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She swallowed hard as she looked up at me.“Live in the moment?”
I nodded.“Yeah.Live in the moment.”
Her eyes softened a little.I knew she wasn’t totally convinced, and if I wasn’t such a self-centred piece of shit, I would have walked away from her before either of us got any more entangled with each other.
But I couldn’t do it.
Without another word, she held me tighter, burying her head against my chest like she had earlier, and I wound my hand into her hair.
Home.
The word echoed in my head over and over as I held her.What did that even mean to me?I’d had so many it had lost its meaning over time.It had become a nothing.Something that held no meaning because I was always moving.Home had been a hostel, or a hotel room, or a short-stay rental apartment for years.The longest I’d stayed anywhere was during the pandemic, and only because I was forced.I loved New Zealand.I would always go back and visit, but that wasn’t home either.Was it here?Was it Cornwall?Italy?
They were all places I’d lived growing up, but none of them were myplace.Italy was maybe as close as it got, and then Nova appeared.
Her tucked against me had made a word I’d been so afraid of become real again.
Is home really ever a place?Had it ever been?
“I can hear you thinking as hard as I am,” Nova said with a small laugh.
“Well, I never said you were the only one doing it.But...I just want to take this as it comes.One day at a time.”
“Okay.”She relaxed fully in my arms as she looked up at me.“We still have one more thing left on our list.”
“Just one?That was fast.”
“Yeah.Maybe I should have thought of some more.”
“Or we could make new traditions.”
She smiled.“Maybe we should.”
I placed a kiss on her forehead.“Shall we go and get a drink now?”
“Sure.I’d like that.”
Once we left the beauty of Lea Mount, something shifted again.A more relaxed air surrounded us, and we chatted easily over a couple of drinks at The Smugglers before heading back to Nova’s place.
We sat outside in her car, the radio and heater still on to keep us warm, and it seemed as though neither of us wanted to move.
“Do you want to come in?”she asked, and as soon as the words left her lips, her face flushed.
She was so fucking adorable and sexy, and I laughed softly.There was nothing I wanted to do more than go inside with her.Snuggle up with her and then do all the things that had slowly begun to play out in my mind from the moment we first kissed.“Yes.I do.But...I think I should probably not.Not tonight.”
I hoped the way I looked at her let her know it wasn’t because I didn’t want her.We both needed a moment to get used to what was happening.And I needed to ask Nan about Christmas Day with Nova’s family.
She nodded, nothing but understanding on her features.“Okay.In that case, shall we head in?”
“Sure.”
Nova turned the engine off, and we both got out of the car.She walked around to the path, where I waited for her so I could kiss her goodnight.She melted against me, holding me tight as I kissed her lips.
Chapter13
Nova
Once I was safely inside,cup of tea in hand as I sat in my usual spot beside the glow of my Christmas tree lights, I let out a long sigh.
