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“Sounds horrible.” Georgie snickered. “Did you save the icing for last?”
“I tried, but I couldn’t finish it,” said Oliver. “Took photos, though.”
“Ha! I’ve taught you well!”
“That you have! So what’s my girl been up to? How was your day?”
“Good,” said Georgie. “It snowed first thing, and another consultancy cheque arrived, so thank you! I saw Kait at lunch and helped her organize the fan club trip to Montréal, then this afternoon, a Korean War vet visited my class. The students asked lots of questions and did themselves proud.”
“As did you, I’m sure, the future department head of Midtown Collegiate’s history department.” His voice soared with fondness, coaxing Georgie into a grin.
“You are adorable and endearing and, god love ya, completely biased, but nothing’s been decided, so…no celebrating yet, okay? It’ll trigger my superstitious side and no one wants to see that.”
“I thought you said you weren’t superstitious,” said Oliver.
She flinched. “I did? When?”
“Our first meeting in my office. About the Leafs.”
“Really? And you remember that?” Toying with her pen, Georgie leaned back against the couch, smiling. “Wow, you listen!”
“To you I do. Others? Nah, not so much.”
“Well, hate to break it to you, but I fibbed—BUT only because I didn’t want you to think I was irrational and weird and had neurotic tendencies.”
“Hey, wait a minute!” said Oliver. “That’s my girlfriend you’re talking about!”
Girlfriend? Georgie’s insides fizzed. “Who you now realize is a bit of a control freak.”
“Aren’t we all sometimes? Especially when things are stressful? You should’ve seen me when I was waiting to hear back from Amalia. I wouldn’t even let Raff mention Canada.” A car honked in the background. “So why are you telling me this now?”
Abandoning her pen, Georgie shrugged. “I guess I feel comfortable with you and don’t like hiding things. You’ll never know the real me if I keep secrets.”
“That’s true.” Oliver paused for a beat. “So…here’s a secret of mine: I think superstitious Georgie is hot as hell.”
She laughed. “Now who’s the weirdo?”
“Takes one to know one!” replied Oliver cheerily. “However, in all seriousness, there’s nothing you could say or do that would push me away. I’m not going anywhere.”
Until next August. She pressed her lips.
“I will always celebrate you, Georgie. I don’t need a reason. I just need you.”
Her heart somersaulted, returning the smile to her face. “Declarations like that will get you laid, you know.”
“Ahh, bugger. You’re onto me.”
She twirled the phone cord around her index finger. “On and hopefully, under and beside…”
Oliver let out a groan. “God, I miss you.”
The joy of hearing him express exactly what she was feeling effervesced in Georgie’s chest. Giddy, her grin could’ve lit up the entire city in a blackout. “Miss you, too. Don’t laugh, but I fell asleep cuddling the mourning robes to feel closer to you.”
“You finished them!” Excitement peppered his response.
“Yeah. Well, Kait did. But don’t worry, they’ve been washed, dried, and ironed and are all ready for rehearsals in January. They’re easy to get on and off, roomy, too. One size will fit all, I think.”
“Including a PhD who didn’t just take a bite out of the Big Apple, but ate the entire thing, pips and all?”
