Chapter 74
CHAPTER 74
ABIGAIL
“C an I come in so we can talk about it?” Simon wasn’t on his knees, but he was definitely begging.
He also looked like hell, so I nodded and took a step aside, but I’d done this dance with him one too many times to just throw my arms around him and accept that all our issues were suddenly in the past. “Okay, Si. Come on in, but I’m going to need you to start at the beginning, okay?”
As he walked into my foyer, those green eyes seemed to clear a little bit, his spine straightening as he turned into me. He caught my face between his big, hot hands and held it gently as he looked at me like I was the most wondrous thing he’d ever laid eyes on.
“The beginning is what it’s always been, Abs. I love you. I love you more than anything. The only part that’s new, and even that isn’t so new, is that I’d walk away from everything I’ve built for the chance to have a life with you.”
“And your father knows this?”
“Yes.”
“Is he sending an assassin after me?” I wasn’t even really joking. George might not have me assassinated in the traditional sense of the word, but professionally? He’d sure as hell put a bullet right through my reputation if he felt it necessary.
“There’s no assassin coming for you.” Simon dropped his forehead to mine and breathed me in. “The last time I had to walk away from you, I thought I was going to die. I have no idea how I kept putting one foot in front of the other, but I refuse to go through that again now. Unless that’s what you want.”
Giant tears swelled in my eyes and I brought my hands to his chest, my fingers curling into the warmth of his soft shirt. “I’ve wanted a life with you since I was a teenager, Si. Having that almost happen and then be ripped away from me over and over? It’s been exhausting. I want you. I want a future with you, but I can’t do it if your dad?—”
“He’s not going to try anything,” Simon whispered when his voice caught. “It’s just you and me now, Abs. I choose you and I will keep choosing you every day for the rest of my life, and my father knows that now. Trust me. He knows it very fucking well.”
“Does he accept it, though?” I almost didn’t know if I wanted him to answer the question, but ultimately, I needed to know.
Simon’s hands fell to my hips and he nodded as he lifted his head away from mine, but he was still looking directly into my eyes. “I don’t know if he accepts it, so to speak, but he respects it. He won’t try anything to break us apart ever again.”
“How can you be so sure?”
I saw a flicker of some darker emotion in his eyes before he sighed. “Let’s go sit down and I’ll tell you everything.”
I took his hand and led him to my living room. My gaze caught on another of my little pots, and this time, the sight of it made hope burrow into my chest. Hope that just maybe, I might never have to cook a recipe for one ever again.
“What happened?” I asked once we were seated.
To my surprise, Simon sat down right next to me, kicked off his shoes, and then turned to face me on the couch. He spread his legs open wide, hooked his arms around my waist and pulled me to him until I was fitted snugly against him, my upper body molded to his.
Part of me wanted to ask why he was holding on to me like a life preserver, but my instincts were telling me that whatever had happened at his parents’ place had obviously been emotionally heavy. So instead, I just settled into him and listened as he explained it all.
Once again, my entire chest ached for Lisa when I heard his story, but I even felt a pang of sympathy for George when Simon told me how he had broken down. Eventually, I just slipped my arms around Simon’s waist and rested my ear against his heart, simply holding him as he recounted the day his family would remember as either having unified them or broken them apart for good.
I guess we’re just going to have to wait and see whether George can actually change before we know which one of those it will be.
“He really broke down, huh?” I sighed, unable to even imagine that happening. “Is he okay now?”
“I don’t know, but I think he will be. I think, or at least, I hope, that he and my mom will also keep talking now. They both need to come to terms with a lot of things and they desperately need to work out how to move forward together without my dad acting like a popsicle.”
I felt a truly sad smile touch the corners of my lips. “What about you? You resigned, Simon. What happens now?”
“Dad wants to work it out,” he said quietly. “Honestly, I don’t know what the future holds right now on that front. All I know is that he won’t come between us ever again. I won’t let him.”
“Well, I’m just shocked that he apologized. I don’t think I can even imagine those words coming out of his mouth.”
“Yeah, I didn’t see it coming, but we’ll see.” By the time he was done telling me everything that had happened, the pain and the hope in his voice were raw and sounded downright painful.
I just kept holding him, not really knowing what else to do, but praying that just this once, his dad would actually come through for him. Simon brought his index finger to my chin and applied gentle pressure until my gaze met his.
“When we were eighteen, I knew that you were the one for me.” He kissed the top of my head. “You were perfect in every way. You were beautiful, and kind, and so smart, and I knew I would never understand why you picked me, but I promised myself I’d just be grateful for it every day.”
I looked up at him, seeing his throat working, but deciding to say what I needed to say anyway. “Yet, you left.”
“Because I let him tell me what to do. Leaving was never what I wanted and it never will be. He knows that now in no uncertain terms and here’s the thing, Abs. You’re still perfect. You’re even more perfect, actually. If you’ll have me, I would really like to finally take a real stab at that future we once wanted together.”
