Spring hit New York like a sudden kiss — fast, messy, and full of strange hope.
Julian hadn't seen Eliza in two weeks.
They'd spoken briefly after the sign stunt. She'd smiled, barely. Said she needed time. He respected that. Sort of. Every part of him wanted to text her a hundred times a day, but he didn't. Instead, he showed up to her world — quietly, without fanfare.
He kept volunteering, even when she wasn't there. Helped a kid build his first garden bed. Got sunburnt. Learned to tell a daisy from a weed. For the first time in his life, he felt grounded in something that didn't come with a contract.
He didn't do it for Eliza anymore.
He did it because she'd reminded him who he could be.
Then came the rain.
He was sitting on that same park bench — the one where she'd first tripped over him — eating the world's soggiest pretzel and watching pigeons argue over a french fry.
He hadn't planned on being poetic. He was just tired. And weirdly, a little happy.
"Still eating terrible pretzels, huh?"
He turned.
There she was.
Umbrella under one arm. Coffee in hand. Same storm-gray eyes, but softer now.
"Eliza," he said, standing up like he'd just remembered how.
She held out a pretzel, wrapped in wax paper. "Figured if this is how it started, maybe we should do it right this time."
He took it, stunned. "Is this… peace offering number one?"
"Maybe," she said. "Depends on if you still trip over hoses."
He laughed, breathless. "I probably will."
They stood there in the rain, just looking at each other.
"I hated you, you know," she said. "For a minute."
"I hated me too," he said quietly.
"But then I saw what you were doing. Not to impress me — just to show up. That mattered."
Julian blinked fast. "I meant everything I said. I didn't know how to tell you the truth and keep what we had."
"You don't need to fix everything, Julian. You just need to be real."
He smiled. "That, I can do."
She hesitated — just a moment — then stepped forward. Took his hand.
"I don't need a billionaire," she said. "I need you. The one who ruined my garden and got banned from baked goods."
He squeezed her fingers. "That's the only me I want to be."
They sat down together, side by side, eating warm pretzels in the drizzle. No headlines. No pretense.
Just two very human people, in love, a little broken, and finally brave enough to try again.
The End.