Page 144 of Face Off With Fate

“Graciella Xochitl Barrera. You are the most stubborn, hardheaded woman I have ever met. You are the best thing that has ever happened to me…to Goldie.” His hands framed my face. “I am a better man with you by my side, Trouble.”

He pressed his lips to my hair. My temple.

The corner of my trembling mouth.

“My daughter may be my sun.” Another kiss, soft against my lips. “But you are my moon. And I don’t want to live my life without you both in it.”

A river streamed from my eyes, and I didn’t bother stopping it.

He pulled back just enough to reach into his pocket, and then he held out his phone. I blinked, trying to see through the blur.

It took me a second to register what I was looking at.

Josh, in this same suit, sitting in the interview room I’d been in that morning. His jaw set.

“Play it,” he said.

The clip picked up mid-sentence, his voice coming through the speaker, slightly tinny but unmistakable.

“Graciella Xochitl Barrera.” His voice was steady. “I don’t know if you’re watching. But if you are, I need you to hear this. You are the person I trust, the person who has had my back.” He looked at the lens like he could see me. “The person I love. I told you I’d chase you. I meant it.”

A murmur moved through the room on the recording.

My hand flew to my mouth.

The clip ended.

“Josh.” My voice came out completely wrecked. He’d told them all, told the world, told me, he loved me.

“I’m not finished. I want it to be abundantly clear that you’re mine, and that I want the world to know.” He took the phone back, scrolled, and turned the screen.

Photo after photo of me. Ones I’d sent and others I had no clue he’d taken.

I pressed my fingers hard against my lips.

The sob that came out of me was embarrassingly ugly, and I didn’t care.

He took the phone back, scrolled once more, then held it out.

“You said I should do something romantic like buy a star, so I got three.” His voice was rough around the edges. “Right next to each other. I tried to buy the moon. Apparently, that’s not an option.”

Star registration documents—Graciella. Goldie. Monroe.

It was the most ridiculous, perfect thing anyone had ever done.

“You don’t even actually own the stars, you know?” I whispered, pulling the phone against my chest.

His forehead dropped to mine, tears trickling down both our cheeks.

“I should have come to you,” I whispered. “I should have…I was so afraid that if I brought it to you, you’d have to choose, and I couldn’t—” My throat closed.

“Hey.” His hand slid to my jaw, tilting my face up. “Look at me. I would have chosen you.” He said it with a ferocity that sent a shiver through me. “Every single time, I’ll chose you Graciella. But you have to let me.”

“I know.” I nodded, hoping he’d hear how much I meant it. “I know, I’m sorry. I’m not good at trusting that someone will…” I stopped. “I’ve been leaving before people could leave me, before they could inflict damage…I didn’t think about the damage I’d do to someone who loved me.”

He was quiet for a moment.

“Let me show you how much you deserve to be loved.” He cupped my face. “Trust me with your heart, the way I trust you with mine.”