I laughed. “No, not this time. I just need a distraction so I figured I’d call you.”
“Sure, what’s going on? How are things with you and sexy Shane, your bad boy?”
“You’re just jealous.”
“You’re right, I am,” she said with a laugh. “It seems like just yesterday you were stalking him in the halls.”
“You’re not helping. I’m thinking of stalking him again,” I said, laughing. “I need you to get my mind off of going to the art gallery. I’m dying to see it, but Shane won’t let me until everything’s perfect.”
“Well, you know how he is, and this is a really big deal.” Noelle was quiet for a moment and then sighed. “I’m sorry, I suck as a friend because honestly, if it was me, I’d be over there already.”
“Really? They crated up everything and delivered it the other day. He’s been there for days now. I was thinking of surprising him.”
“Go! And of course I want details.”
“I’ll call you tomorrow,” I said as I raced out the door.
The art gallery was on the main street of Laguna Beach, just a block from the ocean. The front of the gallery was all windows and I tried to peek inside to see if I could see Shane, but all I could see were boxes and crates. As I stepped inside, the door chimed and a large man with thick grey hair, black eyes, and a sharp nose walked over to me. I knew right away he was Dmitri Nikita, artist, gallery owner, and Shane’s idol.
“If you’re here, you work,” he said with a deep Russian accent.
“I’m here to see--“
“You see later, work first.”
Seeing how he wasn’t going to take no for an answer, I followed him into a windowless back room with several unopened crates. Dmitri picked up a crowbar that was leaning against the wall and brought it over to me.
“You ever use one of these?” he asked.
“No, but I’m sure I can figure it out.”
“Good, I like that.” He placed the crowbar under the top of one of the crates and popped it open. “Open the crates and then take each piece out. I’m sure I don’t have to tell you how valuable these are.”
“No, I got it.”
“See me when you’re done.”
He started to walk out of the room, but I wasn’t going to start working until I knew if Shane’s pieces were there.
“Wait! Is Shane here?” I asked.
His eyes crinkled and his lips broke into a smile.
“Of course he is. And I am under strict instructions to not let you see his exhibit.”
“You knew who I was?”
“Of course I know you, my dear. I’ve heard so much about you and I’ve seen his work.” His face turned serious. “Now work. Work first, see later.”
I unboxed all the artwork and lined them up against the wall in the back room. I had hoped to get a glimpse of something of Shane’s, but Dmitri must have been expecting me because none of the paintings I unboxed belonged to Shane.
Walking out of the back room, I noticed the sun was already setting. I didn’t realize how long I had been there. It must have been hours.
Shit, the meter!
I looked through my bag for quarters to feed the meter, hoping I didn’t get a ticket. With a handful of change in my hand, I walked towards the front door but was stopped by Dmitri.
“You’re not done,” he said.
“But my car.”
“It’s taken care of. Come with me, Princess Rosalie.”
I laughed hearing this large man, a stranger, call me that. He placed his large hand on my back and brought me to another section of the gallery. Tall white curtains stood in front of us.
“You worked, now you see,” he said as he pulled the curtain back.
The space was white and lit with tiny tea light candles that formed a pathway to a circle in the middle of the room. Shane stood in the circle. A covered painting leaned against a pillar beside him. He was dressed in black pants with a dark plum button-down shirt like the day he picked me up from the airport. His sleeves were rolled up and I could see the rose tattoo on his bicep.
“How did you plan this? You didn’t know I was coming here. I didn’t know I was coming,” I said.
“I know you better than you know yourself, Rosalie.” He walked over to me, took my hand, and led me into the circle. “I knew you couldn’t wait. It was just a matter of time before you showed up here.”
He grinned as his arms wrapped around my waist. Spotlights lit several square paintings lined horizontally on the wall. At the end was a blank space.
“I’ve dreamed about today,” he said. “Each of these paintings represents something in our relationship. Some people might think it’s crazy, or obsessive, but even when we were apart, all I thought about was you.”
He pointed to the first painting. On the canvas was a childlike princess with a young boy looking up at her. Shane lifted a handkerchief from the top of the pillar, revealing a tiara similar to the one I used to wear as a child. I laughed as he placed it on top of my head.
“You are crazy,” I said.
“I’m sure you recognize the second painting, the rose. That’s the one I was making for your birthday when we were living at your dad’s.”
“You never gave it to me.”
“I never thought it was good enough.”
“You should never think that. It’s beautiful.”
He shook his head, unable to take the compliment. I knew him well enough to not press. He would see how talented he was soon. I had no doubt that everyone would love his work.
As I looked at the different pieces, several of them really stood out to me. The first had a dark background with two white figures twisting together into one.
Another had a harsh red color and had the person from the other painting being ripped apart. He didn’t need to tell me that was when we broke up, I felt his pain from the canvas. It brought all those memories back of how much I hurt him and myself. I still felt bad about that.
The last painting was swirls of colors. I felt the confusion and anger from it. My chest ached thinking about how much pain I had caused him.
