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Rachel and I nodded. When “Sin So Sweet” by Warren Zeiders started playing, we sighed and stretched out, floating on our backs in the water while hanging onto Macie’s float, spinning her around. We were so happy for her.
CH 33 - #hallelujah
Riley
“WHAT DO YOU think about Noah?” I asked Rhys.
It was Saturday night, and we were lying in his bed after going to the fireworks show in town with his family, mine, Macie, and Noah.
“He’s a cool guy. He’s crazy about Macie, too, like she is him.”
“But do you like him? As a man?”
“Yeah, I do. I can tell he’s stable and responsible, unlike Steven.”
“I believe this is karma making things right for Macie. She’s getting what she never did with Steven, multiplied by ten.”
“I believe you’re right.”
I looked over Rhys’s smiling face. “This whole day was so much fun. It felt like old times again.”
“I know.”
“But are you happy?”
Rhys frowned. “Of course I am. Why would you ask that?”
“Just making sure.”
“Are you happy?”
“I’m so very happy. I just hate that I ended us last year because so much time was wasted—time that we could’ve and should’ve been together.”
“Riley, stop. Don’t regret our journey and the lessons that we both learned. The main one being that we can’t live without each other.”
“Do you really not regret what happened?”
“No. You and I had to be apart to realize what we had.”
“You mean for me to realize what we had.”
“I was trying to be gentle. I always knew what we had, but you had to spread those big, beautiful wings of yours, fly away for a little while, taste the world beyond Cypress Hills, and then come back home after realizing it was all you ever needed—and me.”
I sighed. “I don’t know how it is that you’re so understanding of all of this after how badly I hurt you.”
“Like I’ve told you before, I understand you, Riley, better than anyone else, just like you do me. I don’t fault you for following your dreams. I wouldn’t want you to fault me for wanting to stay here for the rest of my life, although I would’ve gone anywhere with you if you’d asked me.”
“And that’s my biggest regret because if I’d asked, the past year of us being apart wouldn’t have happened.”
“But we both grew, didn’t we?”
“I know I did.”
“I grew too, mia bella. So, from this point on, let’s not have any regrets about the past year. Okay?”
“I’ll try.”
“You’re wearing your Sunday best again,” I said, looking Rhys over.
