Page 59 of Miss Humbug
The kiss deepened and nearly melted me like a real non-marshmallow snow lady. Warmth ignited my senses and settled like a wash of comfort. Peace and excitement all at once. We parted.
My head spun close to the clouds. “I’m in love with you. And I have been for a very long time.”
Those were my words. I’d said them out loud, to a completely shocked Ethan Sawyer.
Chapter 21
Ethan
She loves me.Marlowe said she wasin lovewith me.
“For a…very long time?” I managed to ask.
She nodded.
Marlowe loved me. Going back years. How had I missed it? How hadwemissed saying these key words when we’d both been so gone for each other?
“I can’t remember a time not loving you,” I told her.
She pulled at my shirt collar—a nearly desperate pull—until our lips found each other. Showing me she understood with kiss after kiss.
When we parted, she came up breathless. “I never wanted to ruin our friendship. I was terrified of messing up what we had. Then I ended up ruining it anyway by distancing from you. I felt so out of whack in high school. So messy. Like I needed space but I couldn’t go anywhere. When I had the space, it’s like I went too far the other direction. I was…scared to come back, I think.”
What she said made sense. So much sense.
I kissed her again, with everything I had. She needed to know I didn’t care about being messy or needing space. We both had our own stuff to work through. The point being, we could deal with it together.
She shifted closer. I wasn’t sure how since we were nearly on top of each other in the front seat. All the times I’d imagined moments like this with Marlowe and it was happening right now.
When I eased back, she made a quiet sound of protest. I could barely speak I felt so amped. “Let’s not give up.”
A dreamy look struck her face. “Yeah. Never.” Her lips glided across mine, sealing in the sense we were onto something here.
I nodded. “We can still win the land and the house.”
The radio suddenly blared a commercial at an obnoxious decibel. We shot apart as if the airwaves wedged hands between us like an invisible chaperone.
Marlowe twisted forward again in the driver’s seat. “Right. The house.” Her eyebrows flew up. “Oh my gosh—the family meeting. Buckle up. We need to go.”
We arrived late in a tangle to the Holly family meeting. Klutzy and laughing, we tripped over scattered boots and children’s shoes in the mudroom. Marlowe’s hair struck wild poses, and my coat lay abandoned in Murdoch. We looked like two kids who, as my granddad would say, had been necking in the car.
What did that mean anyway? Literallyneckstouching?
Because our necks had definitely touched. Our lips, our breaths, our hands. Like we’d reached the summit of a gradual incline we’d traveled most of our lives. Through childhood silliness to shifting degrees of friendship to whatever this new thing was between us.
Marlowe peeled off her coat and led me by the hand down the hall. How could I face the rest of the Holly brood like this? One thing took up my brain space. A phrase running constant like the background sounds of WKCC holiday radio.I’m in love with you.
I didn’t expect the impact. I’d convinced myself Marlowe existed as a happy memory. A high school crush I couldn’t get over and probably needed to actually get over.
Right now, I didn’t care. We landed in the doorway to the family room. Marlowe held my hand and we presented a united front to her family.
Ashe made a face. “Look who decided to show up. We’ve all been waiting while you two couldn’t keep your hands off each other.”
“Told ya,” Shawn sneered at Ashe. “Also, I knew they were together before any of you did.”
“Come on, it was obvious the minute we walked into Checkers,” said Ashe. “I knew before you could form a coherent thought.”
Marlowe’s cheeks flushed like their namesake berry. “Sorry we’re late. We…hit traffic.”