“I’m sorry,” I said. “I never meant to hurt you. It really was the last thing I ever wanted to do.”
“Please don’t be sad. It’s in the past, our past, but all of my pain is there in the art. That’s where it belongs. And who knows, maybe it was meant to happen so we could be here today.” He kissed my forehead and pointed to the blank space on the wall.
“Where’s the final painting?”
“It’s here.”
He picked up the painting that was leaning against the pillar and held it up. It was similar to the harsh-colored painting but had softer colors. Instead of having two bodies in it, the painting had two hands blending together as one.
“I’ve been working on these for years, but I knew the series didn’t end there. Now I have the ending, and I’m hoping it’s the beginning of our life together.”
He put the painting back against the pillar and started to kneel, but the candles were in the way.
“What are you doing?” I laughed.
“I wanted to kneel for my princess, but I obviously didn’t think this through all the way,” he said with a smirk.
Shane reached into his pocket and pulled out a ring. He held it towards me, between his fingers, and smiled. It was a gold ring with a cluster of diamonds that formed a flower. I didn’t know why the ring was familiar.
“I don’t know if you recognize this ring,” he said. “Before we left your dad’s, I asked him for his blessing to marry you. I wanted to make sure he was alright with it. Well, he gave me this ring. He said it belonged to your grandmother.”
I took the ring from him and admired it.
“I remember. She used to wear it all the time. I loved this ring.”
He took the ring from me. “I’m not done.”
“Well, hurry up then.”
He laughed. “This isn’t going how I plann
ed. I had this whole long thing I planned on saying, but fuck it. I love you.”
“I love you too.”
“Will you marry me?”
“Let me think about that…umm yes.”
“You had to think about it?”
“I didn't want it to be too easy,” I said.
“Why not? You are easy, you know.”
“Only with you.”
“Good, that’s the way it should be.”
He laughed and slid the ring onto my finger. I threw myself into his arms and we kissed. I couldn’t wait to begin our life together.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Rosalie
One Year Later
They say you never forget your first love. Well, Shane Ventana was my first crush, my first love, and my first heartbreak. He was my first everything, well, not everything, but he was the love of my life. I had never felt like I was alive until Shane entered my life. The years we were apart, I felt empty without him. As sappy as it sounds, he completed me.
He was so much a part of me that I put aside the book I was working on and started a new one, a romance novel. The more I wrote, the more I wanted to tell my own story about falling in love. Eventually the book became more of a memoir than fiction, but only the people closest to me knew the truth.
The book got a lot of attention and my publisher brought Shane and me to New York for a launch party. It was surreal to me that they were making such a big deal about it that they rented a room at an upscale hotel in Midtown for the event.
Shane and I were late getting to the party. The taxi took a sharp turn, pressing me against Shane. I looked up at him and he smiled.
“I always told you you were going to be a famous writer,” he said.
“It’s just a party. There’s no guarantee anyone is going to want to read a book about a girl falling in love with someone she shouldn’t.”
“I’d read it. And I have read it, it’s great. You have nothing to worry about.”
“You have to say that,” I said.
“No, I don’t. Why would I lie?”
“Because you’re my husband, it’s what husbands do.”
He kissed my forehead as I smiled at him. He reached for my left hand and held it in his. Seeing our hands like that reminded me of the final piece of his art series.
As the taxi jolted to a stop in front of the hotel, Noelle opened the door. She held a clipboard tightly to her chest.
“It’s about time,” she said. “You promised you’d be here on time. You wouldn’t lie to your assistant, would you?”
“Blame Shane,” I said, grinning as I stepped out of the car.
“It’s not my fault,” he said. “You were tense, so I did what I could to relax you.”
“Oh, come on guys.” Noelle rolled her eyes. “Can’t you control yourselves for once?”
“You’re just jealous,” I said.
“I’m always jealous.” She laughed. “But seriously, Shane, if you ever get tired of Rosalie, you know where to find me.”
“I’ll never get tired of her,” he said as his hand slid over my butt.
“Is my dad here?” I asked.
“Of course he is,” Noelle said. “You know he wouldn’t miss this. He brought Joanna.”
“I’m not surprised,” Shane said. “They’re inseparable. I never understood why they divorced.”
“Me neither,” I said.
The room was filled with balloons and large cardboard images of the cover. As I looked around the room for my dad, he stood up and waved at me. I walked over to where he was with Shane in tow.
“Always late,” Dad said. “You know you were born late, too. That was the best day of my life.” He smiled wistfully as his eyes watered. “I’m so proud of you, Rosalie.”
“Thanks, Dad. It really means a lot to hear you say that.”
“I’ve always been proud of you, you’re my daughter.”
I hugged him tight as tears filled my eyes. After everything that happened with my mother, I knew how lucky I was to have my dad. I blinked back my tears and sat beside him as my agent, Mena, came over.
Mena was very New York with her fancy clothes and perfect appearance. Underneath the façade, she was a fierce negotiator and one of the smartest people I knew.
