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"Good to see you came back," he says, winking at me.

"You're glad I came back?"

"Well, it's probably a good thing." He shoulder-checks me and flashes a look across to Audrey. "Because if you'd made her cry, Mom was going to disown you and adopt her instead."

"Honestly? Fair trade."

The last shuttle finally loads at nine, packed with tired kids clutching candy canes and parents holding booking confirmations. It rolls down the drive with a chorus of horn beeps, and the farm goes quiet except for the crackle of the dying bonfire.

And there's Audrey, standing beside it, watching the taillights disappear.

I walk over and hold out her keys.

"I believe these are yours. Full disclosure, I technically stole your car. In my defense, I thought the fiancé was back, and I know how you love dramatic exits."

She takes the keys and looks up at me, exhausted and furious and so beautiful the rest of my speech evaporates.

"You know," she says, "abandoning a bride beside a Christmas tree and then stealing her car feels unnecessarily committed to our original theme."

A laugh cracks out of me, and she starts laughing too. The knot in my chest finally loosens and I hold out my hand.

"Audrey. There's something I want to say. But I don't want to do it here in front of everybody. Walk with me?"

She takes my hand, and I lead her through the gap in the fence, into the wild part of the farm.

The path is churned with hundreds of footprints of little boots, big boots, and every tiny piece of evidence of the busiest day this land has seen in a decade. Snow rests thick on the branches ahead, and the farm's lanterns glow behind us as we reach the clearing.

My great-grandfather's tree towers over everything, sixty feet of evergreen wearing fresh snow like a coronation.

"Okay," Audrey says. "I'm exhausted. So start talking before I collapse on the spot."

"I'm sorry I left." I face her and hold her eyes with mine. "I saw you with Brett. I saw the ring. And every piece of my life told me I already knew how it ended."

"What do you mean?"

I sigh. "Well, nobody ever wants me forever. I've always just been a stop-gap. A temporary solution. So when I saw that diamond in your hand, I decided you wouldn't either, and I ran before you could prove me right."

Her eyes soften. "Miles—"

"But I should have stayed. I know that. I should have asked what you wanted." I take a breath. "I guess in my defence, if I did that… I wouldn't have done what I did next."

Audrey's big beautiful eyes narrow across at me. "What are you talking about?"

"I declined Ottawa."

Her whole body goes still. "You what?"

"I told them no. Tonight. From the Ski Bar. With witnesses and a commemorative cocktail that I'm fairly sure Stanley wanted to set on fire."

"Miles Stratton, if you sacrificed your entire career for me, I swear to—"

“No.” I take her face in my hands. “I didn’t sacrifice my career for you, Audrey. I chose to stay here with you. There’s a difference.”

Her breath catches.

“Ottawa was the dream I thought I needed. But Chilmore has my family, my farm and one terrifying blonde who made everyone I love believe in the future again. You didn’t ask me to give anything up, sweetheart. You showed me there was something here I wanted more.”

I hold her gaze and watch her eyes shine while her lip trembles.