Page 126 of Once Upon a Fall

There he is. In jeans and a tan V-neck sweater. Standing in the entryway of my inn.

My brain, which was counting on seven hours in a car to work out what to say, gets about four seconds.

“What are you doing here?” I finally ask, suddenly aware that I’m in my pink overalls with my hair in a messy bun. I reach up to fix it, then give up. He’s seen me looking much worse than this.

“Did the farm sell?” I ask, trying not to stare at him. His dark hair, those familiar eyes. My goodness, I’ve missed him.

“Sort of,” he says, and my stomach sinks.

I don’t know why. It’s just so final.

“So, I was hoping you had a room available? For a couple of days while I iron out some details?” he asks.

“Yes.” I give him a smile. “There are a few bookings for the weekend, but no one is here right now. I blocked out the calendar for the next couple of days because I was going to Manhattan tomorrow to see you. I had a whole plan. Emma was going to watch the inn. Dominic was going to help too. They even booked me a hotel because apparently driving there and back in one day was a terrible idea, which I still think was debatable, but—”

I slap my hands over my mouth.

I’ve said too much.

“You were driving to Manhattan to see me tomorrow?”

“No,” I shake my head. “I think you heard me wrong.”

He takes a step toward me. “Why were you coming to see me tomorrow?”

I close my eyes and try to rewind the words I just said. But I haven’t learned how to time-travel yet. Which is such a bummer.

“Rosie,” he says.

I exhale slowly before opening my eyes. “Would you believe me if I told you I was going to see the Statue of Liberty?”

He shakes his head, taking another step.

I don’t want to tell him right now. I was going to practice what to say in the car on the way there. If I say all of it now, I might forget something or say it wrong.

But he’s here, standing in my entryway. It doesn’t matter how I say it. I just need to tell him.

Time to be brave.

“I was coming to tell you I’m in love with you,” I say, ripping off the Band-Aid.

Another step.

“I know we lead different lives,” I go on, trying to remember everything I wanted to say when I got to his hotel. “I own an inn in a small town, and you travel for work and live in hotels. I’ve done the math over and over, trying to find a way this could work, and I know it might not be easy.”

His arms wrap around my waist.

“And I’m not asking you to do anything crazy or even to say it back. But I wanted you to know, and I didn’t want to text you or say it over the phone. I wanted to tell you in person. So that’s what I’m doing right now.”

“Rosie,” he says, pulling me toward him.

“Yes?” I ask, having to look up at him. We’re so close. I hadn’t fully realized I was in his arms until this moment.

He’s looking at me, his eyes crinkling at the corners, his mouth pulled slightly upward.

“I love you, too,” he says.

Then his lips are on mine, kissing me like he’s been wanting to do it for a while. The kiss starts soft, then turns hungry.