Romantic Secrets
Page 8
Together. One step at a time.
Now here I am, on the eve of my move-in date with the man I want to be with forever. My boxes are packed and ready for the movers. I’m alone in my empty apartment, taking one last look around. This is the apartment I first moved into when I came to this big city. It’s the place that should hold special meaning to me, but strangely, it doesn’t. After all, I rarely spent any time here as I worked such long and late hours. But still, there’s a twinge of nostalgia here as I think back to how much has happened in just three short years.
I still feel a sharp twinge of sadness whenever I think about what brought me to New York in the first place: my cousin Emma. I get a lump in my throat whenever I think about how her life was cut short. Despite her personality flaws, she was too young to die. But I’ve also realized something recently: in order to best honor Emma’s life, I need to be happy and enjoy mine. I need to appreciate every day, and not take any day for granted. Life is short, and we never know when our time is up. That’s one of the reasons I’ve taken the leap with Liam. I’m not turning away from my happiness any more. Instead, I’m embracing it with both hands. That is something I never did before, and it’s something Emma never did, either. My cousin and I were products of our backgrounds and our shared family history. But the cycle can be broken, starting right here, right now.
I’m doing it not just for myself, but for Emma.
I’m choosing love and happiness over fear and bitterness.
I think she would appreciate that. At least, I hope so.
I take one last look around the apartment. “Goodbye,” I whisper. But I’m saying goodbye to so much more than this place. I’m saying goodbye to my old self, my old way of seeing things, my old way of living.
When I’d first arrived in this city for my cousin’s funeral, I’d had no idea what was in store for me. I’d had no clue what the future would bring. I’d planned on becoming an escort and seducing powerful and rich men, but little did I know that was not to be my destiny. I’d hoped to keep myself out of Podunkville and maybe earn enough to pay off my mom’s debts. Instead, I was fired from Ms. White’s agency before I even began. But what happened in its place was so much better than I’d ever dreamed. Life is funny that way. You can lay out all sorts of plans for yourself, but when life decides it wants a different path for you, it’s wise to listen. Often, the door that opens instead is so much better…and so much more right.
At least, that’s the case with me.
Now here I am, about to begin the next phase of my life. I have a great job that has allowed me to help my mom and create a debt-free, luxurious life for myself. I have a wonderful friend named Isabella. And, best of all, I have the man of my dreams.
Yes, he’s still broken in ways. And so am I. He’s still recovering from the trauma of his wife’s death, but I’ve been helping him heal. He’s been helping me heal, too, and has shown me that I can feel and experience sex in the way it’s meant to be experienced: as an act of love between two people. Don’t get me wrong: there’s nothing wrong with a great one-night stand or roll in the hay just because. Impersonal sex can be fun. But it doesn’t hold a candle to love expressed through tender, meaningful lovemaking. That was something that I had missed out on in life. And that was something I found with Liam.
He found it, too, with me. He says our lovemaking is different and more profound than anything he’s ever experienced before.
He says he has something special with me that he’s never had with anyone else.
And so now we’re taking the next steps of building a life together.
Liam and I are proof that two people can truly heal each other, and that two people can help each other put the broken pieces back together. Yes, the cracks will always be there, but at least now there’s glue holding them together.
The glue of love.
And that’s what Liam and I have.
A whole new life.
To purchase Book Two, please click here to read more about Abby and Liam.
Connect with Monique DuBois
Email: monique@matchscort.com
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