The Story Of Us - Teri Wilson Page 0,67

so much. Heathcliff from Wuthering Heights, or maybe Mr. Darcy from Pride and Prejudice—both world-class brooders.

Sawyer bowed his head against the wind as he made his way down the cobblestone streets of the business district. For once, he had no interest in studying the architectural details of the historic buildings, so he buried his hands in the pockets of his brandy-colored leather jacket and kept his focus on the ground.

But he paused when the fingertips of his right hand made contact with something small and square. It was the envelope he’d taken from the Valentine’s display at True Love Books. He’d forgotten all about it.

He turned it over to inspect the wax seal that held the envelope closed—shimmery gold with the shape of a heart pressed into its center. There was no reason for him to read it. Jamie had shared the entire stack of Mary and Harrison’s correspondence with him a few nights ago in the courtyard behind True Love. He wasn’t sure what had possessed him to pick it up in the first place.

But he felt compelled to read it all of a sudden, as if fate had placed in his pocket for just the right moment. A ridiculous notion, but Sawyer couldn’t resist slipping into a nearby coffee shop where he could sit and read it.

Like all the other storefronts in the business district, the coffee shop was all decked out for Valentine’s Day. Pink and red paper chains hung from the ceiling, and the tabletops were all decorated with fragrant bouquets. Sawyer ordered a plain cup of decaf and chose a seat along the bar facing the window. A vase filled with velvety red and white long-stemmed roses loomed beside him, yet another reminder that he’d botched things with Jamie on the eve of the most romantic day of the year.

You were just doing your job, he told himself.

Sometimes he really hated his inner voice, so he chose to ignore it and instead, unfolded Harrison’s letter and read the words as if he’d never seen them before.

My darling Mary,

Even though we are separated by countless miles and an ocean of worry, I still feel your presence deep in my heart where I have kept you since the moment we met. As long as you continue to believe in me, believe in us, I know we can overcome any obstacle, no matter how great. Because that is the nature of true love—it always finds a way.

Always.

Sawyer could have written the letter himself. He felt the same way about Jamie as Harrison had about Mary. He and Jamie had been separated by more than just miles—they’d been separated by time. More than a decade. Still, he’d always held her in his heart—so deeply that he hadn’t been able to have a real relationship with anyone else. He understood that now. He hadn’t been able to fall in love because he was already in love. With Jamie.

But if their love was true, wouldn’t it somehow find a way?

Could it still?

Sawyer’s jaw clenched. He closed his eyes for moment and wondered if he’d been a fool to believe that he and Jamie could somehow overcome the obstacle of the Ridley project.

He wanted to believe love would find a way. He just didn’t know how. But then…

He opened his eyes and lifted his gaze skyward, and he saw the tree—the beautiful old oak that Harrison and Mary had so painstakingly crafted their bookstore around—and it seemed like a sign.

If Harrison and Mary could build around the tree, couldn’t he do the same? Couldn’t he build something new while preserving history at the same time?

He sat for a moment, thinking about all the hours he’d put into the architectural plans for Ridley—starting over completely after his first proposal was rejected. He and Dana had spent months debating every single detail. The town council had already seen the drawings, the PowerPoint presentation and the scale model he’d spent weeks putting together. Scrapping everything now and starting over from scratch would be crazy, if not impossible. The council meeting was scheduled for tomorrow!

It just couldn’t be done.

But Harrison’s letter came back to him, again and again.

As long as you continue to believe in me, believe in us, I know we can overcome any obstacle, no matter how great.

Sawyer believed in Jamie, and he believed in their future. So he grabbed a paper napkin and a pen from his messenger bag and started sketching.

He drew for hours, barely noticing when the crowd around him grew