Page 48 of Until We Weren't

Destiny shrugged. “Faith does seem different,” she said. “There’s a lightness to her that wasn’t there before.”

Gretchen smiled. “She’s letting all the hurt and pain go, but she’s also letting go of the responsibility.”

“I never thought of it like that,” Destiny said. “There was always something hovering around us, like she was waiting for something bad to happen. I didn’t realize it then, but I do now. Oh my God!” Realization swept through Destiny.

“What?”

“That’s why she didn’t feel like she was good enough,” Destiny said. “She didn’t feel good enough for her parents, so why wouldn’t it be the same thing with me. Oh my God, Mom! She tried to explain it to me that night and again on Friday. I didn’t get it then, but I do now. My poor baby.”

“That’s why she’s letting them go, Destiny,” Gretchen said. “She wants a life with you. She wants to love and be loved. She wants to trust and be trusted.”

“That’s what I wanted, too, Mom,” Destiny said. “How do I know this won’t happen again?”

“You don’t,” Gretchen said. “You have to trust her.”

Destiny groaned. “Oh, I want to so badly.”

Gretchen walked over and pulled Destiny into a hug.

“Faith is trusting herself,” Gretchen said. She stepped back and smiled at Destiny. “You should, too.”

“It seems that we’re dating,” Destiny said, shrugging. “It’s Faith’s idea.”

Gretchen smiled. “She’s giving you time.”

“I know, but I told her that maybe we didn’t know each other as well as we thought,” Destiny explained. “She said what better way to get to know each other than going on a date.”

“Is that what yesterday was?” Gretchen asked.

Destiny nodded. “We had the best day and we’re going to do it again.”

“When?”

“I don’t know, she’s going to surprise me,” Destiny said. The thought made a feeling of warmth spread through her body.

“A surprise, huh,” Gretchen said with a giggle. “That sounds fun.”

“She planned everything yesterday. Who knows what she’ll do next.”

“You can count on it being something you love, honey,” Gretchen said. “Because if there’s one thing I know, Faith Fields is still very much in love with you.”

I’m still very much in love with her, too, Destiny thought. What do I do now?

16

Faith pulled up to Destiny’s office and felt her heart skip a beat. She’d had a busy morning, but the clock seemed to stand still. To say she’d been looking forward to working on the bid this afternoon with Destiny was an understatement.

They were going to the nursery first to get prices on supplies, shrubs, trees, and flowers. After that they were headed back to the business complex for one more look. The bids were to be presented next week and they still had a lot of work to do.

“Hi Monica,” Faith said, walking up to her desk.

“Faith!” Monica got up and gave Faith a hug. “It’s so good to see you. Destiny said you were coming by this afternoon.”

“It’s nice to see you, too.” Faith smiled.

“Hey,” Destiny said, walking out of her office.

“Hi.” Faith tried to contain her smile, but couldn’t help it. She wanted to see Destiny again yesterday, but knew it was too fast. So she settled for a few text messages instead. Was that a sparkle she saw in Destiny’s eyes?