Page 128 of A Lot Like Adiós
“It is. Lucky for you, I’m an expert bounty hunter. If you try to leave again, I’ll just track your ass down.” Her voice softened, and the look in her eyes was pained. “But please don’t make me.”
“I won’t.” He slipped his arms around her waist and looked deep into her eyes. “I love you, and I’m sorry it took me so long to figure out where, and who, I need to be.”
“I got used to it,” she whispered. “Like I said, part of me has always been waiting for you.”
“You don’t have to wait any longer,” he promised. And then he kissed her.
Chapter 28
Michelle was skewering vegetables in her parents’ kitchen when someone knocked on the back door. Odd, since it was unlocked, and people had been coming in and out all day. They were having a family barbecue for her nephew Henry’s seventh birthday. The combined Rodriguez-Amato family was so big, the tradition was to throw house parties for family birthdays, followed by a smaller “friend” party another day.
“It’s open,” Michelle called, and continued poking chunks of zucchini.
When the door remained shut, her mother spoke up from where she was stirring a huge pot of arroz con gandules on the stove. “Go open it. It might be Ava with her arms full.”
Michelle went to open the door, but it wasn’t Ava.
It was Gabe.
Michelle sucked in a breath, her heart pounding in her chest, but she couldn’t stop the smile that spread over her face.
“It’s you,” she said, with something like wonder.
“I’m back,” he said, and there was a note of finality in his voice, like this time, he was back for good.
Michelle would have told herself that was just wishfulthinking, if she hadn’t received an email from him the day before signedLove, Gabe.
And if she hadn’t read the story he’d attached to that email. But shehadread it, and she’d been thinking about it all day.
Part of me will always be waiting for you.
She’d been waiting, knowing with certainty that this time, he would come back for her.
And here he was. Holding a familiar cardboard tube.
The basement door swung open and Ava entered the kitchen, her gaze bouncing like a pinball from Michelle, to Gabe, to Valentina, to the skewers.
“Go upstairs,” Ava said quickly to Michelle. “I’ll take care of the vegetables.”
Michelle mouthedthank you, then grabbed Gabe’s hand and towed him past her mother and cousin and up the stairs to the craft room, where it was blessedly quiet. For the most part, everyone else was in the backyard eating or playing video games in the basement.
“I read it,” Michelle said, the second they were seated on the edge of the bed.
“All of it?”
“All of it.” Her heart twisted and tears sprang to her eyes. “You were always trying to tell me. I’m sorry I didn’t see it.”
“You weren’t the only one,” he said, opening the tube. To her surprise, he pulled out not one but two rolled-up papers. One was the professionally printed collage she’d sent him, but the other was more delicate, the edges yellowed with time and old Elmer’s glue. He unrolled it, and Michelle saw with a start that it was the first collage she’d made him, from actual photosshe’d cut out and glued together onto card stock. Puffy foam stickers spelled out “BEST FRIENDS” across the bottom in rainbow letters.
Michelle took the first collage, spreading it out carefully on her lap. Gabe did the same with the new one, and they stared at them, side by side.
BEST FRIENDS
Part of me will always be waiting for you.
“It’s Friendship 2.0,” he murmured, referring to her list.
“Yeah,” she said softly, warmth suffusing her chest at how clearly he saw her intent. “It is.”
