Page 81 of Crazy About Love (All About Love)

“God, you are off-the-charts amazing, you know that?”

I resist the urge to hide my heated face, and I keep gazing into his eyes.

“Amazing?”

He lets out a laugh. “Sometimes.” Then his smile fades. “All the time.”

We listen to the rest, and I’m grateful he closes his eyes to soak it in instead of staring at me the whole time. After it’s done I rest my cheek on his arm and bask in the silence, which doesn’t last long, because silence isn’t my friend.

“It’s not the best, I know,” I blabber. “It was cold when I recorded, so the piano wasn’t really tuned and my hands were all shaky and—”

“I got an audition,” he blurts out. I blink a few times while I process what he’s staying, and then I grab his arm and spin him around.

“For Broadway?”

He nods, wincing at the hold I have on him. I promptly loosen my grip. “It’s in a couple of months. Valentine’s Day, actually.”

“Wow, Alec. This is huge. Big things are coming for you.” I mean it genuinely and with all the love a person can have for a friend who is going places, yet he must hear the sadness in my voice, because despite the joy and excitement, I can see him pulling a Liz and Landon and jetting off to bigger and better things if that’s what he wants.

“All right, you remember last Christmas?” he asks with a furrowing brow.

“As I recall, you gave me something I lost two weeks later.”

The corner of his mouth twitches up. “You may not have that necklace anymore, but…it still means the same thing it did back then.”

“But Broadway could be just the beginn—”

“I’m not going anywhere.” His eyes flick up to the clock I keep on my mantel as it rings twelve times. “Well, I should probably head out now…but I’m not leaving the state.”

He winks, and I laugh, shaking my head. Midnight. How fitting.

I get a sweet hand squeeze before he reaches for the USB and sheet music. I search for a reason to keep him here with me.

“You don’t have to go.” I fold my arms, adjusting my cardigan. “My bed has room for two.”

“Yeah, I do have to go. Tomorrow the post-Christmas sale at the store starts really early, and I sleep better in my own room.”

“My bed’s more comfortable,” I counter.

“How would you know?” he asks as he shoves his arms into his coat.

“I sleep longer and more soundly than you do.”

He tosses his head back, laughing at my ridiculous and false reasoning. I’m the one with the night terrors, though I don’t think I’ve had one in a while.

“Well, thanks for the offer,” he says, “but it’s not a good idea.”

My voice catches. “Why…why not?”

He leans in close, so close I can nearly taste his skin. His voice drops to a low, seductive whisper. “I can’t sleep with…without a fan.”

My held breath escapes in a snort, and I set a hand on his chest and nudge him back. “It’s December.”

“Still can’t do it.”

He starts making his way to the door, eyes shifting, and I can tell he’s ready to leave and he’s trying his best to be polite about it. So I let him win the argument. But my butterflies are melting into ice-cream-worthy sadness again.

I walk him to the door, holding it open as he steps into the hall. He stuffs his hands in his pockets as if he doesn’t want to use them anymore, but I throw my arms around his neck anyway. We are goodbye huggers, and I’m not stopping now, especially since he has healing arms.

“Merry Christmas,” I whisper into his ear. He lets out a shaky breath, one of his hands sneaking out of his pocket and rising up my back. His fingers squeeze my ribs, and his face burrows into the crook of my neck. I float away and fall through the floor all at once, and my heart pulls a Grinch and bursts from my chest.

I am so in love with this man I can’t breathe.

Just as the thought forms in my head, Alec pushes away from me and speed-walks to the elevator. I’m left with the ghost of his arms still locked tight around my waist. I stumble back inside and fall to the floor, wondering if he’s still waiting for me, or if I lost that chance a long time ago.

---