Page 73 of Wish For Me

She smiles, saying she’ll send Dan back tonight with Christmas dinner. “He and Monique are overseeing the turkey right now, and I confess I’m a bit worried. She’s brilliant and earnest with her attempts at cooking, but she’s a self-confessed disaster in the kitchen.”

Was it torturous for Mom to have us apart this year, on her favorite holiday?

As if reading my mind, Mom smiles softly. “I can’t wait for next Christmas. I hope all of you will come by?”

Griffin and Sasha are pulling on their coats too. “Absolutely,” Sasha says. They inform us they’re going for their annual holiday walk outside in the snow. I don’t know if that’s actually a thing, but I can tell they want to give me and Leif some time alone, so I don’t argue when they all leave.

When I turn back to Leif, I sigh with relief. But I can tell he’s exhausted, ready to sleep.

But when I tell him that, he shakes his head. “Can you read it again?” he asks.

I pick upMy Journey to You.

But Leif shakes his head. “No. The letter.”

“Leif.” My cheeks redden. It’s embarrassing. He had me read it this morning when we were alone too. Then we cried together.

“Okay then,” he says. “Then just tell me the best parts.”

I lean in, brushing the hair from his forehead. “You want me to tell you you’re my Christmas wish? Or that I love you?”

“Either will do.”

I laugh softly. “I love you, Leif. And for Christmas, I want you to wish for me.”

With an unexpected strength I can see strains him, he lifts his unbroken arm, and cups my cheek.

“I wish for you.”

I lean forward and kiss him softly on the lips. A brush of a touch and a promise of a lifetime more. “I’m already yours.”

We sit together for a while, talking about everything and nothing, while Leif drifts in and out of sleep. I can tell he needs to rest more fully though, so I pack up the books and cards scattered on his bed.

“Three things,” he says.

“Three?”

“First, can you kiss me?”

I smile, indulging him—and me.

He smiles when I pull away, his eyes closed. “I’m tempted to make two another kiss.”

I smile, but fold my arms, waiting.

“Okay. Second—I want you to wear the necklace.”

My stomach flips. I stare at the gold disappearing into Leif’s hospital gown. “You need it still. You have a long way to go.”

“I don’t need luck when I’m with you.”

I bite my lip, then reach up and unclasp the clover necklace from around his neck. Part of me wants to throw it away—the moment he gave it back to me, he nearly died. But Leif’s looking at me expectantly, so I put it on, adjusting it at my throat.

Leif smiles. “The first time you wore that—do you remember? I think that’s the night I knew I was in love with you.”

I remember. We were at the Rolling Hills resort. Leif and I stood on the roof, staring at the night sky, while I pretended I could live without loving him.

I touch the clover. I guess it brought me luck too.

---