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Sometimes you have to grab life by the neck and choke it real good.
Some things mold to you, while others mold you.
“You’re insufferable.” “And yet we still stand here, suffering.”
“Are you here to congratulate me on my win?” “What other reason is there?” I ask. “I’m sure you could come up with something.”
Avery speeds away from me. I feel the emptiness of her presence instantly. It’s becoming my least favorite thing, having her vanish in front of me.
Our kiss—if you can even call the way we devoured each other something as simple as a kiss—prevented me from meeting Willa tonight.
Instead of responding with the truth—you’re brilliant, gorgeous, delightfully headstrong, and my list of nice things I think about you is ever growing—I keep my answer ambiguous. “I can’t just pick one.”
Luca finally says, “You always underestimate me.” “Don’t kid yourself, Navarro, dancing would wrinkle that suit.” He steps closer, only a couple of inches between us. “If my clothes bother you so much, all you have to do is ask, and I’ll let you take them off me.”
“I promise that each one of your moans, your breaths, will pour out of you willingly. Because I know you want me as much as I need you.”
“You want the truth, Avery?” Luca bites back at me. “I wanted to hire you from the second you opened that wretched, beautiful mouth of yours during the interview.”
Luca gently reaches his hand toward me, and I walk to him, wrapping my fingers in his soothing touch. I feel a strange wave of calm settle through me, a sudden steadying of the ground. Luca didn’t recoil from me or abandon me in my anger; he pushed through, recklessly climbing my walls. Refusing to leave me standing on my own.
“I wasn’t sure which one you liked the most, so I bought them all,” Luca replies. I gasp. Which flavor I like the most? He bought. Every. Flavor?
Avery could ask me to roast coffee beans by hand, and I would simply ask her for how long.
I’m going to make sure no one disrespects her ever again.
“How many more examples will it take for you to realize I remember everything about you?” he says. My heartbeat quickens. “Every ordinary and extraordinary piece of you, Avery, has a home within me.”
“I don’t know how to navigate something serious.” His eyes scan my face. “Then, for now, let’s just pretend this is one of our games.” “I thought you wanted to stop?” “The only thing I truly want is you,” he says. I sit here, simply staring at him. The rain is barely falling now. “I need to kiss you again, Avery.”
“Alright, let’s call it water under the bridge.”
He nods, causing me to blush. “I would walk all of New York with you, Ave.” That dark stare digs into me once more before he raises his brow. “Now, we can finally discuss why you live above a bodega.” “So I never run out of snacks.”
“I didn’t realize you were such a big softie.” I tease. “Only with you,” he says plainly, as though the truth doesn’t surprise him.
“But now that she’s here, I finally get to tell her she’s a running hazard.” My neck cranes back and my brows furrow into a pointed pinch. Luca unwraps one of the packages I didn’t have a chance to open, revealing a shiny pair of brand-new white running shoes that match the ones he wears, in my size. “What?” I say. “I’m not a fan of dismantled sneakers.” He kneels, then takes one of my feet into his large palm and slides the cushioned sneaker onto it. The padded mesh fits perfectly. “I do warn you, though, this woman of mine just revealed a bit of a jealous side.” He smiles. He leans down to
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People like my Avery, who are driven by the pure will to continue to convince others to stand up for what is right in the world, even when most of us can barely look away from ourselves to care about anything else.
But simply that I never found a love that tastes like her. A love that smells the way she does after a run. A love that curves its eyebrow when it’s curious. A love whose temper builds like a storm. Love never held me at its mercy: willing, wanting, needing. Until her.
“Work can be an easy distraction when you feel disconnected from your life.”
“But, unlike Joanna, we’re not alone. We can and will do this together. I never want you to doubt yourself or feel like you’ve disappointed your father.” Luca’s lips press to my fingers. “You’re an astonishing gift to this world. To have you at my side, leading the way, would be an honor.”
“I need you,” I admit. “You’re so remarkably talented, Avery. The connections you’ve fostered. The fundraising you’ve done. There aren’t enough thank-yous I could shower you in to make you understand how much you’ve impacted my life. Not only do you inspire me every day, but you inspire everyone around you. You truly remind people of a greater purpose. I’ve always wanted you on my team, Ave.”
“That you’re the sun that I welcome each of my mornings with, that you’re the other half of me, that I would spend an eternity making you smile.”
