Come As You Are(55)

When we’re done, I smack him on the back and say, “You’re freaking awesome. You just go for it.”

“Hell, yeah. Balls to the wall. Give it everything.”

As we leave, I power my phone back on, intending to click open my text messages and ask Sabrina if she’s free to see me. I’m ready to go for it. Give it everything.

Once my phone boots up, I find a note from her.



Angel: Could you meet me at Gramercy Park tonight? I hear you have a key.





26





Sabrina



Dear Mr. Galloway,

Thank you so much for the opportunity to write for Up Next. I’m so grateful that you gave me this chance. I loved every moment of working on this piece. I’ve written what I think is a fair and accurate story that dives into who Flynn is and illustrates why he is a next-generation visionary.

I turned in the piece last night, as you know, but in the interest of full disclosure, I need to inform you that while reporting this story I’ve developed feelings for Mr. Parker, and I acted upon those feelings. I would like to tell you those emotions didn’t affect what I wrote. I hope they didn’t, but that is for you to decide.

I want you to know the facts. I will await your decision, and I remain grateful for the opportunity.



Sincerely,



Sabrina Granger

As I read the letter one last time, my stomach swoops, but then everything settles down.

A brand-new calm spreads through me. I’m no longer a caged lion.

Perhaps that’s from knowing I’m making the right choice. I might not get the prize. I don’t have a safety net. But I hope there’s a better prize waiting for me. The best prize.

When I look back on this moment five years from now, whether I’m with Flynn or not, I’ll know I took the chance my heart was telling me to take.

Even if your heart has been broken, it doesn’t mean you have to put it on ice forever. It can thaw. Mine did, and sometimes it’s worth taking the leap without a net.

Flynn is that leap.

He’s worth it.

There’s no what-if about it.

My finger hovers over the send button, ready to fire it off, when a new message pops up in my inbox.

It’s one from Mr. Galloway.

It startles me, and I actually jump. I look behind me. It’s as if I’m being watched, which is a ridiculous thing to think. But there it is—the thought in my head.

Maybe he already knows.

Maybe Kermit got to him.

I click to open the email.



Dear Sabrina,

Could you please come in tomorrow morning? We can discuss the piece then. It’s quite good. But there are some things I need to talk to you about.



Sincerely,



Bob Galloway



I wait for the note to hurt. I wait for the fear.

It doesn’t come.

Whatever he has to tell me, I can handle it. I’ve made my choice. I chose love.

I save my note to him in my drafts folder. Some things are better said in person. I will tell him tomorrow.

Tonight is for me.

I slip into an emerald-green dress I finished a few days ago, pop in two pairs of angel-shaped stud earrings, clip one side of my hair in a silver ladybug barrette, and head to what I hope is the first of many dates with Flynn Parker.





27





Sabrina



The wrought iron gates loom before me.

Tall spires let me peek into a world I’ve never entered.

Not just this park but what it represents: wealth, privilege, money.

A walkway cuts across the land beyond the locked gate, and gloriously high trees, bursting with bottle-green leaves, wrap their arms over the grounds, shielding those rare few who have access.

I breathe it in. It’s an enclave. A private square for the privileged.

I’ve been on the outside looking in, even though I never longed for this much. I’ve never been a girl who wanted riches showered on her. I simply wanted better choices.

Or really, I wanted choices, period.

But in the end, I wouldn’t do anything differently.

I stand by all the decisions I’ve made, including the one that brought me here tonight.

Shoes click on the sidewalk. It could be anyone—a businessman, a father, a hipster. This is a city of millions.

But what if it’s him?

I turn, and he takes my breath away.

Flynn Parker is so handsome. He’s lean and tall, and his hair flops deliciously on his forehead, and his green eyes twinkle with excitement when he sees me.

But it’s his lips I zero in on.

Those soft, wonderful lips I want on me again.

He closes the distance, and I have to go first, so as soon as he reaches me I say, “I want a do-over. I want a new beginning. I want the chance to say yes to us. It’s only been two days, and I miss you like crazy, and I can’t stand not having an excuse to see you. I want us to explore park benches and abandoned subways, and visit the Met, and kiss in the Great Hall, and go to costume parties dressed like Marilyn Monroe and Joe DiMaggio.” I draw a quick breath, then say the hardest and the easiest words. “Because I love you, Flynn Parker.”

He laughs and wraps his arms around me, rubbing his hands on my back. “Well, it’s good to see you too.” He’s grinning from ear to ear, and his eyes dance with happiness.