Maybe our paths will cross again one day, and we’ll meet as friends.
Yours, David
He crumpled up the letter and tossed it in the empty fireplace. What devil had ridden him to tell Stella to give the love she felt for him to another man? Talk about adding insult to injury! No wonder she never tried to contact him afterward.
Her willingness to talk to him in Paris was more than he deserved.
He reached for a match and lit the letter. The flames devoured the paper, and he wished they could also turn the painful memories into ashes and destroy the twin letter in her possession.
Because he would never take her love for granted and would prove it to her every single day for the rest of his life.
Stella was a romantic at heart. She didn’t expect expensive gifts or extravagant vacations, had never once asked anything of him. All she wanted was to be loved wholeheartedly for who she was, to be treated with respect, and to be accepted as an independent woman.
He would not ask her to give up her work and her family to be with him. She had made too many sacrifices already. Never would he make her choose between him and her job.
David reached for his phone. He knew what he needed to do, and it was time to set his plan in motion. He had two messages to write.
The first would go to Aaron.
The second recipient would make him eat dirt.
CHAPTER 41
Stella—November 2018
“Y
ou want what?” Stella plopped down in front of the spick-and-span fireplace, held the cell phone away from her ear and stared at it.
She should’ve let the call go to voice mail. But who was she kidding? There were a handful of people who could call her at any time, and she’d pick up.
“I need you to meet me in an hour,” Naomi said.
“Why?”
“There’s this guy I meet when I take out the dogs. I only wish Bozo would stop humping poor Scarlett every time he sees her.”
“Who is Bozo?” Stella interrupted.
“He’s Frank’s German Shepherd, super cute. But...”
“And Frank is…?” she asked toneless.
“The owner of Bozo, of course. Anyhow, Frank is a history geek, and I may have let it slip how much I like it, too.”
Stella wiped her hand over the hearth. “Since when? And what do I have to do with it?”
“He asked me to go with him to a special exhibit at the Museum of the American Revolution and to an early dinner afterward. You know me. I don’t mind the dinner, but who wants to go to a museum?”
“So, tell him you fibbed. Or just go.”
“But…umm…what if he asks me something about history and I have no clue what to say?”
“Wait a minute… Did you think I’d agree to come with you just to prompt the right answers?” Naomi was unbelievable. She knew Stella didn’t have time for this kind of nonsense today.
“Sort of...maybe.”
“You know, normally I would love to help you out, but maybe you forgot David is arriving tomorrow? I still have a bunch of things to finish before he gets here,” Stella said, and once again ran through her mental to-do list.
She had changed the bed linens, cleaned the bathroom, and emptied out space in the closet for him to hang up some of his clothes, but squeezing in a museum visit wasn’t on her agenda.
“Pleeeeaaaase…… I neeever ask you for aaanythingggg,” Naomi whined.
“I know, but I have a pedi scheduled for later.”
“You had one two weeks ago, and I’m sure the Troubadour is going to forgive you if your feet are not baby-ass soft tomorrow. Just make sure you shave your legs in the morning.”
“Being rude doesn’t help your case.” She really didn’t want to go, but she also didn’t want to leave her friend hanging. “What time do you need me?
“You weren’t listening. We meet in an hour. At the park behind Carpenter’s Hall. You don’t have to dress up, it’s only the museum.”
“I really don’t know, Nam…” Stella hesitated. “Why today of all days?”
“You still owe me one. Since I never set up a blind date for you, I’ll let it slide if you help me out today.”
“Blackmailing me isn’t fair.” She’d just about had enough and couldn’t believe Naomi had the nerve to bring this up. “I’m with David again, which makes the need for a blind date obsolete. As you fully well know!”
“Don’t use those big words with me. And a promise is a promise. In an hour! At the park! Your bench! Don’t be late!”
Stella didn’t get the chance to agree or refuse. The line was already dead.
When she arrived at the park, she spotted Naomi sitting between two men. They all had their backs to her. One had his arm draped over the back of the bench, tapping her shoulders. He wore a leather jacket and baseball hat. The other one had the hood of his sweatshirt pulled up.
What was up with a second guy being there? If Naomi had set her up after all, she’d be totally pissed. And she’d let her know it.
“Hey, I’m here,” she called.
Hood guy’s head swung around.
Stella gasped a lungful of air.
“Surpriii-iiise!” Naomi sang and clapped her hands.
David jumped up, rounded the bench, scooped her into his arms and spun her around, kissing her and laughing and holding her tight.
“I thought this moment would never come, my love,” he said between kisses.
“What? Why?” Stella didn’t know what to say, or what to do with her hands. “I thought you were arriving tomorrow?” She couldn’t tear her eyes away, even after he put her down again and wrapped her arms around him.
Naomi stood, too, and grinned. “Yeah, well, it’s a long story.”
“You knew this? Since when?”
“Doesn’t matter, missy. Maybe your boyfriend can tell you later.”
“I still can’t believe you’re here, baby. Are you real?” Stella pinched her arm. “No. I’m not dreaming!”
Then she looked at Naomi and said, “I guess I
