AllFreeNovel
Share Us
My mouth dropped open, shock washing over me like ice-cold water. “But that was what? Eight years ago?”
He nodded.
Realization dawned on me then, our entire evasive past sprawled out in front of me.It hadn’t been me.
“You had feelings for me then?” I swallowed, my mouth dry.
“Nothing like now.” He reached out and tugged on a curl before running his knuckles down my cheek. “Then, it was kid stuff. But I knew you were fun, and beautiful, and someone I wanted to spend more time with.”
“I thought you’d never see me that way.”
“I did. Still do.” He smiled, the warm feeling in my chest spreading.
“This is a lot to process.”
“Well, come here while you process it. We only have a bit longer before we need to get back.”
“Can you imagine not having to sneak off to do this?” I closed my eyes against the fabric of his shirt.
“I can’t wait.”
I wanted to lay there, soak up the few precious moments we had left, but something from the Irish festival kept nagging at my subconscious.
“You said earlier that you weren’t sure what you wanted. You know, after the show ended.”
“That was a loaded question, with loaded answers I didn’t want to give on camera.”
“Well, there aren’t any cameras here now.”
He sat quietly, like he wanted to choose his words carefully. “I haven’t been back here in years, but even in this strange arrangement, it still feels like home. Like this is where I really belong.”
“Are you saying you’d consider staying here?”
“I don’t know what I’d do here, Harper.”
“Maybe you’d find something that would made you happy.”
I didn’t want to hope. The café was too new for me to leave it without giving it all up. But what if he could stay? What would that mean for us?
“If I found something that made me happy, I could see a future here.”
I wanted to know if he could see the same things I could, but I didn’t want to press my luck. I could live with him being open to the possibility for now.
He pulled me into his chest, holding me so tight I could barely breathe.
“It scares me, but if I’m being honest, I want a future with you, Harper. I’ve thought about moving back ever since the first night, but I needed a reason to stay.”
I tipped my head up as he loosened his grip just a bit. “Don’t stay for me. I don’t want you to hate me someday.”
“I’d be staying for all the possibilities of our future, Harper. And the cute little Jacksons skiing down that mountainside.”
My heart swelled at his admission. “Are you saying what I think you’re saying?”
“I came here looking for a future I didn’t think existed for me. You think I can let that go now that I found it?”
“I really hope not,” I whispered as his lips found mine.
