“No.”
The pieces started clicking together in my head.
“Will, why did you bring me here?”
He stuffed his fists in his pockets, staring at the Grinches. “Because five Christmases ago you got under my skin in ways I didn’t fully comprehend. Every time I drove by Musicbox or ate at a Denny’s or heard that Waitresses’ song, I remembered. And it was painful, but I wouldn’t have changed having those memories wash over me for anything.”
His words lingered in the chill air, brushing through the last edges of my doubts.
Gathering myself, I reached a hand to his shoulder. “I feel the same way,” I admitted. “Even when I hated you, I never wished I hadn’t met you.”
“And then last Christmas happened.”
“When James made a fool of himself onstage in front of all our friends and neighbors?” I grinned.
He reached a hand up to place it over mine. “Last Christmas wasn’t just James singing to declare his love for Marley. That’s their story. To me, last year will always be the time I got to see you again, when I allowed myself to hope there might be anotherchance for us to be in each other’s lives.” His voice caught before he continued, “Second chances aren’t always guaranteed.”
I nodded, understanding that he thought about his friend Riley. “I know.”
Will exhaled, smiling slightly. “I realize now we’re not defined by our most painful memories, or our worst choices. We’re not the sum of everything that’swrongwith us.” Using my belt loops, he pulled me into his arms. “Which brings us to this Christmas.”
“This Christmas?” I leaned into his touch.
Hugging me tightly, Will pressed his cheek to mine as he spoke into my ear. “This is the Christmas you found out how much I love you.” He bit the lobe gently.
“Will—” I breathed out huskily.
“I mean it, Maureen. I’m so in love with you. And I didn’t want to wait another second to tell you, to risk having one more day where you didn’t know how thoroughly you hold my heart.” He placed a soft kiss on my lips. “This is our comeback, Maureen. The Christmas we claim our happiness, where we decide not to let it become another faded memory.”
“Oh, Will.” I wasn’t ready to say it back—even though I felt it to the marrow of my bones—but the words felt inadequate in that moment. Instead, I crushed my mouth to his, putting all my pent-up fears and worries into it, knowing we could share those burdens.
Pulling back, he gazed at me and ran a thumb tenderly along my cheekbone. “You know what else I’ll remember about this Christmas?” he asked.
“What?”
“It’s the best one I’ve ever had.”
Chapter twenty-eight
Will
Maureen and I held hands over the console and took the scenic route back to my apartment, singing along with the carols coming through the Audi’s speakers. We grabbed hot chocolates from a coffee shop and checked out a few neighborhood light displays. Even though it was only late afternoon, the sky was already dark enough to see them.
Eventually, I pulled up to the automatic door for my building’s underground garage. I heaved a giant sigh when I noticed a very unwelcome sight near the curb.
“Shit,” I muttered.
“What’s the matter?”
“That SUV over there is my father’s.”
“Oh.”
After I swung my car into its designated space and killed the engine, I pulled my phone out of my back pocket to find I’d missed some texts from my parents. There were also a few unanswered calls. My parents weren’t the type to harass me with texts every day. Sure, they worried and judged my choices, but they were also very busy people themselves. And since I didn’t work for them anymore, it wasn’t unusual to go weeks without seeing each other in person. I’d been able to conceal spending the last nine days in Coleman Creek with a few well-timed messages to make it seem like everything in my life was business as usual, although my mom had mentioned in her reply yesterday that I’d been “acting a little strange.”
But my parents also had zero chill when it came to being left on read. When they texted or called, they expected an immediate reply.
That had been evident in today’s texts.
