Page 63 of Snow Globe Secrets

“No, Austin. This isn’t just about Martin. It’s about Martin and Stephanie. How are they ever going to accept this?” He held the ornament up with his other hand. “And it’s about you. You have your whole life ahead of you. Any man would be proud to be with you. Why on earth …” He was getting worked up in a way I hadn’t seen from him yet. He was passionate, I decided, and that revelation had the opposite effect than what he was trying to convey.

“Why on earth would you want to be with some old man like me?” It wasn’t his feelings for my dad that were hanging him up; it was concern for me and my future.

“Tell me the truth, Randall. Do you not want this? Us? Do you not want to give this a try?”

He didn’t respond.

“Close your eyes,” I whispered, and he did so without hesitation, his thumb running over the raised surface of the ornament. I gave his hand a tight squeeze and closed my eyes too, afraid to look at him.

“Had we met randomly, I don’t know, at the grocery store, fighting over the last case of IPA. If we’d flirted and gone back to your place and been snowed in for two days, getting to know each other, fucking like bunnies, watching romantic holiday movies and falling asleep to the sound of sexy superheroes …”

“Ridiculous holiday movies …” Randall muttered. Then he laughed, and it sounded louder than the crashing waves outside, like the laugh itself crashing through me and loosening the constriction of my heart.

“If those two people had met, and that younger guy had asked to see you again. A younger guy about to graduate, who knows what he wants to do with his life, and who’s planning to be a medical student at a university that’s not even an hour away from your secluded cabin. Tell me what you would have said to that guy, Randall.”

His delayed silence had my heart pounding again. The ocean waves crashed over and over in front of us. Eventually, I opened my eyes to find him staring at me. He unhooked our hands to cup my cheek.

An eternity passed before he said, “I would have said ‘yes.’” He leaned in and kissed me, then the sound of the waves was the only noise aside from the rustling of our jackets for minutes on end.

He pulled away and began. “But …”

“But?”

“But we’ve only known each other for a few days. How are we ever going to convince your parents?”

I nodded and sighed. “That’s … practical. I guess we should wait to tell them. In the meantime, Dad is practically pushing us together for New Year’s Eve. Or more to the point, pushing you and Turner together. How much did that suck to hear, by the way? My dad trying to set you up with Turner! But this should work to our advantage. Let’s just say Turner and Dalt have some unfinished business that goes back a few years. It would be perfect if we could go out with them. You were planning to stay until then, weren’t you?”

He smiled at me. “Not originally. No. Your Dad insisted I stay for Christmas, and I figured I’d make my excuse to leave the next day. I thought maybe I’d spend some time in the city, being dramatic and alone. You know, maybe giving those hookup apps a go again.”

I grabbed his hand in both of mine. “Randall. Would you please be my date for New Year’s Eve?” I asked, and before he could answer, I quickly added, “And delete those fucking apps from your phone.”

His smile was bright and beautiful, and his eyes only had a hint of worry in them as he replied, “Yes. To both.” I imagined I wouldn’t see the worry leave his eyes until we somehow found a way to be honest with my parents.

He leaned in and kissed me again, but when his hand tried to sneak underneath the hem of my jacket, I pulled us apart.

“I’m guessing you really do need to put in some time for work?”

Randall dropped his adorably flushed face down and stared at his hands, once again in his lap. I wrapped one of my hands over his.

“Why do you do that?”

“What am I doing?” he didn’t look up.

“Are you or are you not the vice president of New Day Technologies?”

Randall quirked a smile, which he only flashed at me through his eyelashes, keeping his head averted. I squeezed his hand.

“I’m a VP of one of New Day’s subsidiaries.”

“Yeah, that doesn't sound any less impressive to me. Let’s get you home so you can work, and I can wrap gifts. Please don’t ever feel guilty about working when I’m around. I get that your job is important. Besides, when I’m a doctor, I’m going to be on call and have emergencies. Hell, even before that, I’ve heard clinicals are brutal. Before long, I’ll be the one apologizing for working all the time.”

“Austin …”

“Don’t say it, Randall. Just pretend I’m speaking generally about my completely separate future. I’m just saying, my future husband is going to have to put up with some work-related things.”

He whispered the word “husband” with reverence, but I ignored my use of the word and his reaction to it. “It’s called compromise. And partnership. I know this from watching my parents. Supporting your interests and your work is part of being in a relationship. And if anyone tried to tell you otherwise … fuck that guy.”

“Austin.”