Chapter 25 #2
The crowd fades into a blur as I focus on her. Her laugh rings in my ears like a melody I never, ever want to end. Her blue hair falls loose, swaying with the music. Nothing in the world could be more perfect than this moment with her.
My lips brush against Clara’s, and a spark ignites—racing from my mouth down to the pit of my belly—until my whole body is awake. Goosebumps spring across my skin, shivering through me as my heart swells so full it might burst.
“Mind if I steal her?” Isabella says from behind me.
Of course. Her timing is impeccable, if impeccable means consistently the worst possible.
Clara nods and lets go of me, pulling Lily into the middle of the dance floor.
Isabella stretches her hand out to me. I sigh and take it.
“You really do have a gift for showing up at the exact wrong moment. You know that?” I say as I place my hand on her shoulder.
Isabella laughs, completely unbothered. “Yeah, yeah. You’ll thank me in a second. But also, can’t a girl want to dance with her best friend?” she asks innocently.
“Oh, absolutely, but whoever that girl is, it’s not you, because you would never want to dance with me over Lily, so why have you interrupted my evening with Clara?” I tease, trying to sound annoyed even though I’m anything but.
She rolls her eyes. “You better be nice to me or I won’t give you what’s in my pocket.” She wags her eyebrows, and I narrow my eyes.
“You want the good news first or the bad?” she asks, and my heart starts beating faster, anxiety coiling inside me.
The only thought in my mind right now is that my photographs probably sucked so much that she lost clients for displaying them. Okay, maybe a tad bit dramatic, but I can’t help it.
“Good. Always good first,” I reply, but my throat feels like it’s about to close. I’m not ready to hear about how much I suck quite yet.
“Fine. Good news is that I was able to sell all your photographs,” Isabella says, and I instinctively hold her a little tighter, trying to contain the spark of excitement in my chest.
“Wait—seriously?”
She grins. “Oh, I’m not done.”
I blink. “That wasn’t the good news?”
She reaches into her jacket and pulls out a check.
“You’re kidding,” I say, taking the check from her and gawking at the numbers; there are at least two more zeros than I was expecting.
“Nope. Everything sold within the first thirty minutes, might I add. You’re officially a hot commodity.”
“God, I love your bougie little gallery rats.”
“Gallery rats?” she laughs.
I clutch the check like it might disappear. “This doesn’t even feel real.”
Isabella leans in, eyes softening to a degree her icy stare rarely thaws down to—but since Lily, her eyes aren’t as piercing as they used to be. “Well, it is. You did this. And you deserve every bit of it.”
“Then what’s the bad news?” I ask, feeling bad about flying over her compliment.
“I didn’t have one. I thought it would make it more fun if I stressed you out a little.” She winks. “It was.”
I hide a smile before glancing over at Clara, who’s watching with a proud smile that makes me melt. My chest tightens, and I exhale a shaky laugh.
I look down at the check again, still barely able to believe it’s real. “This,” I say, nodding toward the check, “this is unreal.”
Clara, Valeria, and Lily make their way back to me through the crowd. Without thinking, I lunge at Clara, and she catches me effortlessly.
“I’m so proud of you,” she says, her voice warm.
“You knew?” I ask against her neck. I pull back enough to look deep into her eyes, the world fading into the background around us.
Clara nods and holds me tighter. “Lily was just telling Val and me, but I’m not surprised.”
“It wouldn’t have happened without you,” I whisper, my heart pounding. “Thank you for believing in me so hard and for pushing me outside of my comfort zone.”
Her smile softens. “It was all you.”
“I love you,” I whisper.
Her eyes glisten, and she leans closer, pressing her lips to my forehead, breath warm against my skin. “I love you, too,” she murmurs. “More than I ever dared to hope for.”
We stay like that, wrapped in each other’s arms, every heartbeat a steady drum of belonging, knowing this is the beginning of forever, a love meant to last beyond all time.
When we finally pull back, still a little tangled in each other’s arms, Isabella says, “Alright, lovebirds, enough of the sappy stuff!”
“Let’s dance!” Lily shouts, grabbing Isabella by the wrist and yanking her toward the middle of the dance floor.
Valeria, Clara, and I exchange a glance, shrug, and follow along, laughing as we join them.
Valeria hasn’t even set foot on the dance floor when someone asks her to dance. She hesitates, but we all cheer her on. After everything she’s been through—and continues to go through—with her ex, she deserves a little fun with a stranger in the form of a hot masc.
Lily’s trying to get Isabella to twirl, but Isabella keeps turning the wrong way, and Lily groans in frustration—I think she’s doing it on purpose. Annoying Lily is definitely her love language.
Clara wraps her arm around my waist, and in this ridiculous, messy, wonderful moment, I can’t believe leaving was ever an option, not when I’m surrounded by the people I love most.
The wedding didn’t last nearly as long as I wish it would have, and before I know it, everyone is heading back home or back to their hotel room.
Clara and I are the last to leave, aside from the brides. We’re both a little too tipsy, a little too flushed from dancing and endless glasses of champagne, but I couldn’t help it; I had every reason to celebrate.
My big sister finally married the love of her life in what was the most beautiful wedding I’ve ever attended.
All my pictures sold thanks to Isabella, helping me get a step closer to realizing my dream of making my art more than just something I do when I have time to spare.
New York is nothing but a distant, half-faded blur that I can’t even believe I ever considered.
And now, the woman I love so deeply is throwing her tux jacket over my shoulders to keep me warm as we wait for our ride back to the hotel. Life could not be any better.
Clara wraps an arm around my waist, steadying both of us as we wait. The street is quiet, lights soft and golden.
She kisses the top of my head. “You happy?”
My heart feels too full to speak, so I nod.
“Yeah,” I finally whisper. “More than I knew I could be.”
As our ride pulls up, and she opens the door for me like I’m the most precious thing she’s ever touched, I realize that life truly could not be any better than this.