As I stared up at him, seeing nothing but total honesty and genuine soft, deep emotion in his eyes, my heart skipped and something in my soul clicked into place. “I love you. If you’re serious about this, then I still want a life with you more than anything else too.”
Those strong hands came back to my face and he bent his head to mine, kissing me fast and hard before he murmured into my mouth, “I really have never stopped loving you. I know you must’ve felt like this breakthrough was never going to happen, but thank you for being patient with me. I never should’ve kept you waiting so long.”
“I would have waited twice as long, but only if you can promise that the waiting is really over.”
“It’s over, Abs.” He surprised me by sitting up a little. “I’ll prove to you if you’ll let me. Do you still have the time capsule?”
Disbelieving laughter bubbled out of me before I could stop it. “It took all of this for me to get to know what’s in this damn time capsule?!”
He chuckled. “Yeah, it did. I told you that you would find out when the time was right, and after today, I doubt the time will ever be better. Can I take you out to dinner?”
“We’ve both had a day. How about I order in and then you can show me what’s in the capsule as soon as we’ve eaten?”
“Alright. That sounds good too, but just so you know, I would’ve taken you to our place. It would’ve been romantic as hell.”
I looked right into his eyes. “This? Me and you alone together at my house, ordering takeout, and talking about finally being able to start our lives together? It’s the most perfect, romantic evening in the world as far as I’m concerned.”
“Alright. Well, since we’re talking about our lives together, are we going to order Vietnamese, Indonesian, or Malaysian? One of those places will be our first international trip together. We’re going to tick off all the places on your bucket list together.”
“Let’s go with Vietnamese,” I said. “There’s a place right around the corner that I’ve ordered from before. I have no idea where to get Malaysian or Indonesian food from or how long it’ll take.”
He chuckled. “Vietnam it is, then.”
“I’ll place the order and fetch the time capsule. Can I get a clue?”
Those green eyes looked right into mine as I headed to the stairs. “Only that what’s inside will prove that I have always loved you, that I always will love you, and that I never wanted to leave.”
“Right. Well, I don’t know how it’s going to do that, but I look forward to finding out.” I went to my bedroom, grateful to have a moment alone to process everything that he’d told me.
It sounded like the guy had had a heck of a day, yet he’d come right here after he’d made the choice I never thought he would make. It was really difficult for me to believe that it was truly over, but more than that, I worried about Lisa.
Simon’s mom didn’t deserve all this. She didn’t deserve to lose another son just because his father was an ass. Hopefully, the Astors would work it out—in a way that would allow me to remain part of their son’s life.
I exhaled deeply, happier and more positive than I had been in years, but also feeling cautious and still reeling about him showing up on my doorstep. My mom had told me not to give up on him, but I really hadn’t expected he would make things right so soon—or that he’d just arrive and announce that he was walking away from his company.
Above it all, I was really struggling to wrap my head around the fact that our dreams were finally coming true. At eighteen, I’d been convinced that Simon was my future and I’d never really stopped dreaming about it.
Now, he was apparently going to prove to me that he wanted it too and always had. That he was done walking away and that he was committed to building a life with me. I had no idea what a teenage boy might’ve put in that capsule that would be able to prove all that now, so long after the fact, but I was super excited to finally find out.
After placing our order, I went to take the capsule out of my closet and I paused. It had been a decade that this thing had been languishing away under piles of clothes. It was weird to think that in an hour from now, the contents would finally be revealed and the mystery would be over.
Once I’d taken a beat to process that, I headed back downstairs to join him, and we talked a little more about his parents before he asked what mine would think about us being back together. I smiled at him.
“Mom has your back. Don’t worry.” I winked. “Dad has a shotgun, London probably has that shiv by now, and Liv has Charlie.”
Simon laughed and pretended to shudder. “I guess it’s a good thing that I plan on keeping all the promises I ever made you.”
The doorbell rang and I went to collect our food. We unpacked all the cardboard containers onto my coffee table and ate while sitting on the floor, chatting and laughing while we devoured delicious pho and a variety of other dishes. It was sweet, simple, and domestic, and exactly what I’d wanted with him for so long.
August lay spread out by his side, and every so often, he smiled at her when he didn’t think I was paying attention. I loved a guy who also loved my dog as much as I do. How lucky could one girl be?
With that thought in mind, I finally handed over the time capsule. “Time to open this thing, Astor. A decade of staring at it and I’m ready to know what secrets its hiding.”
“You’re lucky I was hoping today would be the day.” He reached into his pocket for his wallet, extracting a tiny, cylindrical key from a slot in it. “On the other hand, I’ve carried this with me every day since I bought this thing.”
“You have?” I blinked hard, my jaw slack. “Are you serious?”
“Yes, Abi.” He slid the key into the lock and twisted. “I’ve always been serious about this. I needed to keep it close. It’s always been a reminder that my future is out there somewhere and that I know exactly who I want it to be with.”