I wondered if he wouldn’t mind telling her that we were together, sharing the truth of our relationship. But I didn’t ask because I didn’t want him to be pressured. I waited for him to tell me when he was ready. Everything was going so well, and it would be so stupid to trip at the finish line.
“She told me your dad is doing well, walking to the park with you guys.”
“Yes, it’s been really nice. He’s been very happy.”
“Good. I’m glad to hear that.” He drank from his coffee again. “You know, since I mentioned it at the TED Talk, I’ve been rethinking expanding the intern policy at my company. It’s really time-consuming, but I think it could be a good thing. I’ve gotten a lot of enjoyment out of teaching Lizzie, even though it takes up my time, and maybe it would be good to bring students to the company so they can be taught by the best minds in the world.”
“Yeah?” I asked with a smile. “I think that would be great.”
“I’ll talk to everyone at the company and see what their response is.”
“Maybe have it be voluntary. That way, they aren’t being forced when they aren’t interested. Nothing worse than having a mentor who doesn’t want to mentor you.”
He nodded. “Good point.”
“And maybe a pay increase as an incentive.”
“Yeah, that’s a good idea too.”
I liked that he valued my input. Most men would just dismiss me or talk over me because I was a woman, but he never interrupted me, never belittled me for my opinions. He never treated me like a dumbass when he was a genius. “I’ll put together everything, and we can distribute it to your colleagues. See how they feel about it.”
He nodded. “I wish there were more hours in a day…even just a couple.”
“I wouldn’t be surprised if you managed to figure out how to make that happen,” I said with a laugh.
He chuckled. “If only…” He looked out the window, setting his fork down. “But if I had more hours in the day, I would just want to spend them with you.”Derek stayed late because it was Wednesday, and I stuck around so I could work on the expansion of the internship program. Lizzie had soccer practice late on Wednesdays anyway, so I wasn’t missing much with her.
After we had dinner, he finished up a couple more things, and then we left together.
When we were in the car, I handed him all the paperwork I’d typed up.
He was silent as he read through it all, pulling out his pen to leave marks and notes as he went along, adopting that serious expression that made him irresistible. It was the look he wore when he was focused on something, that big, beautiful brain working hard.
I looked out the window and waited for him to finish.
When he was done, he handed it back to me. “I like it. Just make those changes, and we’ll send it out to everyone in an email. We have a meeting next week, so we’ll discuss it then.”
“Sounds good.” I put the papers back in my purse.
Ronnie pulled up to the building for Derek to get out. We would share a good kiss in goodbye, and then I wouldn’t see him until tomorrow morning. It was always hard to say goodbye, to watch him walk away when I wanted to be with him always.
But maybe someday…we wouldn’t have to say goodbye.
Derek sat there for a while before he picked up his satchel and stared at it.
I watched him, unsure why he didn’t get out of the car or look at me.
He seemed to be thinking about something, so I didn’t say anything. Then he opened his satchel and pulled out his books, three of them. “I signed your books.” He turned and set them on the center console between us. “Sorry it took so long. Just…took me a while to figure out what to write.”
I stared at the books but didn’t touch them, having the signature of my favorite author in the world…who was also the man I loved. I lifted my gaze and looked at him, my eyes soft and my lips relaxed in a gentle smile. “Thank you… It means a lot.”
He continued to sit there, like he was waiting for something.
I didn’t open them and see what he had written because I assumed it would make him uncomfortable to watch me read his personal message.
But he lingered.
After a few seconds of eye contact, he opened the door. “I’ll see you later…” He leaned over the console and gave me a kiss before he got out and walked to the front doors.
Ronnie pulled back into traffic, and we headed to my apartment.
I picked up the first book in the series, feeling the book in my hands once again. It used to be on my bookshelf in the apartment, displayed proudly, and that slot on the shelves had been empty ever since. I gave these books to Derek a long time ago, when we were barely friends, and it felt nice to have them back.