Chapter 29 #2
She grabs a cube of cheese, popping it into her mouth. “It just tastes so much better for some reason.”
“If you say so, Morales.” I throw a grape into mine. “Tastes like a grape to me.”
“Whatever.” She sticks her tongue out.
Rosie leans her head on my shoulder, with my arm wrapped around her as we sit in comfortable silence. We sip wine, munch on snacks, watch the lights flickering like stars below. Her fingers lazily trace circles along the back of my hand, over the petals of my tattoo.
“I still can’t believe you did this.”
“Why not?” I clasp our fingers together. “After all the truths I’ve revealed over the last few weeks, it should be pretty self-explanatory.”
“Yeah, but you chose a spot on your body where the entire world would see it all the time. What if I…God forbid, what if I married Julian? What if you found someone down the line you wanted to marry? Wouldn’t that have been awkward?”
I pull her closer, kissing the top of her head. “It wouldn’t have mattered if you married him. I mean, it would’ve sucked, but I didn’t get the tattoo because I thought you’d be mine someday. I did it because there was never any doubt that I’d always be yours.”
She pulls back just enough to meet my eyes. Hers are glassy with unshed tears. “Logan—”
I shake my head, pressing a finger over her mouth. “Rosie. Do you remember your quinceanera?”
“Of course I do.” Her eyebrows draw together. “But why on earth are you bringing that up right now?”
I take her hand in mine. “Because that was the day I knew with absolute certainty that nobody would take my breath away like you do.
Sure, we were just kids, but I will never forget how floored I was when you walked into that ballroom.
Your pretty purple dress had these sparkles on the top that scattered light around the room, and the poofy skirt was covered in blooming fabric roses.
You were the living embodiment of your favorite flower, and I had never seen anything more beautiful.
“I know your name literally means rose—or rose garden, depending which version you go with—but that was the day you became Rosie to me. I don’t know why, but it just popped into my head the second you made your grand entrance.
I wanted to call you something that felt like you…
but something that was also just for us.
Anyway…there’d always been this invisible string connecting us, but I’d never felt it more so than in that moment.
” I turn my wrist, facing my tattoo toward her.
“This is how I chose to remember that feeling.”
Rosie’s lips part, but no words come out. Her eyes dart from the tattoo to my face, then back again, like her brain’s trying to catch up to her heart. Slowly, she brushes her fingertips over the ink, so gently it sends a chill down my spine.
“You’re such a pain in the ass,” she whispers.
That catches me off guard. “What?”
She blinks fast, her laugh shaky. “You just had to go and say this big, beautiful thing, that makes me feel like I’m having some kind of weird out-of-body experience.
And then I wonder how I could’ve possibly been so lucky to be sitting here with you right now, hearing you deliver all the mushy stuff that gets me all up in my feels.
And then I get a little annoyed, because I have to, like, process all these freaking emotions, which, like, ew.
Who the hell wants to do that? It’s overwhelming, Logan. You’re overwhelming.”
I grin, utterly charmed by her adorable rambling, even though my chest aches from that last verbal punch.
“But it’s not a bad thing. I swear I meant that in the best way possible.
” She lowers her voice. “I don’t think I realized that you’ve been calling me Rosie since that night.
Not really. But now in retrospect, I guess it did start around then.
It just wasn’t as obvious as the whole Pip thing we have, so I guess subconsciously, I just accepted it as another shortened version of my name.
But you’re the only one who’s ever called me that. ”
I nod, not trusting myself to speak yet.
“Guess we’re both a little slow on the uptake.” Her voice cracks, and she stops to swallow. “But at least we’re here now.”
“Right,” I agree. “And that’s what matters. Now that your family knows about us, there’s nothing stopping us from being together. It worked out this way for a reason. I don’t want to waste more time feeling bad about all the opportunities or signs we may have missed in the past. Do you?”
“No.” She shakes her head. “I just want a future with you.”
I smile. “Me, too, Pip.”
I lean down to kiss her, slow and sweet. It’s one of those kisses that makes you lose track of time, so I’m not sure how long it’s been when the terrace door swings open, startling us apart.
We twist around in time to see Ryan stepping into view with a bottle of beer dangling from his fingers. He freezes when he spots us curled up together, quickly figuring out he’s intruding on a romantic evening.
“Uh…” He blinks rapidly. “Sorry. Didn’t realize anyone was up here.”
Rosie sits up straight, grabbing her glass of wine. “Hey, Ry. You wanna join us?”
He hesitates, looking between us. “I just came up to hang for a bit. This is where I do some of my best brainstorming, but…” He fans his arm toward our setup. “Clearly I interrupted, so I’ll head back down.”
I clear my throat. “You don’t need to do that, dude. There’s plenty of snacks. Help yourself.”
He shakes his head, already walking backward. “Nah. I’m good. You guys obviously have a whole…thing going on, or whatever.”
“Ryan—” Rosie tries, but he’s already opening the door to the stairwell.
“It’s fine. Seriously, Rosa. Enjoy your night.” His voice is even, but there’s obvious discomfort in his expression as he turns and disappears behind the door.
Rosie sighs as the door clicks shut behind him “Well… that wasn’t awkward at all.”
I reach for her hand again. “He’ll come around.”
“I know.” She leans her head against my shoulder again, but this time, it’s quieter. Somber.
I tighten my arm around her, determined to keep the night from slipping into weirdness.
“He’ll come around, Rosie,” I repeat into her hair. “We just have to give him time.”
She nods into my shoulder, her breath warm against my neck.
We sit like that for a while, letting the fire crackle and the city buzz quietly below us.
Even with the tension still lingering from Ryan’s exit, I can’t bring myself to feel anything but content.
Because for the first time in a long time, I’m not chasing anything.
Not running from it either. I’ve got the girl.
I’ve got the vision. And even if not everything’s perfect, it’s real, and it’s ours.
And I plan to savor every crazy beautiful moment of it.