Page 71 of The Broken Hearts Club

“I want to tidy up, put fresh linens on her bed so it doesn’t smell like Brad, and cook dinner.”

I caught his hand and said, “That won’t take very long with both of us working together. You can let yourself rest for fifteen minutes.”

He thought about that for a few moments before kicking off his sneakers and climbing onto the bed. I took my shoes off too, and stretched out beside him. “Don’t let me fall asleep,” he said. “I really want to make everything nice for Jeannie.”

“Okay.”

We both rolled onto our sides, so we were facing each other. It was perfectly quiet. The cat jumped onto the bed and curled up at our feet. Collie and I studied each other, and I reached out and brushed his hair back.

After a while, he said, “About that kiss under the fake mistletoe…”

“I’m glad it happened.”

“Me, too.” He chewed his lower lip before asking, “Do you think it might happen again at some point?”

I grinned and moved close enough to feel the warmth of his body. He lightly caressed my cheek, and I sank my fingers into his hair as I brushed my lips to his.

His breath hitched as the kiss deepened. Did he feel it, too? It was like the whole world broke apart and realigned, rebuilt into something brand new.

There was no going back, no way to claim we were just friends after this. I totally gave myself away in that kiss, showing him exactly what he meant to me, how much I wanted him, how much I needed him.

He broke the kiss first, leaning back just a little to search my face before burrowing into my arms. I wrapped myself around him and closed my eyes, savoring the moment.

After a while, he murmured, “People have long-distance relationships all the time. We could do that, too.” It seemed like he’d been having an internal conversation and finally looped me in on it.

He was right, we could, except that I didn’t want him to live someplace that made him unhappy. For now I left it at, “We’ll figure this out, Collie.”

We stayed there, wrapped up in each other for almost half an hour before finally climbing off the bed. “Tell me how I can help,” I said.

“You don’t have to do anything.”

I reached up and gently tucked a lock of hair behind his ear. “I want to, and this’ll go a lot faster if we work together, so lead the way.”

“Okay. Thanks, Miller.”

After we put fresh linens on the bed in Jeannie’s room, I carried the laundry downstairs and loaded the washing machine. Then, as we tidied up the living room, Collie paused to pluck Jeannie and Brad’s wedding photo off the mantel.

“I don’t think she’s going to want that staring her in the face,” he told me. He stuck it face-down in a drawer and rearranged the tchotchkes and photos of the kids so it didn’t look like anything was missing.

Next, we moved on to the kitchen. Like the rest of the house, it was a bit worn and cluttered, but it was also welcoming and cozy. There were so many kids’ drawings stuck to the fridge that you couldn’t even see the appliance. I loaded the dishwasher and began wiping down the counters while Collie searched the fridge and cabinets for something to make for dinner.

“You’re obviously really at home here,” I remarked, “since you know where everything is.”

“This was my second home, especially after my mom died and I moved into the apartment with Aunt Sue. Jeannie’s parents and sister always made me feel like I was one of the family. I can’t even count how many dinners I ate around that table, or how many movie nights we spent in the living room.”

I washed my hands as I asked, “So, what’s the verdict on dinner tonight?”

“I’m thinking homemade mac and cheese. JoJo gave me her recipe, and it looks like we have all the ingredients. If ever there was a time for comfort food, this is it.”

I found a barstool and placed it in front of the stove, so Collie could cook without tiring himself out. Then we got to work.

There was something deeply comforting about cooking together. We hadn’t done much of that back home, because he hadn’t been well enough. Now though, working in tandem in this cozy kitchen felt wonderful.

It was so easy to imagine us just like this a year from now, and ten years, and beyond.

But what if he insisted on staying here? I started to get emotional at the idea of going back to San Francisco without him.

He was right, we could do the long distance thing. And he wouldn’t need to be here forever. Eventually, Jeannie wouldn’t need as much help. Her kids would grow up. The newborn wouldn’t always be a baby. Things would get easier.