I reach the threshold of my room and clap my hands to my mouth to stifle my gasp. I knew exactly what I wanted for every room of this chalet except the master suite. Adam and I had discussed lots of different design options, but I couldn’t decide which direction I wanted to go.
Somehow, he figured that out from all my notes because my room is the most beautiful room I’ve ever seen.
The walls are painted a pale, subtle green. All my furniture is the same dark mahogany wood, but my bedding is updated to a white comforter with pale green vines swirling along the edge and matching pale green throw pillows. The wood floors have been stripped and now match the dark stain we applied to the rest of the house. Beneath the bed is a large area rug that almost reminds me of a calm grassy field.
The artwork on the walls are calming paintings of mountain scenes. They look like views of the mountains that surround myhome. Everything about the room exudes the exact feeling I told Adam I wanted in my private space.
I step into the room and make my way to the bathroom entrance. Adam is standing with his back to me on the opposite side of the room. Gone is the old, half rotted wood furnishings, outdated tub and cracked shower. My bathroom looks like something I’d find in a luxury spa. The walls are painted a slightly darker shade of green than the bedroom. The old jacuzzi tub is replaced with a sleek, modern tub with a waterfall faucet—exactly what I wanted. The flooring is a white tile with dark green accents throughout. But it's the shower that really grabs my attention.
It expands along the full length of the back wall with frameless glass doors. The tile is a similar white marble with faint green swirls throughout but smaller in size. It's the tile I was leaning toward but couldn’t quite commit. Seeing it in my bathroom confirms it's perfect.
The same calming touches and artwork adorn my bathroom as well. Adam took all of our conversations and extracted the perfect design.
It’s perfect in every way.
Just like him.
Adam turns around, and the look of surprise on his face tells me he wasn’t expecting to see me.
“You’re home.” The words leave his lips as a whisper.
I nod. “I decided to come back a day early. I would’ve been here sooner, but my flight was delayed.”
He swallows and rubs his hand on the back of his neck. He’s nervous. I smile, hoping that sends the right message. He has no reason to be nervous.
“This is … Wow. I can’t even find the words to express how amazing this looks.” I glance around the bathroom again before shifting my gaze to him.
“I’m just adding some finishing touches. I wanted to get this done for you before you got home. I thought I had until tomorrow.”
We stand in silence, staring at each other, until things start to feel uncomfortable. There’s so much I want to say, yet I can’t get a single word to come out. He’s the first to break eye contact and end our silence. “I hope you like what I’ve done and aren’t upset with me for doing this while you were gone. I’ll change everything you don’t like.”
“I love it. It's everything I wanted and couldn’t express. I don’t know how you figured this out from my ramblings, but you did.”
He smiles, adjusts the white lilies in the vase beside him and starts toward me. “You’ve gotta be tired. I’ll get out of your way so you can get some rest.”
“Please don’t—”
“Camille.” The quiet way he says my name brings tears to my eyes. It's like he’s already accepted that I’m gone. “It’s okay. You don’t need to say anything. We’ll talk after you’ve had some rest.”
“I don’t want to rest. I came home early to see you. I was so upset my flight was delayed. I need to get this out now and explain why I was upset last Friday.” He stuffs his hands in his jean pockets revealing a hint of his abs beneath his t-shirt. Heat passes over his eyes as he catches me raking mine over his body. I’ve missed him in more ways than one. I open my mouth to continue, but he speaks first.
“Lizzy called me. She told me what she said.” A sadness flashes in his eyes but it vanishes quickly. I hate that her words hurt him.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t want to tell you. I knew she was hurting because of her dad.”
“I know. She explained that. We talked about it, and we’re good.” He takes a step toward me but still maintains some distance. “Are you okay?”
Tears threaten to escape, and I swallow hard. “No. She avoided me all week, which she’s never done. We finally talked yesterday. So we’re good now. But I need to fix us.” I choke on the words.
Adam is beside me with his hands on my arms before I can take my next breath. He’s so close I can smell his pine scent.
I don’t think. I don’t hold back. And I don’t worry for another second what he feels about me. I wrap my arms around his neck and let my tears fall.
He pulls me close, gently rubbing my back. “Please don’t cry. It nearly broke me seeing you cry last week. I don’t think I can handle it again.”
“I’m sorry. This is all my fault. I should’ve talked to you instead of pushing you away.”
“Don’t apologize. I shouldn’t have given up so easily. I let my past pain get in the way of making a rational decision. If only I waited for you to calm down, we could’ve avoided all of this. Assuming you still want me around.”
