and as if years hadn't passed, Jude rested his arm on the back of my chair and I placed a hand on the top of his thigh.
Once the cocktails arrived, Jude raised his scotch, and everyone lifted their drinks in response.
"To Elle, for writing not one but two books, getting a lit agent, and doing it all even though she was scared as hell. I told her I was going to give a toast tonight, so she requested someveryspecific words for me to share." He turned to me for a quick pause, smiled, and then looked back to the group. "To the dreamers who dream and the ones who never give up."
55
Now
A few months later, I was in New York for my meeting with Jordan, and we were planning to review the various proposals for my manuscript since multiple publishers were bidding on it. Louie was spending the week with his guncles Finn and Jackson, and I was spending mine with Jude. Emma also texted me a few weeks ago to tell me Barrett had welcomed his baby boy.
Emma:I hope you don't mind me filling you in, but I thought you should know.
Me:Thanks, Em. Seriously. I'm happy for him, and if he wants to be a dad as badly as he said he did, then I'm over-the-moon excited he gets to do that.
Emma:He never deserved you, Elle. I'm so happy we are still friends.
As much as I loved Boston, I loved New York too. A part of me had always wanted to come home, even if August in New York was a bit steamy.
I walked by the Bethesda Fountain and embraced the present moment. The wind was delicate against my face, and I felt like there was only one person in my life who I wanted to be with at this very moment. I called Jude.
"Hey, I'm in the park. The fountain. Can you meet me?"
"Be right there."
His office wasn't far, and he'd been grabbing a quick bite from a hot dog stand when I called. We hadn't made anything official, but it was late August and we'd been dating each other for a few months now. I was standing on the edge of the fountain when he strolled up to me.
"Elle, what the hell are you doing?" he teased. He was wearing navy-blue slacks and the Hugo Boss shoes I'd bought for him at Canal Place in New Orleans. His forest-green polo was slim fit and made the golden flecks in his amber eyes stand out.
"I choose me, Jude. I've had to choose me to become a better version of myself and to discover what it was I truly wanted out of my life."
His head tilted. I could see his mind working, and he shook his head and ran his hand through the back of his sun-kissed hair. "Elle, what is this? I..."
I raised my voice. "But I also choose you."
He stopped talking, his eyes went wide, and his head shot right back up. "What did you say?"
"I said, 'I also choose you,' Jude. I choose us. If you'll have me." I was holding my breath, praying I hadn't read him--us--wrong.
