Page 63 of Mr. Green (Mr. #2)

Lana

H e tells me he loves me and then walks away. I don’t want him to walk away, I want him to stay and fight for me.

What. The. Fuck.

I go back into the café with my mind in a daze. I can’t believe he ran with me in the marathon, got me flowers, and showed up here just to leave. The hand holding the envelope he gave me aches with the need to open it and read what it says.

My friends and family are all here celebrating with me and I’m absent. Paige and Scarlett are waiting as soon as I come through the door.

“Come with us.” Scarlett takes my arm in hers and walks us towards the restroom.

The restroom has a tiny lounge before a doorway of stalls appear. It’s a tidy restroom with sinks that are bowls in grays and blues. Paige closes the door behind us.

“Are you okay?” Paige asks first.

“Yup.” I shrug. “Totally fine. The love of my life may or may not have just walked away from me for good. Other than that, totally fine.”

Paige rolls her eyes. “Honey, he loves you so much, if you went out there, jumped on him, and grabbed his hair, he’d say let’s go.”

“Yeah, he’s head over heels,” Scarlett agrees. “Listen, we don’t care about him, we care about you. What do you want to do? Do you want to go home? Do you want us to leave you in here? What do you need?”

I jump into their arms. “I need a hug,” I say sobbing.

They pat my back and hold me. Thank God I have friends like them. After two minutes, I pull away. “Okay, sorry about that. I’m okay. I want to read this. I need to read it right now.”

“Okay, we’ll be right out here,” Scarlett says, making her way to the door.

“No!” I pull her arm so she sways back. “I need you guys with me. Just stay with me.”

They freeze. With them not moving, I feel confident in looking away and opening the note. I’m not alone. I’m going to be okay.

Once the envelope is opened, a picture of a dog long ways on the front of the card greets me. I open it to Grant’s handwriting and a numbered list all the way down the length of the card.

Lana, these are just a few things I love about you:

Your dimple. How sexy you are, especially in your glasses.

Your laugh. The way you smell—like lavender.

Your love of colors. Your sarcasm. Seeing you light up the room.

Watching you cook. Holding you in my arms. You pulling my hair.

Running with you. Doing anything with you.

Telling strangers you’re crazy. Your face at a new restaurant.

Your hair—in a messy bun or down. Your curves—your body in general.

Whatever size. Your face when you’re passionate about something.

Seeing you with dogs . Seeing you in my house. Everything about you.

I messed up. I’m so sorry I left you. I wanted to be your one true love and was scared I’d lost you to the guy who didn’t deserve you.

If you come back to me, I’ll never leave you ever again.

I’ll promise you’ll get sick of me for being with you so much.

I’ll spend forever making it up to you. Please let me.

Love,

Grant

By the time I’ve read the card, we’re all sobbing. I hold onto the girls’ hands.

“He really does love me,” I say, shocked.

“He really, really loves you.” Scarlett laughs.

“Well, shit,” I say.

We all start laughing like maniacs. We probably belong in a ward right now. At least, I do. Going from sobbing to laughing in two seconds is crazy. Good thing Grant is a little crazy too.

“What are you going to do?” Scarlett asks.

I pull out my phone to dial his number.