Page 3 of Meet Me at the Altar

“You’d better go inside. He’s waiting for you.”

“I can’t breathe, Drè.” She sobbed brokenly, and he pulled her into his arms and held her close.

Just as her heart was being shattered into a thousand pieces, so was his. She was his everything. He loved Kalliope and not just as his best friend the way that she thought. He had never told her how he felt because he knew he wasn’t ready to take care of her the way that she deserved.

Andrès reached around her neck while she held him and removed the chain that rested there. When he pulled back, he removed the onyx ring that he wore on his pinky finger.

“What are you doing?” she asked as he removed the heart on her chain and placed his ring on there instead.

“I’ll be back for you. I don’t know if it will be in a couple years or five. But I promise that in ten years, if that nigga over there or some other knucklehead ain’t gave you his last name, I’m coming back to marry you, Kalli.”

She giggled and wiped her tears. “I’m trying to be serious, Drè.”

He lifted her chin, kissed her forehead, and then stared into her eyes. “So am I. Dead ass. Promise me that.”

“What?”

“That in ten years, if you’re not married and neither am I, we will marry each other.”

“Do you realize what you’re saying, Drè?”

“I know exactly what I’m saying. I’m telling the girl, who I have silently loved all this time, that one day, I’ll make her mine. Promise me. Ten years, Kalli.”

“You love me?”

“Always have.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“It doesn’t matter now. I’m not ready to take care of you or your heart the way you deserve. I need to straighten some shit out, and I’ll be back. Promise me that you’ll be ready for me.”

She nodded with a wobbly smile. “Okay. Ten years. I’ll hold you to it, Drè.”

“Bet.” He leaned in, brushed his lips against hers, and then stepped back.

Her mouth dropped open, and she gasped. He saw her boyfriend take a step off the porch onto the top step, but he knew that nigga wouldn’t do shit.

“My heart.” She pointed at the heart in his palm that he removed from her locket.

“Is mine for safekeeping. You take my ring as a vow that I’ll be back, and I’ll keep your heart with me. It’s always been mine, Kalli. You just never knew it.”

He hopped in the car as Kalliope moved to the side, and he pulled away.

He watched her in his rearview mirror until he couldn’t see her anymore.

Kalliope stood at the end of his mother’s driveway, waving at him, and watching him take her heart, literally and metaphorically, with him.

Chapter 1

Kalliope Marie Robinson

NINE YEARS LATER

“You all have had some very interesting questions this week, and you’ve challenged the HR team to meet you at every level. I’m excited about what you all will bring to the organization. Thank you for your participation in orientation week. I know you all have a bright future ahead of you. Welcome to NI Briggs and Associates. That concludes orientation week. Have a wonderful weekend,” I stated, clapping my hands.

I beamed at the room full of new hires as claps, cheers, and whistles went up all around me. Three of my employees had left the room earlier at various times and hadn’t returned. With the constant hot fires in HR and the deadlines, that was not unusual. I could run orientation week on my own since I had designed it when I first arrived as an intern.

I stuck around for a few minutes and answered questions before the conference room cleared out completely. I walked down the long hallway that led to the human resources department and stopped when I noticed that it was cleared out.