All Chapters of Mi Amor: Chapter 61 - Chapter 70

That evening I flew back to Boston, and dove back into the whirlwind of business school. I had a group project due and then exams, and by the time I returned to Miami all I wanted to do was relax with Javier, on the beach, in the clubs, and in bed.There wasn’t much time for relaxation, though. As soon as he picked me up at the airport he started talking about the new building, which he was calling Wynwood Columns. When we got back to his apartment, he and I went over them together. I didn’t know much about reading plans, so I focused on the renderings. The building was five stories tall, with long rows of balconies interrupted periodically by round support columns. The underside of each balcony was to be painted in artistic swirls of color, with a geometric pattern of black and white tiles on the top level.The building was set back from the street about ten feet for a row of parking spaces for the retail stores. Tall doors at the center of the ground floor led to an elevator lobby f

Late in June, he flew up for a long weekend. I was sharing a two-bedroom apartment a few blocks in from the beach with another intern, who had gone away for the weekend so that Javier and I could have some privacy.“I had no idea New Jersey was so pretty,” Javier said, as we walked along the beach on his first day. “I thought it was all industrial.”We didn’t hold hands, but it was still so nice to be with Javier, and I felt a rush of emotion at having him with me. This two-year separation was all going to be worthwhile, I thought. We had to work for our future. It was so romantic walking at sunset. I had to run a party that night, and Javier only stayed for the first hour, then went back to the apartment. By the time I got home, close to two in the morning, he had long since gone to sleep.We did manage to have sex twice, though it was tough to schedule between my work and Javier’s long phone calls and document reviews. I didn’t feel as much of a deep connection with him as I had in

Javier signaled a turn as we approached the Publix where we’d first met. “We need to make a quick stop here,” he said. He nosed the BMW up the long ramp to the parking garage, then led me down the escalator and into the floral department.I was still thinking about Wynwood Columns and what I could do that it took me a moment to realize that Javier was holding a bouquet of stargazer lilies, the flowers I’d been holding when we first met.“Adam Beller, ever since we met right here, I’ve known you are the only man for me. Would you do me the great honor of becoming my husband?”I was stunned for a moment, but I recovered quickly. “What? I get flowers instead of a ring?” I asked, smiling. I took the bouquet and kissed him. “Of course I’ll marry you, Javier.”He fished in his pocket. “I have a ring too,” he said, and he popped open the top of a ring box. My heart was already racing, and it skipped a couple of beats then.There were two rings in the box—both simple platinum bands with a sin

I marched into Harvard Yard in a sea of black gowns and crimson hoods, and then met my parents for the big picnic lunch. In the afternoon, we went to the diploma ceremony on Baker Lawn.“I’m very proud of you, Adam,” my father said, after the ceremony was over. “You’ve finally become the young man I knew you could be.”“Thanks, Dad.” I leaned over and kissed his cheek. “It’s all down to Javier, in the end. He’s the one who motivated me to go back to school.”“I’d like to think your mother and I had some part in it,” he said drily.“Of course. Without your excellent genes I’d never have come this far.” That was true; my father was still very handsome in his fifties, my mother a beauty as well, and both of them were smart. I’d been astonished when my father had told me he thought I was smarter than he was. That one comment meant more to me than all those years of pushing me through prep school and college, complaining about my lackluster grades and lack of motivation.I cleaned out my d

Then I called Jean-Jacques. “I’m baaack,” I said, when he answered.“For good this time?” he asked.“For good and forever,” I said. “But before Javier and I can get to the happily ever after part, we have to get his new building finished and launched. That’s where I need your help.”“Are we throwing parties again? Because I’ve missed the caviar and the champagne, and especially all the dancing. Sorting through dead people’s stuff isn’t nearly as much fun.”“A big party, of course, though we won’t be able to afford caviar and champagne. Plus a lot more than that. I know you’re a night owl. What time can we meet?”“Honey, my night owl days are over. I’m up bright and cheery every morning and at my computer by eight, managing my online inventory. These eBay folks are vultures, and you have to keep on top of every sale.”We arranged to meet at Javier’s office at ten, and then go over to Wynwood Columns. After I hung up I sat back, conscious of how excited I was. I was almost thirty years