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“This A-frame here,” he says. “Based on what Ren tells me, it sounds pretty idyllic.”
“It is.” I turn and face him as he brings us to a stop. “I actually wanted to, uh…” I clear my throat and try to stay calm. “I actually wanted to invite you to come back up here to the A-frame, right after your season ends.”
His expression shifts a little, something curious, and if I’m not mistaken, a little heated. “Oh?”
“For my birthday,” I explain. “It’s my favorite time of year, up here, in the spring. It’s beautiful. And Mom said she’d throw a party for me. Make all the Swedish foods. We’ll play board games—Scrabble is my jam—go on hikes, just rest and recharge.”
Sebastian’s expression shifts again, and this time I can’t read it. “So…all your family. Everyone will be there?”
“Uh-huh.” I smile. “Big family celebration.”
It takes a beat, but he smiles, sweet and affectionate. “That sounds great. I’d love to. Your birthday’s the twenty-first. That weekend?”
“Well, actually, Mom suggested we spend the week there leading up to that, starting with the previous weekend, through my birthday weekend. People can just come and go as it works for their schedules. It makes it most accessible that way, for everyone.”
His smile deepens. “I’ll be there.”
“Gauthier!” someone yells. “You’re needed.”
Sebastian glances over his shoulder and sighs. “Sorry. I have to run, but I could try to meet later—”
“No, go. And then get some sleep. You’ve got an early flight tomorrow, I’m sure, for that Vancouver game.” I hug him once more.
He doesn’t seem convinced. “But you came all this way—”
“I’ll just say hi to Ren, then get going. It’s a bit of a drive to the A-frame from here, and I don’t want to be on those roads too late.”
“All right.” Sebastian’s expression turns concerned. “Be safe, okay? Text me when you get there?”
“I will.”
“See you soon, then.” He pulls me in for one more hug, speaking against my neck. “Family dinner? Not tomorrow, but next Sunday.”
“Next Sunday.”
He pulls back, smiling at me. “Then, the Sunday after that, you get to show me this A-frame of yours.”
I bite my lip as he turns and jogs off. I watch him until he stops at the corner, waving one more time right before he disappears.
I wave back, a little scared but a little more thrilled about what I’ve just done.
I don’t like to think too hard about it, but I’m not clueless—I know what happens at the A-frame. I know Willa and Rooney, in their own ways and time, went up there, clueless as to what was coming, and came back irrevocably tethered to my brothers, wildly in love. I know hasty Bergman exits have been made when Frankie and Gavin showed up there, years apart, for the hearts they loved, bearing their own hearts on their sleeves. I’ve put the timeline together and figured out exactly where Freya and Aiden were when Theo Bergman MacCormack began. I know I’ve watched Willa and Ryder marry there, Axel and Rooney renew their vows there, my parents kiss and slow dance in the kitchen.
I know good things happen at the A-frame.
Love things.
I’m ready for that possibility. I want to kick that door wide open and welcome Sebastian right into the heart of it.
I just hope he wants that, too.
30
SEBASTIAN
Playlist: “Save Me,” Jelly Roll
Stepping out of my rental car, I shut the door behind me and stare up at the beloved Bergman A-frame. I smile. It’s everything I imagined, and somehow even better. The tall, sloping original structure, floor-to-ceiling glass windows. A solid, sturdy porch. Then a generous, newer-looking addition to the left. Slate and dark, wet wood. Moss and ferns. Trees form a canopy over it, casting cool shadows over me as I hike my bag up higher on my shoulder.
