Page 162 of Rivals

I run downstairs and check my watch. She should be home any minute. I grab the bouquet of flowers and wait at the entrance of the loft. My heart is thudding so hard, my chest hurts, and sweat pools around my collar. I’ve already asked her this question. She already told me yes. She saida thousand times yes. But I’m still nervous as hell. What if she changed her mind? What if she doesn’t want to do it now? I have to try, I promised her. Every day, I have to try.

Keys in the door make me stand up straighter. It swings open and she isn’t looking forward. She’s digging around in her bag and shouts for me. I stand still and quiet. Then her head lifts from her phone. A gasp pops from her mouth and her pretty eyes are wide on me.

“Hi,” I say sheepishly.

“Hi,” she says, breathless.

“These are for you, love,” I say, holding them out to her. She takes them and puts her face in the red roses.

“What is all of this?” she asks.

“Come on, I’ll show you,” I say. She drops her stuff and I grab her hand, tugging her back out the door and up the stairs.

I go first and open the door for her. She steps through, putting a hand on her chest. “Lach, what is this? What’s the occasion? Did we win that giant statue bid for that building down South?” she asks. I shake my head no. She frowns and looks around. I drop to my knee before her gaze returns to me.

Her hands fly to her mouth and her eyes glitter with un-shed tears. “Baby, love, little bird. You are the love of my life. I’ve already asked you this question by painting a ring, but now I have a real one. So, Revna Burke, will you do me the honor of becoming my wife, my teammate, my partner in crime, and my forever muse?”

She nods against her hands and drops to her knees. “It would be my honor to be your wife, Lachlan McKay,” she says. She slams her lips against mine and it’s just like the first time, and I think it might always be.

Chapter 97

Epilogue

One Year Later

Revna

I’mRevnaMcKaynow.The week after Lachlan proposed, again, I told him there was no one to wait for, no family to invite, and no big ceremony to have. I wanted my friends, Aubrey and Betty, to be there. Our friend Chris married us. Joshua was Lachlan’s best man. We stood in the church that has brought us so much peace and guidance because we both found friendships here. We found growth here, and now I have married my husband here.

It’s just a building, I know that. But it feels like it keeps memories for us, happy and sad ones. I would like to forget many of them, but I’m glad it can keep them. When I need to come back, it can remind me how far we’ve come.

We’ve been doing commissions ever since we lost the MoMA competition. It all has worked out; our dreams have come true. We have both been commissioned individually and together. We even have a workspace now that isn’t where we live. I love the smell of paint, but it is nice not to have it shoved up your nose constantly.

My favorite commission, though, the one we are currently on our way to deliver, is in France.Paris, France. A donor to the Louvre commissioned us for a piece. He said whatever we wanted, he would pay for it. We came up with the idea relatively quickly, using the concept of light and how it’s translated in various ways. It’s continued to stick with us as we create art. This one came to me after I had talked to Chris after an NA meeting. I went home and spoke to Lachlan, and then I saw it like a picture opened in my mind. I described what I saw to Lachlan. He suggested how you could interact with it, and then one of our best works was born.

It’s calledLet There Be Light. It’s about thirty feet long and ten feet high. It starts on one end, pitch black. There is texture all over the black, but not a single thing is visible. The goal was to walk with it. So, as you take each step down the thirty feet of painting, there is suddenly a spark of light. Its bright white and pale yellow expands into a world full of color. The turquoise ocean, the light blue sky, the green trees, and the rainbows of flowers. It might be one of the first pieces Lachlan and I can genuinely say we are entirely proud of. Those moments are hard to find.

A week later, Jacque said he talked to the board, who knew our story, and they wanted to put us in the Louvre. One of the most famous museums in the world is asking us to put our work in it. The freaking Mona Lisa lives there!

“You alright, love?” Lachlan asks, squeezing my thigh. I nod and look back out the window as the clouds wisp by, and the sun shines brightly.

“I’m more than alright,” I say, looking into his eyes. I tip my chin up as his soft lips caress mine before he leans his forehead against me, and I whisper, “I can finally see the sun.”

The end