Total pages in book: 34
Estimated words: 32760 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 164(@200wpm)___ 131(@250wpm)___ 109(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 32760 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 164(@200wpm)___ 131(@250wpm)___ 109(@300wpm)
I move closer, holding her tight like we’re dancing.
“Ever since that piece of me was shattered, Rain, you’ve been the only girl that has truly awoken anything inside of me. And that terrified me.” She looks back at me, tears pooling just beneath her eyes. “But now…” I stretch my hand out over the edge of the bridge–my hand holding Jennifer’s necklace. Rain’s eyes widen.
“Now I realize it’s time for me to move on. It’s time for me to allow myself to be truly happy.”
And with that, I let go.
Jenny’s necklace falls from my hand, over the edge of the bridge, and into the darkness.
The water is so far below and the roar of the rapids are so loud that I don’t even hear its splash when it hits.
“Marlon, you–but that was her–!” Rain says, sounding panicked.
“It’s okay,” I reply. “That necklace was a weight, Rain. A weight I have been carrying for the last five years since her death that’s been holding me down, not letting me progress in any way as a man. But you know what it took for me to understand that, Rain? You.”
I drop to one knee, reach into my pocket, and pull out the jewelry box. Rain’s eyes widen as I open it, revealing the ring within.
“I may have made some mistakes along the way. I may have not shown you from the beginning how much you meant to me. But you saved me, Rain. And if you will make me the happiest man on earth and be my wife, I will be there for you for the rest of my life.”
Rain’s eyes fill quickly with tears. What a day she’s had, and now this.
She takes a step back, covering her mouth with both hands, looking more beautiful to me than ever.
“What do you say, Rain? Will you marry me?”
EPILOGUE
MARLON
Five years later…
“Oh my God, that one is totally amazing!”
I have to chuckle because that has got to be about the twenty-fifth time Taylor has said the word “totally” to describe something tonight. But I’m completely okay with that, because I do agree with him. My wife’s spring collection launch is totally amazing.
Another model steps out onto the runway wearing a sea-green dress that comes off the left shoulder and sort of wraps around her body, hugging her every curve just right, and then has a bit of a drapey thingy that trails behind her. It looks to me like something a Greek goddess would wear, but that’s just me, and even after five years of being married to a fashion designer, I am still hopeless when it comes to knowing anything about this sort of thing.
“I’m going to steal that one from Randy!” Jasmine whispers as the model walks by.
“Not if I get it first!” Charlotte laughs, leaning past Brian. I glance at him, and we both sort of smile at each other. What else are two married men supposed to do in a situation like this? Neither of us knows much about the clothes, and we definitely can’t be checking out the models, so we’re really just along for the ride.
Another model passes wearing a red dress with a single strap that crosses her chest and then somehow seems to spread out into layers that become the rest of the dress until it opens up like a flower just above her knees, billowing as she walks.
This particular girl has a lot of spirit and tosses her hands in the air and smiles, which draws some applause from the crowd.
I still may not know a whole lot about fashion, but I do know from talking to Rain that Janelle would ruin a girl for behaving like that. But I guess that’s the difference in walking for someone nice like Rain and a tyrant like Janelle.
“Oh my God, it’s like a flower!” Taylor comments. “So gorgeous!”
“Right?” Jasmine replies. “I am dying right now. How come Rain isn’t just making stuff for me all the time?”
She turns to me. “Can you please tell your wife that I need some samples, please? You’re like ultra-mega-rich. You can afford to make them up for me, right?”
I chuckle. “Ultra-mega-rich? Is that an official tax bracket?”
“It is,” she says with a smile.
“Oh,” I reply. “Well, I’ll get right on it then.”
The last girl, wearing an angelic white dress with a long train behind it, finishes her walk and vanishes off stage. I instantly sit up in my seat, my hands ready, poised with anticipation.
This is Rain’s biggest show yet–the one that will really get her name out there. After she said yes to my proposal, I immediately started funding her designs. We hired Randy right out from under Janelle’s nose and picked up some more people they suggested and opened a small studio in Brooklyn.
Janelle did what she could to try and blackball Rain, just as Rain had said she would, but there was just one problem: Rain’s designs were just too good. She simply could not be stopped.