Tears sprang to Jenny’s eyes. She had said those exact words to him many times since the first night he came to live with her. Hearing him repeat them just when she needed it made her heart squeeze with love for her son.
“Oh,” Erik said. “That’s great. I mean… I’ve got plenty of room. Let me grab those for you.”
Jenny let him take her carry-on, but Gael wanted to carry his own.
The next thing she knew, they were heading toward the airport exit together. It was funny, buteven the way Erik slowed his long-legged stride to match theirs reminded her of what a gentleman he’d always been. It was an amazing coincidence that they’d bumped into him here, even if it still seemed like some kind of strange dream.
“Thank you so much for doing this,” she told him as they neared the doors. “We would have taken the train, but it will be so nice just to go straight to the inn after a long day. And I’m so happy to be able to catch up with you.”
That was mostly true. She was also nervous now that he was right in front of her and she could feel her old crush on him trying to slide back into its place in her heart.
Keep it together,she reminded herself.The most important thing now is Gael.
“Ready for the cold?” Erik asked them.
“It’s cold in Boston too,” Gael told him.
“Oh, that’s good,” Erik said. “You’re definitely ready then.”
Jenny wondered for a second why Erik didn’t know where they were coming in from, if his fiancée was supposed to be on the same flight. But then she figured it could always have just been a connecting flight for either of them.
Even though she was no stranger to the cold, the brisk wind still took Jenny’s breath away as they headed out into the night. After the almost hypnoticwarmth and the bright lights inside the airport, the chill of the outdoor air was refreshing.
Snow was piled high in the parking lot, forming mountains at intervals where the plows had piled it high.
“Wow,” Gael said.
“We had a big storm here,” Erik said. “They only got the roads cleared this morning. You guys got lucky with the timing of your flight.”
He led them to a black SUV and opened up the back to put their modest luggage in.
“I can hold those for you?” Jenny offered, gesturing to the flowers he still had.
“Oh sure,” he said, looking again like he’d forgotten all about them. “Thanks.”
He handed them over and Jenny got a funny feeling from it. He wasn’t giving her flowers in the way she might have wished at one time, but just taking them from him gave her a little shiver for some reason.
She watched as Erik stowed their bags and then opened up the back seat for Gael and made sure he had his seatbelt on before heading to the passenger door and opening it for her.
A true gentleman, like always, she couldn’t help thinking.
He offered her his hand, but she scrambled in without it, suddenly feeling self-conscious, like he might read her thoughts on her face if she touchedhim. But she still got a whiff of his spicy aftershave as he closed the door for her.
It triggered memories of the times he’d hugged her back in college—once when she thought she had bombed an exam, and another time when he was graduating and heading off to serve in the military.
Fool that she was, Jenny had treasured both memories, always remembering how safe she felt in Erik’s arms.
He got into the SUV while she was trying to shake herself out of it. When the engine came to life, the radio filled the space with the upbeat sound of Bing Crosby singing “Jingle Bells.”
She looked back at Gael, who was grinning at her. She winked at him and turned around again, feeling content that he wasn’t disappointed to miss a train ride.
Erik pulled out of his spot, tapping his phone at the gate to pay for the parking before exiting onto the highway.
“Are you really okay to take us all the way to Trinity Falls?” Jenny asked, suddenly thinking about his situation. “Is your fiancée coming on a later flight tonight? Will you just have to come right back out here?”
Her question was met with silence, and only Bing Crosby’s voice to fill it.
“She… missed her flight on purpose,” Erik said after a moment.
