“That’s exactly why you need to hear me say it to you. And they need to know I mean it.”
I sit up slightly, wrapping the blanket around myself as if to ward off any negative emotions. “What if they don’t like me?”
He smiles gently. “They will.”
“You don’t know that.”
“I do,” he says.
“How?” I demand.
“Because you’re honest and you love me. In our family those are the only two pieces of currency that matter.”
I hesitate. “And if I mess up?”
“Then you’ll fit right in.” He thinks about it for a second. “Especially your cow obsession. Pretty certain Kalie wanted to bring back half of Banff on her uncle’s plane the last time she was there.”
Even as I straighten up to whack Charlie with my pillow, hope, terror and excitement tangle together inside of me. I blurt out, “Why now?”
“Because it’s time, Rhoswen. It’s time to take the next step,” he finishes.
Charlie’s answer robs me of speech. So I nod.
Slowly. Deliberately.
Finally, when I regain the power, I give him the answer he’s hoping for. “Yes.”
His exhale is immediate. Relieved. Like he’d been bracing without realizing it. He confirms, “Yes to Twelfth Night?”
“Yes,” I repeat. “I’ll go.”
He pulls me into his chest, holding me tightly—not like he’s afraid I’ll disappear, but like he’s grateful I didn’t.
I rest my cheek against his heart again, listening to its steady rhythm.
“I’m going to panic,” I warn.
“I’ll be right here.”
“I might say something boring at the wrong time.”
“They’ll survive.”
“I might need to escape.”
“I’ll hold the door to the escape hatch.”
I smile, then grow serious. “Thank you. For trusting me with that part of you.”
His lips brush my hair. “Thank you for wanting it.”
We lie together entangled for a while longer each of us thinking about Twelfth Night and the possibilities of it. For the first time in a long time, the thought of stepping into someone else’s world doesn’t feel like a risk.
It feels like an invitation.
Wrapped in Charlie’s arms, I let myself believe that maybe—just maybe—they’ll accept I belong there too.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
