“Yep. The same job where the men will inevitably tell me that women don’t mind it so much. But who is going to educate them if I’m not there? They need me. And my kids need me. And clearly, my family needs me, as you have seen for yourself.”
“I think what they need is an intervention, but it is equally obvious you are cherished and needed there.”
Amy laughed. Then she sobered. “It’s so strange—I was so certain that I wanted to recapture what I used to have, but I really don’t.”
“I get it,” he said. “So the question remains…where do we go from here?”
“We carry on? Remember this fondly as a festive fling by the lake while it was snowing? A merry little Christmas affair?”
Harrison said nothing, and neither of them spoke for a moment as the reality settled around them. This had been a magical interlude, there was no disputing it. But she supposed they both had known from the start that’s all it could be.
“No,” Harrison said softly.
“No what?”
“No, I don’t want to remember it like that,” he said. “I want toremember this as the best Christmas ever. As the one time in my life I was truly, undisputably happy.”
Amy turned her head to look at him, eyes wide. “Really?”
“Of course really. I have fallen for you, Amy. Like…like a meteorite.”
She was startled by his admission and sat up, turning to face him. “You’ve fallen for me?”
“Why do you look so surprised? Is it not obvious? Because if it’s not, I’m doing this all wrong. Yes, I have fallen for you in a way I didn’t think would ever be in the cards for me. I have fallen so hard and so long that even Hillary couldn’t get me back up. Can’t you tell?”
“No!” she exclaimed. “No, wait—yes. I mean, I hoped that was the case because it’s happened to me. I have fallen.”
“Do you mean it?” He looked so hopeful, her heart ached for him.
“Oh, Harrison. I mean every word. I fell for you way back there. Before the Bossy Posse. Probably from the moment I knew you weren’t going to kill me. I fell for you the moment you showed up on the deck with that martini.”
“Funny,” he said, and stroked her hair. “That’s about when I fell hard for you.”
She pressed her hand to his face. “I didn’t think I could ever feel this way again.”
“I know. Me too. I thought that was the stuff of the romantic comedies that I watched on planes.”
She laughed sadly. “Well, this sucks.”
He smiled, caught her hand, and kissed her palm. “Thanks. This sucks in the worst way for me, too.”
“Thanks,” she whispered, and damn it if tears didn’t fill her eyes.
He kissed her forehead then pulled her into his side once more. “Is this what middle age is like?” he muttered. “Making decisions with your head and not your heart? Because if love was the only deciding factor, this would be a no-brainer,” he added.
The wordlovesent a small quake through her. “Did you say what I think you did?”
“What, love?” He stroked her hair. “I do love you, Amy. What I feel for you is not something I’ve felt in a very long time. I don’t know that I ever felt it so strongly. These two weeks have been…perfect,” he said.
“Perfect,” she repeated softly. “For me, too. This terrible, excellent week in this terrible, excellent little cabin has been the best week I’ve had in years and years.”
“For me, too, Amy. Me too.”
She felt like her entire body was fizzing. His words were magic, his touch was safety. Her heart felt so full it could burst. “It’s so unbelievable, isn’t it? I love you, too. I feel like a whole new Amy when I’m with you.”
“Same. I feel like I belong when I’m with you. So how can there not be something more for us?” he asked. “I’m going back to my work, and you’re going back to your work and your family. But there has to be more.”
They sat in silence for a moment. Amy wondered if he, too, was trying to imagine how there could be more. But when no solution presented itself, she said, “Can’t we just stay here forever?”