“Shane,” she said as she extended her hand to him. “I’m so glad to finally meet you. How do you feel about Rosalie naming the hero after you?”
“It’s great. Rosalie has a great imagination.” He laughed then cocked his brow at me.
“And how about you? Rosalie tells me you’re an up-and-coming artist,” Mena said.
“She exaggerates,” he said modestly.
“I’m not exaggerating,” I said. “You’ve been in magazines, won two awards, and there’s a wait list of people demanding new pieces from you.”
He shrugged. “I am working on some new things and have another exhibit in a few months. But today isn’t about me, it’s about Rosalie.”
Shane slipped his arm around my waist and brought his lips close to my ear.
“How are you feeling? Still nauseous?” he whispered.
I shook my head, not wanting anyone to hear.
“Good. I hope you didn’t mind what I told Noelle about being late.”
“It’s okay, I thought it was funny,” I said. “Plus I’m not ready to tell everyone just yet. Not until my dad knows.”
“I’m having a hard time keeping it secret.”
“I know, me too. You know I can’t keep secrets. I want to tell my dad in person, but not here in the middle of all of this. We can tell him and your mom tonight at dinner.”
“You are going to be a wonderful mom,” he said, pulling me tight against him.
“Shhh, you talk too much.”
Shane kissed me and we smiled at each other. I couldn’t stop smiling if I tried. We were starting a family and we couldn’t be happier. I looked at the display table with my book as the centerpiece. That was my story, our story. Whether it was fact or fiction, that didn’t matter. I got my happily ever after.
Epilogue
Rosalie
Five Years Later
“We’re late. Get your sneakers on, Denny,” I called out from the kitchen where I quickly dropped Denny’s snack into his lunch bag.
As I stepped out of the kitchen, I looked at my five-year-old sitting on the floor with his shoes. He looked up at me with his big, dark brown eyes, fine, light brown hair just like mine, and smiled.
Sometimes I couldn’t believe I had a child. When Shane and I found out we were having a boy, we both knew he should be named after my dad. Months later, when Dennis DeLeo Ventana was born, my father was right there in the waiting room with Joanna. Everything couldn’t have been more perfect.
I checked the time as I backed out of the driveway. Somehow we managed to leave on time for camp. I smiled at Denny in his car seat, trying to catch his eye, but he looked preoccupied.
“Are you okay?” I asked.
He nodded and rubbed his sleepy eyes. “Yes.”
I couldn’t let it drop, I could tell something was on his mind.
“Is something bothering you, sweetie?” I asked.
“No, I was just thinking about Daddy,” he said as he looked out the window. “I miss him.”
“I know. I miss him too.” I paused, trying to keep my voice from sounding too sad. “He’ll be home tonight though.”
“Why couldn’t we go with him?” Denny asked. “We always go with him.”
“Next time.”
I turned my focus back on the road. I didn’t know the answer to Denny’s question, I had the same question myself. Normally Shane would only do art exhibitions when we could all travel together as a family. This time Shane wanted to go by himself. He didn’t tell me why, and when I asked, he got upset and said he didn’t want to talk about it.
It was the first time in our relationship that Shane had become secretive. I tried to give him the benefit of the doubt and let it g
o, but it nagged at me.
Is he pulling away from me? It was a question that had lately echoed in my head, but despite him saying he wasn’t, I couldn’t shake my insecurity. His traveling alone didn’t make sense to me. We did everything together, but maybe that was the problem. Maybe he needed a break. Maybe he just wanted to be alone. Maybe he was rethinking us. I pushed that thought into the back of my mind, flicked my eyes up to the rearview mirror, and forced my voice to sound cheerful.
“It was just a quick trip,” I said, more to myself than to Denny. “There will be others we can go on.”
Denny smiled then started talking about some of the kids at camp as we pulled up to the entrance. I walked him into the building. He spotted a friend and started skipping away from me.
“Wait,” I said, and he quickly turned around. “I need some nose.”
He ran over to me, wrapped his arms around my waist, and looked up at me. I bent down and touched my nose to his.
“Beep,” I said, as we both smiled. As he pulled away, I gently swept his hair to the side with my fingertips before he ran off again.
I sighed as I watched Denny get to his friends. When did he stop being a baby? Seemed like just yesterday he was learning to walk. As I turned to head back towards my car, my phone buzzed in my back pocket with a text.
Let me know when you get here.
I nodded my response to the text and checked the time. I was about ten minutes away. I still couldn’t believe I was doing this. Rosalie Ventana is meeting a man in a hotel room! The thought was crazy. What was I doing??? I refused to answer that question. There was no way I was passing this up.
My heart raced as I parked the car near the entrance of the Princeton Hyatt. I couldn’t remember the last time I had been there, but it had been years. I smiled to myself as I remembered the times Shane and I used to meet at the Hyatt in New Brunswick. The hotels didn’t look anything alike, but just seeing the simple font of the name was enough to get me reminiscing.
The buzz from another text took me out of my reverie. Expecting it to be Shane, I went into my texts without reading the notification.
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