Page 117 of Twisted Violet

“Maybe?”

She shrugs. “He sent me swatches. Wanted to get it right. Said it should feel like you.”

I stare at the space around me.

The muted pink swatches.

The soft lighting.

The quiet potential.

It does.

It feels like me, or at least, the ‘me’ I’m finally becoming.

My fingers grip around the edge of the countertop, steadying myself. “I haven’t spoken to him in months. Why would he do this?”

Stevie doesn’t answer right away.

She crosses the room to stand beside me and wraps her arm over my shoulders.

“Because love doesn’t stop just because it hurts.”

I blink hard. Swallow harder.

“You’ve already forgiven Dallas and Niko. Why haven’t you forgiven him?”

I don’t know.Maybe because his betrayal stung the most.

I shake my head. “He can’t just buy me a building and think that’ll win me back.”

Stevie smirks. “If you think that’s the only thing he’s done for you, you haven’t been paying attention.”

I knew it.The changes in my building. The uncleared rent checks. The donuts. It’s all been Rome working in the background.

“He didn’t do this to win you back, Al. He did it because he wants to take care of you, even if he has to do it from a distance.”

He’s still here, in all the ways I thought he wasn’t.

I look down at the keys in my hand.

Feel the weight of them settle in my palm.

They’re not heavy, they’re solid andreal.

Maybe this life I’ve been dreaming of isn’t just a dream anymore.

Maybe it’s a beginning.

And maybe… he’s still a part of it.

Maybe they all are.

FORTY-FOUR

DALLAS

I’m notsure what wakes me first.