Page 55 of Merrily Ever After
I push my damp hair back from my face and move slowly through the crowd, my shoes squeaking with each step. I think about slipping into the toilets and using the hand dryers to dry off, but one glance at the screen tells me Daniela’s flight has already landed. And then one glance towards the arrivals gate tells me she’s alreadyhere.
I spy her immediately, standing out of the way next to a luggage cart and scrolling on her phone. As though feeling me watching her, she glances up, her eyes going wide as soon as she sees me.
Her mouth screws up like she’s trying not to laugh, but she must not be trying very hard because a strange, strangled noise bursts out of her as I approach.
“What happened?” she asks.
“It’s raining.”
“Yeah,” she agrees, full-on grinning now. “It is.” She steps toward me with her arms outstretched, but I back away.
“I’m soaked.”
“I don’t care,” she tells me and hugs me tight.
Finally.
I close my eyes as I breathe her in. My heart used to beat like crazy whenever I saw her. She just needed to walk into a room for it to go a mile a minute. Literally to the point where I was like, do I need a doctor? But now it has the opposite effect. I just feel like the world is slowing down. Like everything is finally at peace.
“Are you crying?” she asks when I sniff into her shoulder.
“No,” I lie, and she laughs.
“Missed you too,” she whispers, kissing me hard on the lips before she steps back. There’s now a large wet patch on her hoody and several more on her sweatpants, but she doesn’t seem to mind as she beams at me. “I got Wordle in three!”
“Amazing.”
“And read five pages of a book before I fell asleep.”
“So productive.”
“Right?” She grabs a small suitcase from the cart, and I look around for her other bags. There aren’t any.
“Is that all you brought?”
Daniela follows my gaze and shrugs. “Sure. It’s only a week.”
Some of my joy disappears, but I try not to let it show as I nod. Only a week.
“So …” Daniela purses her lips, taking another look at my sopping clothing with a hopeful expression. “Did you park close?”
Chapter Five
We buy an umbrella in the shop before we leave, but it turns out we didn’t need to bother because the rain hasconvenientlystopped by the time we get outside. Daniela gives me a sympathetic look as she puts on a bright red hat over her braids, but there’s nothing else to be done as we begin the trek back to the van. I’m so focused on just getting inside now and out of my wet shoes that I almost walk us right by it.
“What?” Daniela asks as I stop abruptly.
“This is us.”
Her brow furrows. “I thought you were borrowing your dad’s car. When did you get this?”
“It’s Liam’s.” I hadn’t actually planned this moment. Every time I pictured her reaction, we were in it and it was snowing and we were toasting marshmallows or something. It seems less impressive now. “He’s letting us borrow it for Christmas,” I continue. “So we can have more privacy this year.”
“You mean we’re going to sleep in it?”
My stomach sinks. I can’t tell anything from her expression. Can’t hear anything in her tone. “If you want to,” I say lightly. “I promise it’s warm. And it looks amazing when the fairy lights are on. It’s just I know you love camping and—”
She bounces forward and kisses my cheek.
