Chapter 14 - THE LOVE THAT DIDN'T FEEL LIKE FEAR
Our first date happened nearly a year after I left Graham.
Vincent asked me to dinner at a small restaurant near Rittenhouse Square.
No photographers.
No bodyguards at the table.
No expensive gifts.
Just dinner.
I wore a green dress I had bought myself.
He stood when I arrived.
“You look beautiful.”
I smiled.
“Thank you.”
We ordered pasta.
Talked about work.
Laughed about the terrible weather.
Then Vincent looked at me.
“Evelyn.”
“Yes?”
“Can I ask you something?”
I nodded.
“Are you comfortable being here with me?”
The question surprised me.
I considered it.
Then smiled.
“Yes.”
He nodded.
“Good.”
I laughed.
“That's all?”
“That's all.”
I looked down at my hands.
For years, I had believed love meant anticipating someone else's anger.
Watching their face.
Choosing the right words.
Avoiding mistakes.
But sitting across from Vincent, I felt something unfamiliar.
Calm.
I could disagree with him.
Laugh at him.
Tell him no.
And the world didn't collapse.
Later, when he walked me to my car, he stopped.
“May I kiss you?”
I smiled.
“Yes.”
He kissed me gently.
No cameras.
No audience.
No pressure.
Just a choice.
May you like
Mine.
And for the first time in years, love felt like freedom.
