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Without a second thought, I grab my coat and slip on my boots. When I make it out to my patio, I hold out my arms and spin around. Snowflakes land on my palms and melt. It’s starting to stick on the ground, creating the beginning of a white carpet that I’ll admire for days.
Visions of dancing in the snow with Hudson hit me, and I sigh. I’ve been stuck on that memory since it happened.
I shake my head and clear my mind. I need to stop thinking about him. It’s like he’s invaded my brain. If he had that power, I bet he’d do it on purpose to wear me down. Whatever this is, it’s working. Everything lately reminds me of Hudson, and it’s because he was back in town, living a life parallel to me. He was right there, so close within reach. Many times I wondered what would’ve happened if he wouldn’t have stayed in New York after graduation.
And all of these questions and what-if scenarios are the ones that hold me back from moving on. I can’t seem to let go of him. I loved him too much to just forget, even years later.
“Breaking news, old flames are burning again.” Ellie storms into my house.
“What?” I turn to look at her when she walks into the kitchen. She’s wearing a bright smile, and it reminds me of the Cheshire cat. I should be worried.
“That’s the word around town.”
“What are you talking about?” I’m afraid to ask.
“Oh, nothing,” she says slowly and drawn out. Her smile is still wide.
“Clearly, it’s something.” I cross my arms.
“People are talking about how you and Hudson have been spending time together again. There are rumors and bets about whether you will get back together and how soon it will take for that to happen.”
“Say what now?” My eyes bug.
Ellie shimmies around my peninsula counter to stand in front of me.
“You heard me. People think you two are getting back together, and I have to admit that I ship it.”
“We’re not getting back together,” I shake my head. “There’s nothing to ship. Unless it’s those rumors all the way to the moon.”
“But there’s some truth to those rumors because you were spending more time together while he was here.”
“Yeah, to plan this party, trip, whatever. You know, the reason you came over today?” My heart’s starting to race. I can only imagine Mr. and Mrs. Remington’s reaction when they hear this. If they haven’t already.
“But there’s more, right? There has to be some truth to this.” Ellie looks at me with doe eyes full of hope.
I shake my head, unsure of what to say. “I don’t know,” I finally let out on a sigh.
“I knew it!” She dances around my kitchen. “They’re in love,” she sings out.
I can’t help but laugh at her ridiculousness.
“We’re not.” I grab the pitcher of lemonade I made earlier from the fridge. “Now, let’s talk about Hope’s bachelorette party.” I asked for her help so we could work together to sort out the details.
“I’ll let it go for now.” She waggles her eyebrows.
I shake my head, serving two glasses, and head to the round kitchen table where I have my notebook and laptop.
I haven’t spoken to Hudson except for that short text message conversation on Thursday evening. He continues to steal my thoughts, though.
“What do you have so far?” Ellie gets into planning mode.
“We have the spa reserved for Saturday. The idea right now is to drive out Thursday morning and return Tuesday. We’ll arrive Thursday afternoon, so we’ll either relax when we arrive, or people can ski before dinner.”
“I think it depends on how tired we are Thursday. I’d love to be able to decorate the suite before Hope walks in.”
“I was thinking that as well. How can we stall her?”
“I can drag her around the resort, gushing about it. We can say the guys are taking our suitcases up to our room, and you can go with them. Maybe Hudson can help you decorate.” She waggles her eyebrows again.
