Some lock that had been rusted, had been broken off, the door opened. She hadn’t laughed this much in years. Felt this much in years.
And though it was frightening, though her every sinew told her to run back into that little room where she’d been hiding, protecting herself, for the past three years, there was the part of her that screamed to hold on to what she was feeling now.
Not to let it go. Not to run away but to towards. She didn’t know which was more terrifying – the dark, or his light, and the possibility of losing again.
She couldn’t breathe.
“Penny, I know what you’re feeling right now. I can see it in your eyes.” He took a deep breath. “I know it’s scary to feel. When I was younger, after my brother’s death, I didn’t want to feel. I couldn’t feel. I tried for a long time to hide. To stay buried. Low to the ground. Alone. But Ian helped me to find my way. He was my friend and encouraged me, and the first time I saw you, I saw something of me in you. I saw the person who didn’t want to be seen, who wanted to shy away. That day I reached out hoping to help this beautiful woman I didn’t know, not knowing what you were going through, not understanding that you were going through what I had. But even after you tore my ego in two,” he smiled. “I couldn’t forget you. And now I’ve had the chance to know you a little. I can’t forget you.”
Be bold. You only have two days.
“What I’m saying is … I like you. A lot. And it doesn’t make sense. But does it have to?”
She was still there. She hadn’t run. It spurred him on, even though his words might very well be burying him in her silence. He couldn’t stop now. Finally, he said it.
“Let me make this Christmas in New York one to remember.”
