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“—little. It’s like a nervous thing.”

“All right, everyone, maybe we should…” Her dad pauses, glancing between her and me, his gaze also catching on the part where her hand is still resting on my arm. “Maybe we should give these guys a moment? Cami?”

Everyone shifts to look at Cami. She blinks again, looking a little dazed, then looks at me, then her dad. “Right. Yes, that would be good. Thanks.”

The rest of her family starts to shuffle away down the sidewalk, and I turn back to her.

“Are you okay?”

“Oh, yeah.” She rubs her hand over the back of her head, further riffling her hair under her hat. “That’s—my mom was telling the truth about that. I used to faint when I was little. It’s not a big deal. Doesn’t really happen now unless I’m…you know. Worked up.” She coughs, looking embarrassed.

I reach out, touch her bicep. “I’m glad you’re okay.”

Cami tilts her head. The Christmas lights behind me flash and reflect in her eyes. Her cheeks are rosy and flushed, and despite the fainting, she looks full of life. “You said you were sorry?”

I clear my throat. We’re standing in the middle of the street with light shows going on all around us, and the radio that’s askew around her neck plays holiday music softly. Her blond hair is messy beneath her hat, and her eyes shine up at me.

“Yes. I’m sorry for dragging you into that mess. For making you lie.”

Cami tucks some of her hair behind her ear. “You didn’t make me, Patrick. I willingly participated in the whole thing.”

“Yes, but…” I sigh, and we step to the side, into some snow as another family walks past. “It was my idea. You never would have come up with something like that. You never would have had to lie to the Morenos in the first place.”

“You really didn’t have to come all this way just to apologize for that,” Cami says under her breath, shrugging and gesturing to her family as she starts to wrap her arms around herself. “And I should probably…”

“It’s not just that.”

I catch her hands in mine and hold them before she can finish wrapping them around herself.

This time, there are no gloves between us. My hands, warm, and hers cold. I brush my thumb over the back of her hand and watch as she shivers at the touch.

“It’s not?”

“No.” I look up and catch her gaze. “It’s not. I need to apologize for lying about the kiss, too. It wasn’t just acting for me, Cami. I meant what I said when I told you I wanted to come back and…take things further. With us.”

Cami blinks up at me, but I can’t read the expression on her face.

So I decide to keep going, “If I’m being honest with myself, there’s a reason I asked you in the first place, Cami. I admired your tenacity when it came to the Christmas decorations at the office. I admire how good you are at your job, and how dedicated you are to being yourself. So it wasn’t ever really a lie for me. Spending all that time alone together just made it more apparent to me. Being with you makes me feel more like myself, Cami.”

“Why didn’t you say anything, Patrick?” Cami presses her lips together and looks away from me. “If you felt this way, you could have talked to me when we were packing our stuff, or when we were flying back. But you didn’t say a thing! You made me feel so alone.”

“I’m sorry. I’m—” I close my eyes, take a breath. “I’m really sorry, Cami. I never meant to hurt you. And I’m not going to act like I don’t have some things to work through. With my parents…I grew up without a lot of family attachment. It’s made it hard for me to open up to people. But I want to try with you, Cami. If you’ll let me.”

“You want to…try?” Her brows pull together, like she doesn’t know what that means.

It’s not coming out the way I thought it would. I didn’t think she was going to faint, and I didn’t imagine us standing on the side of the street in the snow for this conversation. So, instead of going on with more words, I just do what I can to make my intentions perfectly clear. There will be more time for us to talk through everything else later.

Wrapping an arm around her back, I tug her into me and kiss her.

Just like last time, she tastes like spiced hot chocolate. Her cheeks are cold, but her lips are warm, and her hands settle on my back, pulling me in closer.

For the first time since the Morenos found out the truth about what we were doing, I feel a flutter of hope in my chest just as we hear a rousing cheer.

Cami and I break apart and look around to find her family gathered around us again, smiling and laughing, giving little whoops! as Cami blushes.

“All right, all right,” Cami’s mother says, looking downright giddy. “Come on, you two! We’d better get little miss fainting back home. And you are staying with us, mister!”

I put my hands up. “No, no, that’s okay. I’ve got a hotel.”