“I think you should at least talk to him. You said it yourself on the train ride this weekend that you miss him.”
I glare at her. “Whose side are you on?”
“We just want you to be happy,” Ashley says. “And you were so happy with Andrew. What’s holding you back?”
“He tried to re-create our love story. I get how that’s romantic, but it’s just not…” I trail off.
“Not what you wanted your love story to be?” Sarah finishes.
I nod. “I know it’s silly. And after all that, I can’t imagine Andy…I mean Andrew. I can’t imagine him wanting to be with a girl who turned down a romantic gesture like that. Talk about ungrateful. All this time I’ve known him, I thought he was slightly jaded about love because of some old girlfriend, and that ended up being me. I don’t want to mess up more than I already have,” I say, looking down at my smoothie.
“Why can’t you just say all that?” Sarah says, like it’s easy.
“Oh yeah, like when you didn’t want to tell me we were actually friends because Carmen said she’d tell me and everyone else you were crazy?”
“That’s different,” she says. “I didn’t want to confuse you during an already confusing time. And I didn’t tell you that so you could use it against me, you jerk.”
“We’re just surprised that you don’t have a plan, is all,” Ashley starts. “I mean, think about everything I did for you. The spying on you to find out where you were. The organization of the paper hearts, plotting when to deliver each one. Pretending to be you is hard.”
“Who said I don’t have a plan?” I say, pulling a paper heart out of my bag.
“What heart is that?” Ashley asks.
I shake my head. “It’s not one of the hearts you gave me. It’s a new one I wrote to Andrew. I just haven’t figured out what to do with it.”
Sarah and Ashley’s eyes widen. “Give it to him!” they yell in unison.
“I can’t just give it to him. I haven’t seen him in weeks….”
“So? He waited for you for a year,” Sarah says. “Don’t you get this is a love story meant to happen?”
“It’s true,” Ashley says. “Why do you think I broke up with Steve? You gave me hope for a better love story.”
I look at both my best friend and my sister pleading in front of me.
“Come on,” Ashley says. “You were the one who started this paper hearts thing for a reason—so people could tell one another how they really feel. This is your chance.”
“When should I do it?”
“Now!” they scream again in unison.
“But really,” Sarah says. “And I happen to know he’s working.”
I take a deep breath before nodding. They’re right—this is something I need to do, not just for us but for me.
If I’m being honest with myself, he’s the real reason I felt so lost this year. Now I know why—he borrowed my heart like a library book, but he never really gave it back.
* * *
My palms are sweating as I make my way up the steps of the library to where we first met.
Or at least where I remember meeting Andrew.
When I walk inside, he’s sitting at the front desk, reading a book. I sigh. His hair is a little messy like the last time I saw him.
He looks up and his mouth drops. I quickly walk over to him.
“Hey,” I say when I reach the desk.
“Hey,” he says back. All my nerves disappear as his dimple appears.
“I don’t mean to bother you at work,” I say. “But I have something I wrote. Something I need to read to you. Is that okay?”
He looks around. “Only if you use your library voice.”
I smile. “I can do that.”
I reach into my purse and remove the paper heart I’ve been carrying around with me for a couple of weeks. The creases in the paper are deep from how many times I’ve opened the letter and then refolded it. The words I’m about to read are practically memorized.
“ ‘All my life I dreamed about how I’d meet my person. Maybe at a concert or across the room. I’d read stories and hope that my love story would be like a fairy tale. It sounds cliché but it’s true,’ ” I say. I look up from my paper and see Andrew smiling. My hands are shaky as I clutch the letter, but his smile keeps me going.
“ ‘But it’s not the beginning of a story that matters. It’s how you end it. If my accident taught me anything, it’s that life isn’t picture-perfect. You don’t get to plan what life throws at you. You can’t plan love. But you can plan to do what makes you happy.’ ” I look up with a small tear threatening to escape my eye. There’s no need to read the letter now. The rest is straight from the heart.
“I believe in love letters and sweet memories that you can keep forever in the back of your mind. I believe in the power of first love and second chances. I believe in looking up at the stars and the twinkle in your eyes. I still believe that once in your life you meet someone that changes everything. I may not remember how I met you, but I remember how you made me feel—and that’s why I’m here. To tell you that I was wrong. We both were. You re-creating our love story was the most romantic thing anyone has ever done for me, but it’s not our love story anymore.”
I move closer to him. “I…I want to start a new love story with you.”
In one quick swoop he reaches across the desk and takes my face in his hands. “It would be my privilege to go on another love mystery adventure with you,” he says. My heart has never beat faster.
Then we kiss. We kiss as people start clapping at the tables nearby. We kiss as he holds my face tighter. We kiss as I feel him smile with my lips.
Once we finally let go, I hand him the paper heart I read him.
“I get to keep it? Why, thank you,” Andrew says, grinning.
“Yeah, but you have to read the clue at the bottom.”
“Clue?” He raises an eyebrow.
“Yeah, since I don’t remember our first real date and our second first date doesn’t count, I’m declaring today our first real date. Well, dates, really. There are eleven spots total—get ready for the best day ever.”
“Oh yeah? Well, where are we going first?” he asks, while reading the clue underneath my message. Andrew smiles. “Okay, but you better have gone easy on me….”