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He steps out first, wrapping a towel around his waist, and then passes me another one.
He goes back into the bedroom, and I hear the drawer open.
I finish drying off and go back into the bedroom. My clothes are still on the floor by the bed where he dropped them earlier.
He sits on the edge of the bed, watching me get dressed.
“I’ll see you tomorrow,” he says quietly.
“Finn?”
“Yeah.”
“You’d tell me if something was wrong, right?”
He looks at me, but his eyes don’t reach mine. “There’s nothing wrong, Fox. I’m just wiped.”
“Okay.”
I pull my coat on and wrap his scarf around my neck.
At the door, I turn to him. I lean down and kiss him. He doesn’t kiss me back at first, but then I hear a sigh, and he leans into the kiss.
I drive back to Hall Farm, wondering how we became two strangers in the time between having him fall apart inside me and now.
Or maybe I just didn’t want to notice that he was already pulling away before I turned up at his doorstep.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
FINN
I push open the door to Noëlle’s, and the bell above chimes over the sound of Christmas music playing from the speakers.
Even for Christmas Eve at nine-thirty a.m., it’s quieter than usual. Last night’s Christmas concert at the festival drew a lot of people in, so it wouldn’t surprise me if everyone is taking it easy and getting ready for today, since it’s the last day and last chance to buy Christmas gifts.
Noëlle is behind the counter in her red apron with tiny embroidered snowflakes. Her hair is pulled up with a candy-cane pin.
She looks up when she hears the door.
“Griffin Hall. On a scale of zero to ten, how relieved are you that today is the last day of the festival?”
“One hundred.”
Noëlle laughs.
“I mean,” I say, backpedaling and probably making it worse, “I’ve loved this year’s festival so much.”
“Uh-huh.”
“It’s been so magical.”
“Uh-huh.”
“I might be a little sad it’s over.”
She raises her eyebrows. “Sit down by the window. I’ll bring you a coffee and a cinnamon roll.”
There’s no arguing with Noëlle when she gets that tone, so I go to the window table and drop into the chair.
