Only Her
Page 36
When I arrive in San Francisco, I take a cab straight to the hotel where the conference is being held. I get there right on time. Pearce’s speech started fifteen minutes ago.
PEARCE
Today’s speech is on how to modify your business strategy in a changing economy. It’s one of the many new speeches I developed since leaving Kensington Chemical. I’ve given this speech a few times now and it’s proven to be quite popular. Tomorrow I’ll be speaking again on a different topic.
This is a large conference, aimed at people in the financial services industry. I’m speaking to a group of at least 500 people in a large hotel ballroom.
“As financial experts, you know that you can’t always predict—” I stop when I see someone walk in the room. A woman. In a yellow sleeveless dress. Who is stunningly beautiful. Tall, with dark brown hair that falls in soft waves around her shoulders. And a smile that lights up the room.
She seats herself in one of the middle rows. I smile as I check my watch. She’s fifteen minutes late.
“As I was saying…” My eyes meet hers in the crowd and my heart leaps in my chest, just like it did the first time I saw her.
Someone coughs in the front row and my mind returns to my speech.
“Pardon me.” I take a drink of water, then continue on, but my gaze continues to wander to that gorgeous woman in the yellow dress. The one who agreed to marry me. Twice.
The speech goes well and prompts many questions from the audience. When my time is finally up, I see Rachel leaving. I hurry and follow her out to the hall. It’s filled with people, but I spot the yellow dress in the crowd and see her turn down a short hallway that leads outside to the pool. I catch up to her before she goes out the door.
“Rachel.” I hold her arm.
She turns. “Do I know you?”
So we’re role playing. This is new. But I like it.
“I believe we met at Yale years ago.”
She pauses, her eyes skimming up and down my suit, then back to my face. “You do look familiar. Actually, yes, I do remember meeting you.”
I take a step forward, putting us less than a foot apart. “Perhaps we could get reacquainted over a drink.”
“I was just heading out. I don’t have time.”
I place my hand on her hip and lower my mouth to her ear. “It’s just one drink.”
Her breath quickens. “Maybe some other time.”
“I’m afraid I can’t let you leave,” I say, my lips brushing her ear, making her shiver.
“And why is that?”
I raise back up, my eyes on hers. “Because I know I would regret it. Many years ago, I let a girl walk out of my speech and I never got her number. She was all I could think about, but I assumed I’d never see her again.”
“And did you?”
“I did. I’d given her my business card and she called me and asked me out. It was rather forward of her, now that I think about it.”
She tries not to laugh. “And then what happened?”
“We fell in love. Got married. Had a son.” I pause, not wanting to say what happened next.
“And were apart long enough to realize just how precious love is. So when you found each other again, you vowed to never be apart. And to cherish every moment together and fall more in love every day.”
I smile. “Yes. That’s exactly what happened.” I lean down and kiss her. “Now how about that drink?”
“Yes. Let’s go to the bar.”
“Not in the bar. In my hotel suite upstairs.”
“Even better.” She kisses me. “I love you.”
“Why didn’t you tell me you were doing this?”
“That would’ve ruined the surprise.” She smiles. “Now come on. Show me this hotel suite of yours.”
I slide my arm around her waist and lead her to the elevator. As we ride up to the top floor, I keep glancing over at her in that yellow dress.
“You need to stop walking in late to my speeches,” I say as I hold open the door to our hotel suite.
“Why?” She steps inside the room. “Do you find it distracting?”
“Very.” I close the door, take her in my arms, and show her just how distracting she is.
Even now, all these years later, I see her walk in a room and lose my train of thought. I hear her voice and instantly smile. I feel her touch and my heart races. She’s always distracted me that way, from the moment I met her.
And thank God she did. Rachel saved me from the dark, lonely, empty life I was living and replaced it with a life filled with light and love and family.
Some would say it was wrong of me to bring her into my world, but when you know you’ve found the one you’re meant to be with, how do you let her go? Why would we have even met if we weren’t supposed to be together? Certainly fate can’t be that cruel.
I’ve pondered this over the years, especially when Rachel was gone, and the guilt over her death consumed me. I kept telling myself I should’ve let her go after our first date. That I never should’ve pursued her.
But I’ve come to realize that people come into our lives for a reason. Rachel saved me. Jack saved her. I saved Jade. Jade saved Garret.
These fateful encounters didn’t just happen to us. They happen to everyone. We’re all brought together in a way that doesn’t always make sense at the time, but later, when you step back and look at how it all worked out, you see the beauty in it. The wonder. And you’re amazed at how it all miraculously wove together to create a certain outcome. You realize that maybe that was the plan all along. That it wasn’t up to you. That the decisions were already made. And you see how sometimes it’s best not to question everything. To set aside your doubts. To go with your heart, despite your head telling you not to.
So now, finally, I’ve put my guilt to rest. I know for a fact that Rachel and I were meant to be together. I believe that now more than ever. She was taken from me, but she survived and she made her way back to me. Because this is where she belongs. We belong together.
She’s my love. My life. My everything. My Rachel.
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From Allie
Thank you for reading the story of Pearce and Rachel! I hope you enjoyed it, and I’d love for you to leave a review.
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Books by Allie Everhart
Choosing You
Knowing You
Loving You
Promising You
Forever You
Finding Us
Becoming Us
Always Us
Garret: A Jade Series Companion Novel
Needing Her
Keeping Her
Protecting Her
Only Her