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I hadn’t considered that. “It’s a possibility.”
“You need a reason for her to come back.”
“I think we need to make her presence at the grand opening seem mandatory. Like we need her there for some reason. Should we ask her to give opening remarks? Or something else?”
“I think you’re on the right track. But I think you should give the speech and use that opportunity to talk to her.”
Marley nodded. “You can say it’s to thank her. We’ll emphasize that this was her project, and it wouldn’t have been possible without her.”
I nodded. “She’s the reason why we’re renovating the entire basement.”
Marley leaned forward. “I can ask her to stay and help with the basement restoration, but the rest of it is up to you.”
“Should we play a special movie? One that speaks to your relationship?” Heath asked.
“She’d probably suggest a holiday movie.” We fell silent for a few seconds, thinking about what the best step would be. Finally, I said, “We could have her plan the party even if it’s from afar. It was her idea to do Hollywood glam.”
Marley smiled. “You play dirty. I like it.”
“I know what I want, and I need to use everything in my arsenal to get it.”
Heath gave me a pointed look. “If you hadn’t fucked this up to begin with—”
I leaned back on the chair. “You screwed up with Marley too. Don’t act like you’re perfect.”
Marley stood with a huff, clearly annoyed with us. “Are you ready for lunch? We have a few more days to plan this out.”
I hated that I couldn’t fix this now. I wanted Fiona in my bed tonight, but that wasn’t going to be possible. I had to plan the right move, or it would blow up in my face. I’d hurt her before. She wouldn’t forgive me easily.
* * *
I didn’t want to let things go until the night of the party, so I texted Fiona Christmas evening telling her how sorry I was and that I wanted to talk. She’d said it wasn’t a good idea. That she was called back to work and needed to fly to California the next day to deal with a fire in one of the hotels.
I hated that she wasn’t here, that she’d already made the decision to go back to work. I felt her slipping through my fingers. Every time I mentioned my concerns to Marley, she told me we were playing the long game.
It was her theory that Fiona would go back to work, hate it, and be ready for a change when she flew back for the party. Marley had taken care of ensuring Fiona would be in town for that.
If Fiona knew what I had planned, she’d stay in California, and that was the last thing I wanted. I needed to see her face-to-face when I talked to her.
I thought about what I needed to do and say to show her that I wanted to be with her forever, and there was only one solution I could come up with. I hoped it was the right one.
The formal invitations were sent. Marley took care of creating the beautiful invitations and getting them hand delivered to our guests. It was one of the times where I didn’t protest her using her own money to get things done.
We hired servers to offer champagne and appetizers in the lobby of the basement. It was Marley’s idea to create images of each room of the basement that we planned to renovate, and to display them on tripods.
It would serve as a teaser for what was to come. She hoped it would get the public excited about the renovations. I hoped it would entice Fiona to stay and finish what we’d started.
Any time I thought about moving forward without her, there was this crushing weight on my chest. I had difficulty drawing a deep breath. My life played out in my mind as one long, desolate nothingness.
It was hard to watch Marley and Heath together, knowing I might never have that. How many people do you have a connection with? For me, it had only been Fiona, and I wasn’t prepared to search for anyone else. I just wanted her.
The day of the party, I paced the theater, making sure that everything worked. I tested the lights, the popcorn maker, and the projector.
Charlotte found me in the bowling alley. “What are you doing?”
“I want to make sure this works right in case someone wants to bowl.”
“Marley said this room wasn’t ready yet. We’re only allowing guests into the theater.” There was a part that the mechanic was trying to find for the lane on the end, but the others worked.
