I let out a small breath. “Of course.”
He smiled faintly. “I might have found out from Jane that it’s your favorite. I thought you should have your own copy.”
“This is perfect,” I said, turning it in my hands. “Thank you.”
“I’m glad you like it,” he murmured.
My throat tightened. “No one’s ever done something like this for me.”
He shifted, uneasy for once. “You deserve good things. That shouldn’t be a surprise.”
“It’s a lovely surprise,” I said softly. “I love it.”
“I should apologize,” Dex said quietly.
“For what?” I frowned in confusion.
“For everything I said that night on the porch. I didn’t word things properly and I messed everything up. I was arrogant and wrong. I’m not particularly good with emotions,” Dex confessed.
“You weren’t the only one who said things they shouldn’t,” I admitted.
“I was worse.”
“Yes,” I said, smiling despite myself. “You were.”
“I was wrong. Your family is warm and welcoming. They are chaotic, but they always mean well. We come from very different backgrounds. You were given the freedom to express yourselves, while I always strove to be perfect in an effort to please my parents. Mine was a futile effort, while you had the affection and approval of yours,” Dex said almost wistfully.
“Oh, Dex. That must have been very hard,” I murmured.
“I didn’t know any differently. Your family has shown me what I have been missing. You have shown me." He almost smiled. “I came here to try to get you to change your mind about returning to the firm. I didn’t plan to stay, or to care about the inn or your family, but it got under my skin. You got under my skin.”
I held his gaze. “You could have left.”
“I almost did. Carly wanted me back for the ski lodge project. It would have been easy to say yes. The right people, the right money. Yet it wasn’t what I wanted anymore.”
I hesitated, uncertain if I would like the answer but I had to ask. “Who is Carly to you? She seems really comfortable around you.”
“She’s always been like that, taking hold of my arm, and trying to manage the people around her, trying to manage me. She can be overpowering at times. I know that she wants more of me, but Carly isn’t the one I want to be with,” Dex replied.
“Does she know that? She’s very proprietary of you,” I murmured wryly.
“The conversation came up the night of the dance. Carly’s fully aware there is nothing between us,” Dex firmly stated. “My feelings for you haven’t changed. If anything, they’ve grown. However, I understand if you don’t feel the same way.”
I thought about how I felt. Somehow, between the snowball fight, the dance, and the help Dex had given us, I had fallen in love.
“You don’t have to answer,” he said. “About how you feel. I wanted you to see this first. Even if you never forgive me, I want you to have this room.”
“I forgave you a while ago,” I said. I reached out, taking hold of his warm hand. “I find that I like you as well.”
The words sat between us. He didn’t move, but something in the air changed—warmer, quieter, certain.
“Dex,” I began, unsure where to start. “You’re not the man I thought you were.”
“I know,” he said. “You thought I was impossible.”
“I still do,” I said, smiling.
“Then I haven’t changed that much.”
