Page 131 of Holiday Romance
“I’ll tell you later,” I insist, mustering up a smile for her. “Let’s go inside. I want to spend what’s left of Christmas with you guys.”
“Since when?”
“Since now.”
She pauses at the edge in my voice, looking distractedly at the scene behind me. “Did something happen?”
“No.”
“Molly—”
“I’ll fix it.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means let’s go inside. I need to call Andrew.”
“I don’t think you do.” She nods at the street and I turn to see a vehicle approaching, its windscreen wipers moving overtime.
I don’t recognize the car but, as it draws closer, I recognize the man in the front seat.
So much for giving me space.
Andrew drives carefully down the street, his gaze focused on me as he pulls up to the house. It’s only when he does that I realize he’s not alone. Hannah bounds out of the passenger side, practically bouncing on the sidewalk as soon as he stops the car.
“She insisted on coming,” Andrews explains as he shuts the door. “And now she needs to pee.”
“I can help with that,” Zoe calls, gesturing Hannah toward the house. The girl shoots me an excited grin as she runs past.
“I like your hair,” Zoe says to her.
“I like your baby.”
“Thank you.” Zoe shoots me a pointed glance as they step inside the house and I turn back to Andrew who now stands stiffly by the car, his hands in his pockets.
“You followed me up here?” I ask even though it’s obvious.
“I let you get a head start before I couldn’t take it anymore. Hannah kept insisting I wait until New Year’s Eve because it would be more romantic, but I figured you’d have gone by then.”
I nod, folding my arms over my chest. “I was going to—”
“I wanted—” He breaks off his own interruption, running a hand over his head. Around us the snow continues to fall, blanketing the street. We’re far from alone. A lot of front doors are open with people sticking their hands mistrustfully out or simply standing there, gazing at it. Bundled-up kids dart up and down the road, shrieking with delight every time one of them slips and falls. Someone’s already started on a snowman next door.
“I know you don’t want to put too much pressure on this,” Andrew says, dragging my attention back to him. “I know you’re scared that I’ll flake out on you. But I’m not going to lie and say I’m not staying in Chicago for you. Because I am. Foryou, Molly. I don’t want to do long-distance. And I don’t want to just be friends. I thought I could do it once if that was how you felt, but not now. Not anymore. I don’t want to not see you for months until we meet for a hasty lunch. I don’t want to wonder how you are. I definitely don’t want to meet your boyfriends. I want you, I wantus, and I think we could make it work.”
“Andrew—”
“I love you.” He takes a breath once he’s said the words, as though he had to race through everything else just so he could get to them. “I’minlove with you and I’m sorry it took me so long to figure it out. I’m sorry I wasted so many years trying to find someone else, when the only one I wanted was you.”
I hear a faintawwwwfrom Hannah behind me before the quiet hustling of my sister to get her back inside. I ignore them both. I ignore everything but the man in front of me.
“I don’t think I could handle it if I lost you,” I admit finally. “I think that’s why it was easier to keep you as a friend all these years. Why I didn’t even let myself think of you as anything more. Because if I did and you left—”
“I’m not going anywhere.”
“I know,” I say quickly. “I know that now, it’s just… You’re right when you said I keep thinking about failure. I don’t know when I started doing that. I don’t know when I started denying myself what I want, but I do. And I don’t want to be that person anymore.” I gaze up at him, laying my whole heart out like I never have before. “I want you to stay in Chicago with me. I want us to be together and I want to kiss you all the time. I don’t want to wait or go slow or start at the beginning. I want you too. I wantustoo.”
His eyes search my face, like he’s looking for any hint that I don’t mean what I say, but whatever he sees must satisfy him, because he takes a cautious step toward me. “All the time, huh?”
