They had left a little bit ahead of Theo and Jillian. More accurately, Jillian had announced that she and Theo would be taking an “absurdly” long time to herd all the children together. They’d have to escort them to the bathroom in groups and collect their artwork with promises to return it once they were back at the youth center.
Theo, she said, was stuck with it because he was honor-bound not to leave her alone to this particular h-e-l-l on earth, but they weren’t. And besides, she’d added with a sparkling grin, they would probably like some time to themselves.
Martin hadn’t needed a second invitation to clear out of the restaurant a little early. They had lost some peace and quiet this afternoon, but the slow walk back to work made up for it. They were companionable and relaxed.
“It was nice to get to spend some more time with your family,” Martin said. “Even like that.”
“Well, you knew the way to my heart, saying I did something to help make Jillian who she is.”
“I think Jillian would say you did too.”
“You know, I see Jilly and Theo together all the time. I mean, I knew right from the start that he adored her, he might as well have had little cartoon hearts floating around his head. I could just see how well they fit with each other. She needed him. She still does.”
“He needs her too.”
Tiffani nodded. “Finding out that the universe knew that right away, that’s not much of a surprise to me at all. I can see it whenever I look at them.”
Theo and Jillian did make an especially obvious and loving mated pair. They both had kind hearts, independent streaks, deep reserves of loyalty, and iron wills. Jillian gave Theo some much-needed practicality and he gave her... something outside of that. A belief in fairy tales as well as principles.
That was almost what Tiffani needed too. Almost, but not quite. Tiffani needed to see that romance could fit in beside the practical—that it wasn’t unrealistic or too good to be true for her to have the life she deserved.
“And...” Tiffani took a deep breath. “Jillian said she could see the same thing when she looked at us.”
Bless Jillian Marcus. Martin needed to borrow Theo’s florist and send her something.
“I’m glad,” he said quietly. “I do adore you, you know. And it’s not just chemicals or some kind of temporary rush. I know I have a head-start in knowing what you mean to me, but it’s not unheard of—love at first sight.”
“No, it’s not. It’s just that believing in it is the kind of thing that makes women like me seem really, really gullible.” She took a deep breath. “But... I told myself yesterday that the problem with Gordon, the problem with everything about my life before, wasn’t that I made the wrong choice. It was that I didn’t break away. I was a trophy wife, and I let myself be a trophy, this... inanimate, shiny thing. I started to believe that all I could control was the polish. It was my fault, not Gordon’s. I could have gotten up at any point and walked out, if I’d just woken myself up. I could have been myself a long time ago if I’d just been a little braver.”
Martin wanted to step in and say exactly how much he thought the burden of fault there fell on Gordon Marcus, who had belittled her into that sense of low self-worth, but he could sense that she was working up to something. It took everything in him to hold his tongue, but he held it. He wanted to give her her own voice.
She could hear the words from him a thousand times, but they wouldn’t really matter until she said them herself.
“So I’m being brave now. If this turns out to be a horrible mistake, I’ll walk away. If I burn out on my second chance, I’ll get up off the ground for my third. But I’m not going to not take the risk of falling in love with you when you’re so incredible. And I’m not going to hold back just so I don’t get hurt—when I don’t think you’d ever do anything to hurt me.”
This was so much more than a promise of future dates. This was a promise of her heart and her trust. He intended to honor and cherish both forever.
Tiffani looked up at him, her eyes bright. In the strong sunlight, he could see a slight scattering of freckles across her nose.
She smiled, looking almost mischievous.
“You know, this is the look on your face I was hoping for when I said that. I wanted to blow you away. For the little bit of time that I planned the speech at all, which was about ten seconds.” She lifted herself up on her toes and kissed him. “Okay, Martin, we’re on. Sweep me off my feet and I’ll sweep you off yours.”
She probably didn’t mean literally, but he did it literally anyway, picking her up and spinning her around in a brief circle, his arms tight around her.
A promise not to let her fall, no matter what.
Chapter Thirteen: Tiffani
The walk back with Martin meant Tiffani was once again glowing when she returned to the courthouse.
Day two of this obvious, uncontrollable happiness. She couldn’t even believe it.
She felt like someone was going to stop her in the hall and ask her for her secret—which was sadly not publicly available. You couldn’t say “take two pegasi and call me in the morning.”
She was a perfect match for the perfect guy. And she was actually starting to believe that. No wonder she couldn’t stop smiling.
It helped to remember that being perfect for him didn’t mean she had to be perfect herself. Maybe she just had to bring one particular thing to the table. Martin was a little on the straitlaced side, the kind of man who had no idea how to have a midday rendezvous in a hotel; maybe she was here to show him how. And to participate very enthusiastically.