Three months later …
“YES, CELLA,” Liliana huffed into the phone, “I will meet up with you before I head to Chicago next week.”
“Promise?”
“You know I’m not even moving there yet.”
“Feels like it,” her sister said sadly.
Liliana slowed her rushed movements to finish getting dressed—she was already late to class, and didn’t want to miss the whole damn thing. Still, she also didn’t want to hear her sister sounding like Liliana had just kicked her fucking puppy.
“Chicago isn’t that far away, Cella.”
“Far enough.”
“Yeah, I guess, huh?”
“Lucky I like Joe,” Cella grumbled.
Liliana smiled. “He’s hard not to like.”
She had another couple of months left before summer break was there, and then she would be heading to Chicago to live full-time with Joe. Next year, she would start her second to last year of school before she could move onto counseling domestic violence victims within hospitals and shelters.
She wanted to do this more than anything. She knew her sister—and her littlest sister, too—was going to miss her, though.
That kind of made it hard.
“I’ll be over,” Liliana said. “Promise, Cella.”
“Okay. And you know, even though I’m sad that you’re moving, I’m also really happy that you’re happy, Liliana.”
“Yeah, I know. Love you, huh?”
“Love you, too.”
The knock on Liliana’s door made her say goodbye quickly to her sister. She knew what it was going to be before she even moved to open the door.
Every Friday—it never failed—Joe sent her flowers.
Roses.
Lilies.
Carnations.
A different flower for every Friday with a little note from him. Unless, of course, he was in the city to visit with her, then he was there, and she didn’t need flowers. She still liked his reminders that he was always thinking about her, though.
She didn’t even try to hide the smile when she pulled open the door to greet the delivery man, but she froze in place when she saw Joe on the other side.
Tiger lilies in hand.
Leather jacket and dark-wash jeans.
Down on one knee.
Joe smiled.
Liliana grinned.
“Thought you might like to get them delivered personally this week,” he said.
Liliana’s gaze caught the beautiful solitaire diamond sitting in a white-gold setting, resting on the top petal of the tallest flower.
Where it couldn’t be missed.
“This is nice,” she said.
A quake colored up her words.
Just a little.
“Liliana.”
Her gaze darted back to his.
Joe looked like everything to her.
Life.
Love.
Forever.
That’s what he looked like kneeling there.
“I’m not very good with words—not the type, Tesoro.”
“You don’t have to be, Joe.”
“But I hope you know that you’re my one, Liliana. You had me captivated from the first second, and you’ll have me stuck that way until the last one, too. I don’t want it any other way.”
And he was hers, too.
“Marry me, my girl.”
Did he expect any other answer?
“Yes.”