They Were the Stars, I Was Just in Their Orbit Chapter 09
When I stepped outside, Ryan was standing by the road.
For some reason, the moment I saw him, my eyes started to sting.
I threw myself into his arms.
“Sorry to keep you waiting, Ryan.”
He did not ask anything. He only smiled, wrapped his arms around me, and spun me in a circle.
The hem of my dress fluttered in the wind like a flower.
All those heavy feelings scattered in an instant.
I could not help laughing into his chest.
Life with Ryan always felt so light and easy. It was wonderful.
On our way home, hand in hand, we passed a design-and-home-goods store that was about to close.
My eyes lit up, and I pointed at a slab of stone.
“That’s the one!”
Then I decided on it right then and there and placed the order.
With one major thing finally off my mind, we got ready to head back to North Carolina.
Before boarding the plane, I hugged my parents and promised them solemnly, “I’m going to make the shop a success. When it’s ready, I’ll bring you both over.”
The two of them only smiled cheerfully.
“You’ve been like this since you were little. Once you say you’re going to do something, you have to see it through. But don’t push yourself too hard. No matter what, you’re still our daughter.”
When we returned to Asheville, Ryan’s family was running a bed-and-breakfast, and my new storefront was not far from it.
As we put the finishing touches on the shop, I looked at the table that had traveled all this way happily wiped it down again and again.
and Ryan curled his hand into a pretend microphone and teased me.
“Let’s interview this young lady. Your dessert shop, April Sweets, opens tomorrow morning at nine. How are you feeling at this very moment?”
I immediately played along, pretending to straighten my collar before speaking with a serious expression.
“I’m honored, I’m thrilled, and I will absolutely make the best desserts in the world.”
“Then I’ll be the husband of Ms. Reed, the woman who can make the best desserts in the world.
We left the shop while laughing and play-fighting.
Outside, the sky had gone completely dark, and warm lights glowed everywhere.
Suddenly, a gust of wind swept through the side street. Ryan took my hand and ran a few steps into the wind with me.
Spring in Asheville was full of flowers, and petals in every shade-white, pink, and everything in between-rushed toward us on the wind.
A petal landed on my shoulder, and I thought, this spring night belonged to me.