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“It was me!” I heard from Madeline’s office.
I chuckled. I should have known. I always forgot about the bell she kept in her office. I made sure the office had everything it needed before I went and leaned on Madeline’s door frame. She sat at her desk, her chin resting on the heels of her hands, her wedding rings shinning brighter than I remember.
“Yes, Maddie?”
“I know we just had lunch together, but our last patient canceled, so sit. I need to know all about Elliot.”
Taking a step into her office, I plopped on the chair in front of her desk. I loved coming to her office, we had many venting sessions, and talked about a few breakups (mostly mine) in here. My eyes caught a glimpse of her whiteboard which was full of magnets from her travels, as well as from friends and family which made me remember . . .
“Oh!” I shouted and ran out of the room.
“If you got me a magnet . . .” she screamed as I dashed away. I had a feeling the end of that sentence was “I will kill you,” even though I knew she’d proudly stick it on her board.
I grabbed the tissue paper in my bag and then went back to her office, placing it gently on the desk. “You don’t have one from Park City yet.” I smiled while taking a seat in front of her again.
Shaking her head, she opened the paper to reveal the gondola magnet I had picked out that first trip to Main Street with Elliot.
“Elliot told me you didn’t need a magnet . . .”
She scoffed, turning to place it with the others on her board. “You know I love it, but seriously, I need to know about Elliot. When does he come home?”
“Tonight,” I said, feeling my heart begin to race just thinking about seeing him again. “I have to leave work at five to get to the airport by six. He texted me a few hours ago saying he was at the airport.”
“So, you’re his girlfriend then?” Madeline raised her eyebrows and looked at me, a grin growing on her lips.
Shaking my head, I looked down at my lap, “Yeah, I guess I am.”
She let out a small squeal. “I knew it would happen.”
“No, you didn’t,” I grumbled. “Ihad no idea it would happen. But Elliot . . . he’s something else.”
“Milo and I called it before you even left for Park City, before you even had this wild idea of fake dating him.”
“When did you call it?”
“Our wedding. The way Elliot was looking at you, we knew he had fallen hard. Milo’s known him for years and he knows when something is getting to him, and Jamie . . . you got to him.” Madeline leaned back in her chair. “We just had to wait for you to figure it all out. Glad you finally did.”
“Took me long enough,” I admitted, “He told me he loved me, twice.”
Madeline’s eyes grew wide and she leaned forward in her chair. “And what did you say?”
“Well, the first time I hung up on him . . .” her jaw dropped and she almost jumped out of her chair. “Wait, stop . . . he told me to—he knew I wasn’t ready to say it. But then he did it again over FaceTime the other night. I think he just let it slip but . . . he said it.”
“How do you feel?” Madeline asked softly.
She knew I wasn’t one to take love lightly. My boyfriends in the past had been easy, but none of them were “I love you” worthy. I never felt for them the way I feel for Elliot. I never had heat rise inmy body thinking about them, or have tingles everywhere from my toes to my fingertips. My heart did little flips when I thought of Elliot. Even just the way he looked sleeping on the couch caused my pulse to pick up—the way he held me in his arms and refused to kiss me when I was drunk, and then the way he finally kissed me after that first show . . . in the snow. The way he finally let loose . . . Everything about him made me feel passion and desire.
Love. Not Lust.
“I love him,” I finally admitted out loud.
She raked her teeth on her bottom lip. “And you’re going to tell him?”
I nodded, my breath beginning to shake. “The moment I see him.”
The second the clock turned five, and that last patient was checked out, I gave Madeline a quick hug and ran down the stairs, not stopping for anything.
The drive to the airport was, thankfully, uneventful in Portland traffic, and I found a spot close to baggage claim in no time. Checking my phone for any sign of life from him, I wasn’t shocked to see no messages had arrived.
