Then our eyes met.
Something in my chest cracked open so fast it almost hurt.
“Belle,” I breathed.
She didn’t smile.Not yet.But she didn’t look angry either.She looked… resolved.
“I was just about to knock,” she said.
I took a step toward her without thinking, then forced myself to slow.I didn’t want to rush her.Didn’t want to crowd her.
“I was about to come get you,” I said quietly.
Her mouth curved just a little.“Your mom told me you would, so I wouldn’t ruin Christmas.”
I huffed a breath that might’ve been a laugh.“She tends to do that.”
We stood there for a beat, and snow drifted down between us.
Belle shifted the box in her hands.“We should talk.”
“Yeah,” I said immediately.“We should.”
She looked down at the sidewalk, then back up at me.“I’m still mad.”
“I know,” I said.
“But I don’t think you were wrong,” she added quickly, like she needed me to hear that part too.“I think… I think you were trying to protect me.”
“I was,” I said.“But I should’ve told you first.”
She nodded.“You should have.”
I stepped closer and stopped just within arm’s reach.“I didn’t trust myself to stand by and do nothing,” I admitted.“And I should’ve trusted you enough to let you be part of the decision.”
Belle’s throat bobbed as she swallowed.“I don’t need you to stand in front of me,” she said softly.“I need you beside me.”
My chest tightened.“I can do that.”
She studied my face, searching, like she was making sure I meant it.“And I don’t want to owe you,” she added.“I don’t want this to be something hanging between us.”
“It’s not,” I said firmly.“I didn’t do it so you’d feel indebted.I did it because I couldn’t stand the idea of you being scared in your own life.”
Her eyes softened.“I know.”
Silence settled again, but this time it wasn’t heavy.It felt… fragile.Like something new, just formed.
“I don’t want secrets,” Belle said.“Even good ones.”
“You won’t get them,” I promised.“Not from me.”
She let out a slow breath, and her shoulders eased.“I don’t want to lose myself.”
“And I don’t want to lose you,” I said.“So we figure it out.Together.”
Belle looked at me for a long second.
Then she stepped forward and wrapped her arm around my waist.
