AllFreeNovel
Share Us
DAMIENHADDETERMINEDthat the better part of valor was to let her get on with her Christmas. He felt... Hell, he didn’t really know what he felt. Heartbreak, he supposed, though he never had an experience of it when it came to love. Romantic love.
Had he really fallen in love with her in just a couple of days?
No. He fell in love with her years ago.You just didn’t know how to let yourself in on it.
But she didn’t want to do it. And hell, he couldn’t blame her. The world was a cold and unforgiving place. And she’d seen a lot of bad shit.
He didn’t want to be just another terrible thing that had happened to Jessie Granger. He cared way too much for that.
Suddenly, in his rearview mirror, he saw a blue truck. Hot on his bumper, and driving pretty dangerously considering the weather.
It took him a minute to realize. It was Jessie. He put his blinker on like a good Oregonian and pulled to the right side of the road, and Jessie pulled swiftly after him.
“What the hell are you doing?” he asked, getting out of the driver’s side and shutting the door firmly behind him.
“I had to find you,” she said, getting out of the truck, holding a high heel shoe in one hand. “I have the other shoe.”
“Yeah.”
“I am afraid of the other shoe dropping. But I have the other shoe. It’s... It’s me. I’m the one who’s making a bad choice here. I’m the one who’s sabotaging us. And I have to quit acting like everything is fate. I have to quit being afraid. So I...” She started to unlace her snow boot, out there in the freezing cold, and kicked it off, then she started to work at the boot sock. “I am putting the shoe on myself. Because it fits me, and I want to wear it.”
“Jessie...”
“You can get the other one now,” she said, breathing hard, as she bent down to start the endeavor of pulling the other boot off.
“This is a little much,” he said.
“It’s too much,” she said. “It’s all too much. This is without a doubt the most too much anything has ever been. But I want you. And I love you. And I’m deciding to be in it. Without being afraid. This is my choice. And the terrible things that have happened to me before don’t get to decide how happy I’m going to be now.”
“You love me, Jessie Granger?”
“Yes, you dumbass. I have. For my whole damn life.”
“That dirty mouth...”
“You like it. You like me.”
He turned around and walked slowly back to his truck, emotion expanding in his chest. And he grabbed the shoe that he had brought with him. “You’re right,” he said, making his way slowly back to her. “I do. I like it a whole hell of a lot. But I love you.”
He got down on one knee, holding the shoe in his hand. And she slipped her bare foot into it. And it felt every bit like an engagement ring. There she was, in her snow pants, and her high heels. And it felt like this undeniable truth. She was the Jessie he had always known. And the Jessie who had changed his life forever at the ball.
They were the same. And she was his.
“I love you. I think we ought to get married. And live on the big property here together.”
“I want that,” she said.
“You are so brave,” he said. “And just so damn special.”
She kissed him, like her whole life depended on it. Like their new life depended on it.
“You know,” she said. “I guess I was wrong. About Christmas. Or maybe just about life. I kept thinking that just because bad things happened, it meant the good wasn’t real. But it’s more real, isn’t it? It sparkles brighter because of the darkness.”
“I think so,” he said. “At least, it’s true when I’m with you.”
