Chapter 14 - THE QUESTION HE WAS AFRAID TO ASK
Lorenzo proposed on a rainy evening in November.
Not at a gala.
Not in a restaurant filled with strangers.
Not beneath a chandelier.
At the intersection of Wacker and Michigan.
Celia stopped when she realized where they were.
She looked at him.
“Lorenzo.”
He smiled nervously.
“Yes?”
“Why are we here?”
He looked toward the crosswalk.
“Because this is where I met you.”
Celia swallowed.
Rain fell softly.
Not the violent storm from that first night.
Just a steady drizzle.
Lorenzo reached into his coat.
Then stopped.
“I had a speech.”
Celia laughed.
“Of course you did.”
“I practiced it.”
“That's adorable.”
He looked offended.
“I'm not adorable.”
“You are right now.”
He smiled.
Then became serious.
“When I first saw you, you were standing beside a man who made you afraid.”
Celia's expression softened.
“I remember.”
“I wanted to help.”
“You did.”
“But I didn't understand how much courage it would take for you to let someone close again.”
Her eyes filled.
Lorenzo continued.
“You taught me that love isn't protection without permission. It isn't possession. It isn't control.”
He took her hand.
“It's choosing someone. And letting them choose you.”
Celia began crying.
He smiled.
“I don't know what the rest of our lives will look like.”
She laughed through tears.
“That's reassuring.”
“I know.”
He opened a small velvet box.
Inside was a simple diamond ring.
Beautiful.
Elegant.
Not extravagant.
Lorenzo looked into her eyes.
“Celia Vaughn, will you marry me?”
She stared.
For a moment, she remembered Travis.
The fear.
The messages.
The nights spent listening for footsteps.
Then she looked at Lorenzo.
The man who had pulled her out of traffic.
The man who had learned to listen.
The man who had chosen truth over power.
She smiled.
“Yes.”
Lorenzo closed his eyes.
Then laughed softly.
“Really?”
“Really.”
He slipped the ring onto her finger.
Then kissed her.
Rain fell around them.
Cars moved through the intersection.
The city continued.
May you like
And Celia realized something.
The place where she'd nearly lost her life had become the place where she chose her future.
