Total pages in book: 56
Estimated words: 54091 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 270(@200wpm)___ 216(@250wpm)___ 180(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 54091 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 270(@200wpm)___ 216(@250wpm)___ 180(@300wpm)
“Just open it. This is something I picked out for you myself, and it’s okay if you don’t like it, it’s exchangeable.”
My heart hammers nervously as she opens it. I bought it on my recent road trip to New York, and I showed Suki a picture before I finalized the purchase. She said she thought Mara would love it.
“Oh my God.” Mara has the blue Tiffany box unwrapped. “You shouldn’t have done this.”
“Open it.” It’s all I can do not to grab it and open it myself.
She flips open the box and inhales sharply. “Oh, Leo. Oh wow.” Tears shine in her eyes when she looks up at me. “It’s so beautiful. You picked this out?”
I nod. It’s a rose gold necklace with a circular pendant, the pendant covered with little diamonds. Mara doesn’t wear earrings, and Suki said she doesn’t like bracelets, so I went with a necklace.
“I’ve never even seen anything so gorgeous,” she says. “Is this really happening?”
“I’ll help you put it on in a second, but first—” I pass her the larger box.
She shakes her head. “Leo, seriously. I know you have a lot of money, but I don’t want you to spend so much on me. This is just us, it’s not about money.”
“I got you these gifts because I wanted to. I’m so damned happy with you, Mara, and that’s a big deal for me. You’re a big deal. And I could barely stand knowing this was in my suitcase, because I wanted to give it to you early so much. Now open it.”
She gives me a quick kiss. “I’m happy, too. You’re amazing.”
This gift is a sure thing, because Suki chose it. When I asked her what I could get Mara that would knock her socks off, she sent me a link to this.
“No!” Mara cries when she sees the logo on the cardboard box. “No, you didn’t!”
She flips off the lid and pushes the tissue aside.
“My dream black Louboutin booties,” she says softly. “This is ... I’m ...” She takes out one of the booties and sniffs it. “This is what heaven smells like.”
“Suki said you’ve been wanting those.”
She shakes her head. “I never actually thought I’d own a pair of Louboutins. I can’t even afford the used ones.”
Setting the box on the bed, she hugs me. “I’m overwhelmed. Thank you so much.”
“We’re just getting started, babe. There are many more good times ahead for us.”
“We couldn’t have asked for anything more in a daughter,” Mara’s dad says to me later that morning. “She’s the best thing I’ve ever done.”
Nick Torres isn’t what I expected. He’s paralyzed from the waist down, but I forgot about that within the first ten minutes of talking to him. He’s wearing a Wounded Warrior Project baseball hat, a flannel and jeans. His eyes are warm and he’s easy to talk to.
“You and your wife have done an incredible job,” I say.
After we finished eating and exchanging gifts, Nick asked to talk to me privately. He wheeled his chair into a sunroom off the kitchen, closing the double glass doors so we could talk alone.
“Why do you love my daughter?” he asks me.
“She challenges me and supports me. I don’t know how she manages to do both those things at once, but she does. She makes me laugh, and she stands up for people who can’t stand up for themselves. She’s strong, but she lets herself be vulnerable enough to need me. Just like I need her.”
He nods, an emotion I can’t place in his eyes.
“Life doesn’t always go like you think it’s going to.” He gestures at his legs. “I never saw this coming. But my wife—she never doubted me. She thinks I’m strong, so I am.”
I feel like he has more to say, so I wait quietly.
“If someone had told me twenty years ago that I’d be stuck in a wheelchair for the rest of my life at age thirty-seven, and that I’d be happy with my life, I wouldn’t have believed it. I would’ve thought my life was over. But my wife and daughter—they’re my reasons.”
“I know I don’t have your years of wisdom and experience, but Mara is becoming my reason. I love her. I’m devoted to her.”
He smiles softly. “She deserves that. And as long as you’re good to her, you’re family to us.”
“Thank you, sir. That means a lot.”
“Thank you for the money. I thought I’d be too proud to accept it, but when I saw the weight it took from my wife’s shoulders, I knew I had to swallow my pride.”
“I don’t expect that to buy me goodwill. It was a gift, with no expectations.”
Mara is standing in front of the glass doors, cringing. I smile at her and Nick turns, smiling and waving for her to come in.
“Did you scare him off, Dad?” she cracks.