Page 112 of The Holiday Makeover

Oh, dear heavens, those words alone were doing the trick.

He lifted the covers to reveal that he was indeed wearing pajama pants. “I promise to be a gentleman.”

I knew he would be true to his word. But . . . sleeping in the same bed together . . . I knew what it would lead to. And I wasn’t talking about sex. I was talking about something far more intimate: a discussion about our future.

The one I’d been avoiding for days.

“Come on, Rory. You’re freezing.”

He had a point.

So before I lost my nerve, I practically sprinted over and landed beside him.

He immediately gathered me under the covers with him, his arms wrapping around me as he pulled me against his chest, acting as the big spoon.

A rush of warmth surrounded me, but I stayed on high alert, trying not to melt too quickly against him.

My body was fighting my brain.

It wanted to settle.

To soften.

To come home.

“Hi,” he whispered, his breath warm against my ear as he nuzzled, sending shivers through me.

The good kind. Not the I’m-freezing-to-death kind. Seriously, he was the best nuzzler ever.

“Hi,” I breathed, the word coming out a little unsteady.

“I miss this,” Tate whispered. “I miss you. I miss us.”

Yep.

Called it.

I was going to have to stop running from my feelings and my fears and face them head-on. In Tate’s arms.

I was going to have to admit that I missed us too. But I was afraid. So afraid.

And I couldn’t find the words to say it all.

Tate didn’t let the silence scare him off. He was clearly taking this opportunity while I couldn’t run and hide behind a house project, a call from the caterer, helping his mom decorate the entryway for the party, or any of the other excuses I’d silently used to avoid him over the last several days.

“What do you need from me, Rory?” he asked, his arms tightening around me. “What do you want?”

I clung to him as if his arms could keep my heart from bursting right out of my chest. That was how hard it was pounding.

He patiently waited for me to answer, his breathing slow and steady against my back.

Meanwhile, my head and heart were frantically trying to hold an emergency meeting and come up with the right words.

And the courage to say them.

Here’s the little mini recap:

Heart: Just tell him you love him and that it has always been him.