CHAPTER 23
Letting Him In
Josh
Four more months passed.
The sunflowers on Josh's balcony had multiplied. His small apartment had started to feel like home. And every day, he thought about her.
Six months after he walked into the hotel under a false name, Josh stood in the courtyard garden and realized he was happy.
Actually, genuinely, terrifyingly happy.
He had no job. No company. No billions. His father hadn't spoken to him in months. The financial press had stopped writing about him. He was old news.
He had a small apartment with thin walls and a leaky faucet. He had sunflowers on his balcony that hadn't died yet — actually, he had three now. He had a growing collection of books on his coffee table, novels mostly, things Helen had recommended. Things he'd never have read before.
And he had Helen. Not all of her. Not yet. She was still careful with him, still guarded. But she was there.
They were sitting on the bench by the fountain. The sun was setting, painting the sky in shades of orange and pink. The fountain murmured beside them.
"Tell me something true," Helen said.
Josh thought about it.
"I'm scared," he said.
"Of what?"
"Of messing this up. Of hurting you again. Of waking up one day and realizing I've become my father."
Helen took his hand. "My dad used to say that the only people who aren't scared are the ones who don't care enough to be scared."
"He sounds like a good man."
"He was." She squeezed his hand. "He would have liked you. After he got over the whole 'trying to destroy my company' thing."
Josh laughed. "That's a pretty big thing to get over."
"He was good at forgiveness. He believed in second chances." She paused. "I'm still learning."
"I'm not asking you to forgive me. I'm just asking you to let me stay."
Helen looked at him.
"I can do that," she said.
And for the first time in six months, she kissed him without hesitation. Not a careful kiss, or a questioning kiss, or a kiss that said I'm still deciding. It was a kiss that said I'm here. I'm choosing this. I'm choosing you.
Josh pulled her closer. The fountain murmured. The sun dipped below the horizon. And for one perfect moment, everything was exactly as it should be.