“Nobody’s perfect, Sabrina,” he murmured when they’d broken apart. He brushed his lips against the tip of her nose.
She smiled sweetly at him. “You’re perfect for me. And you’re the only one I want to spend my life with.” She gasped, her eyes bright with an idea. “Let’s get married.”
“What?” Christian choked on his laugh. “We can’t get married. Our parents would freak.”
Sabrina grabbed both his hands in hers, bringing them to his chest. “So? It’s our life. We can elope. We both know we’re destined to be together. Why wait?”
He should’ve shut down the idea immediately. Shouldn’t have let her talk him into it. But he couldn’t deny the way he’d fallen hard and fast for the flirty ray of sunshine who’d become his dance partner during his first practice with the ballroom team on campus. They’d been inseparable since day one.
It had only taken a few weeks to see a future with her. Not long after, she’d promised to love him forever.
“Forever.” Christian snorted. Her forever lasted about as long as the time between their courthouse wedding and the day thepregnancy symptoms kicked in. She’d had one foot out the door ever since, despite his many attempts to fix their marriage.
He continued up the stairs to the porch, furious with himself for indulging in the past. If his marriage had taught him anything, it was that forever love didn’t exist.Romanticlove didn’t exist. It was all an illusion people created to make themselves feel good.
But not him.
Not anymore.
He’d learned his lesson. All that mushy stuff was for the other chumps. He had enough on his plate already to get mixed up in foolish delusions again.
“You wouldn’t believe how beautiful it is here, Hal. I’ve never seen so many fall colors this early in the season.”
Hallie listened to her sister gush about how amazing autumn in Connecticut was.
Again.
“New England is known for its fall foliage, so I believe it.” Rolling onto her stomach on her bed, she hooked her arm around the stuffed fox her parents had given her before moving the family to Santiago for Dad’s research trip years ago. At five years old, she’d been terrified to go on what was deemed “their big adventure.”
Hallie still remembered her mother tucking her into bed the night before the flight. “No matter what changes come into your life, you’ll always have a friend,” Mom had said, sliding the stuffed animal under her arm.
The fox had seen Hallie through many changes, from moving back to Florida after six years as an expat, to college on the other side of the continent, and everything in between. No matter what the big event, Foxie had never let her down.
“The hiking trails are insane.” Elise’s comment brought Hallie back to the present. “Rory and I find a new one almost every weekend. Seriously, pinch me now. This place is a dream.”
“Sounds like paradise.” Did that sound bitter? She loved talking to her sister, but it was hard not to feel a little sad at the same time. Only eleven months separated them in age, and she could count on one hand how many times they’d lived apart. There was the year between their high school graduations, of course. Then came Elise’s study abroad in Dublin. And last fall when she and Kendall backpacked around Europe for a semester.
This time was different, though. Elise had moved on to greener pastures, which included graduate school and marriage to her Prince Charming, whom she’d met during that stint in Ireland.
Hallie couldn’t be happier for her sister. Still, she had a hard time not feeling left behind. It was silly, really. She’d always known they wouldn’t live together forever. But no matter where they both ended up, they’d be sisters for life. The best of friends. Their relationship didn’t have to change much, right?
“I’m sorry I won’t be there to help with the Autumn Festival,” Elise said, reminding Hallie that she’d tuned out the conversation again.
She gave Foxie a squeeze to push away the feelings of sadness that often came when she realized she and her sister were heading in different directions.
“That’s okay. Kendall will be there. And Zee offered to work a shift one of the days,” she added, referring to the fourth woman who lived in the house. “I’m sure I can rope Tyler into coming too.”
Planning for the weekend-long festival celebrating all things fall had already been a lot of work, and Hallie needed all the help she could get. She’d never manned a booth at the event before, but the anticipation of it caused her to vacillate between wanting to back out and bouncing around with excitement. Practically the whole town stopped by the Autumn Festival during the two days of operation, and usually some folks from neighboring suburbs showed up too. Hopefully, it would add a nice boon for her business.
“You could ask Brad,” Elise said. “He might be able to help if you still need people.”
“I wasn’t planning on asking him,” Hallie admitted, even though she knew their cousin would be willing to help. “He has enough to worry about with Cassie so sick.”
“She’s still not feeling better? She has to be past the first trimester by now.”
Hallie slid off her bed before arranging Foxie neatly in front of her pillows. “Yeah, but she still can’t keep anything down. They’re in the hospital almost every week getting fluids.”
The pregnancy announcement had been a shock to the whole family, considering the short time since Brad and Cassie’s wedding last spring. And the toll it had taken on her ever since worried everyone, especially Brad. The guy was a mess.
