Putting the phone back in his pocket, he looked up and his gaze fell on his truck. He’d topped it off when they got back in town, so the gas tank was full. If he threw some stuff in a bag and hit the road, he’d probably be back in Whitford around the time the Christmas Eve festivities were winding down. And he believed in his heart she’d be happy to see him.
But maybe he was wrong. Maybe he’d misread the situation and she really had just wanted a holiday fling and there was a possibility he’d be driving home in the middle of the night with a freshly broken heart for Christmas. He didn’t know. But what he did know was that he couldn’t spend the rest of his life regretting having left her and wonderingwhat-if. Forget the rest of his life—he couldn’t do it for even one more night.
He couldn’t just disappear with nobody knowing where he went, so he pulled out his phone and sent a text message to Maddie.
If anybody asks where I am, I’m taking that leap.
Nola pluggedher phone in to charge and sank down on her couch with a sigh of relief. She loved her family, but the round of Christmas Eve calls she’d made after returning from dinner at the lodge had drained more than just her phone battery.
Rosie had invited her to stay with the family. The woman had known her for her entire life, so there was no hiding her sadness, though she wasn’t sure Rosie knew just how broken her heart felt right now. And as much as Nola usually enjoyed spending time with the Kowalski family, she wanted to be alone. She certainly didn’t want to wake up tomorrow and celebrate Christmas with a family that wasn’t hers. Not this year.
After making herself a cup of decaf, she flipped through the television channels hoping to find something that might distract her. But there was nothing and when she caught herself going through the lineup for a second time, she turned it off again.
Then she picked up her phone, tugging at the length of charger cord so she could use it comfortably. Usually her battery was still going strong when she went to bed, and the phone calls weren’t the only reason it hadn’t lasted today.
She couldn’t even count the number of times she’d brought the screen to life to see if she’d missed a text message from Ian. Or maybe even a missed call. Any notification that he’d tried to reach out to her while her attention had been on the loud family celebration happening around her.
Nothing.
She opened the photo album, even though she knew going through the pictures wouldn’t cheer her up. But she couldn’t help it. She’d taken a lot of pictures the day she rode with them, and almost all of them had Ian in them. In some he was laughing with his kids and in others, he was looking at the winter scenery. But in most, he was watching her and the filter of the camera lens did nothing to lessen the impact those eyes had on her.
It was the last photo that made her breath catch before releasing in a ragged sigh, and the tears she’d been holding back all day finally spilled over onto her cheeks.
Maddie had taken it after they’d arrived back at the lodge, and then taught Nola how to use the AirDrop function on her phone so she could send it to her. The sun had been warm and they’d stripped off their gear in the yard while they stood around talking. Nola couldn’t remember what Jacob had said, but it had made everybody laugh, and Maddie’s camera had caught Nola turned toward Ian. They were close and looking into each other’s eyes when he brushed her hair back from her face.
It was a photo of a happycouple, and seeing her face lit up with joy and love that was reflected back at her in Ian’s expression broke her heart.
She supposed someday she’d look back on the last week with a sweet sense of nostalgia. Maybe, after a while, remembering the short winter fling would even make her smile. But right now it hurt, far more than she’d imagined it would.
Regardless of what the clock said, it was time to go to bed. She was going to curl up in a miserable ball under the covers and let herself have an ugly cry. Maybe if she was lucky, she’d just sleep straight through until the office opened again. Hopefully, once she had work to distract her again, she could start the process of getting over Ian Emerson.
After setting down her phone, she got up to wash out her coffee mug. Then the sound of a vehicle pulling up her driveway drew her to the window, and her breath caught in her throat as a big pickup the color and shape of Ian’s neared the house. It wasn’t until the motion-detecting spotlight kicked on, illuminating the Connecticut license plate, that hope became certainty and she hurried to the door. By the time she got it open, Ian was out of the truck.
After closing his door, he looked up and when he saw her in the doorway, his face lit up with emotions that mirrored what she was feeling.
He’d come back.
She ran to him, barely registering that it was cold and she wasn’t wearing a coat, and only slippers on her feet. When she reached him, he lifted her and she wrapped herself around him as his mouth claimed hers.
Ian kissed her as though he’d been waiting years for this moment and not less than two days, and she soaked in the feel of him, never wanting this to end. He was here with her and there was nothing casual or remotely holiday-fling-like about the way he kissed her.
“You came back,” she finally murmured against his lips.
“I never should have left.” He set her gently on her feet. “Let’s get inside. You must be freezing.”
He took her hand as they walked into her house, and once she’d kicked the door closed, she didn’t want to let him go. Inviting him to sit down or offering him a drink would mean letting go of his hand and she didn’t want to stop touching him for even a few minutes.
And she didn’t have to. He turned and wrapped his free arm around her shoulders, pulling her close. Just like when he was saying goodbye to her, he pressed a kiss to the side of her neck.
“I didn’t want to say goodbye to you. I hated saying it.” He stopped talking for a second. Cleared his throat. “And I wasn’t even to the main road before I knew it was a mistake, but I kept going and that was an even bigger mistake.”
“You had to get Jacob and Maddie to their mom by Christmas,” she reminded him. No matter how much he may have wanted to, there was no way he could have actually juststayedand not gone back to Connecticut.
“Yeah, I did. But I could have turned around and taken back my goodbye. I could have told you it wasn’t goodbye. That I’d come back.”
Nola was trembling now. A deep, quiet shaking she knew was hope trying to take root in her heart, and she stepped back so she could see him. “What stopped you?”
“We were surrounded by people. And it didn’t make any sense,” he said, his brow furrowed. “We’ve known each other a week. You live here. I live in Connecticut.”
