I watched Colin snicker as he shook his head, and a part of me relaxed just a little bit.
“I never planned for this to happy,” I said.
“Neither did I,” Colin said.
“And if that speech was true and you want to try something between us, every article they run on you will somehow scrutinize me,” I said.
“And that isn’t fair to you,” he said.
“It would make me feel guilty in many ways, because I know you a lot better now. I know how loyal you are to those you care about, and I know you would take those articles personally. Like I would.”
“Then we just won’t read them,” he said.
“Do you remember what I do for a living?” I asked, snickering.
“Abby, that speech wasn’t fake. I meant every single word of it.”
I felt my eyes well with tears as my hands began to tremble in my lap.
“I know,” I said, breathlessly. “I know you meant it.”
“Then why did you—”
“Because it was easier to think that then to admit that I was scared of loving you in return.”
I sighed and closed my eyes as a tear slowly trickled down my cheek.
“The reason I was going to leave without saying goodbye is because goodbyes are too painful. When we parted after Christmas, it killed a part of me inside. I wanted to run back to you and cling to you. I wanted to stay with you and never let you go. We had our goodbye then, and it was a hell of a goodbye. And then you never called.”
“Abby, I can explain that.”
“I know why you didn’t call, Colin. I know you better than you think. You didn’t call because you wanted to protect me from the exact scenario we’ve found ourselves in. You wanted to protect my career and my reputation as well as the reputation of yourself and your company,” I said.
His silence told me I was spot on and I shook my head in disbelief.
“I couldn’t say goodbye to you this time because it was too painful. Because I am in love with you, too. And I didn’t know if I could handle giving myself over to you and then not hearing from you again, Colin. I just didn’t know if my—if my heart could take it.”
I felt the couch shift before a pair of hands wrapped around my body. I was pulled into Colin’s lap as his lips peppered my wet cheeks. I laid my head onto his shoulder and soaked up his warmth and shook against the strength of his body.
I had been such a coward, and I was ashamed of my own fear.
“I’m in love with you, too, Abby.”
I sighed at his words as I melted into his body.
“I love you,” he said, as he kissed my ear. “I love every single part of you.”
“Even the part of me that sings Christmas carols?” I asked.
“Especially that part,” he said, grinning.
I giggled into his neck as his hand started running through my hair. I nuzzled into the palm of his hand and he tilted my face up towards his. The sunlight was dancing in his bright blue eyes, turning them from their natural icy state into a swimming pool of strength that I wanted to soak in. My eyes flickered from his gaze to his lips, my body fighting between wanting him and wanting to run. I could feel my heart being put out there again. I could feel myself trusting a man again. I could feel my body rejecting every wall I’d thrown up after my ex cheated on me and stole from me, and I could feel my heart reaching out for him.
Then, I felt his lips press against mine as my eyes fluttered closed.
The kiss was soft and sensual. Passionate, but not needy. Our lips connected as my hands slid around his neck, and I felt his strong arms wrap around my back. We didn’t need our tongues in that moment to show the desire and passion we had for one another. I could feel it in the way his body yielded to mine. I could feel it in the way my curves molded to his strength.
I could feel it in the way he smiled into my skin as a giggle fell from my lips.
“How are we going to do this?” I asked, with a whisper.
“What do you mean?”
“Colin, we’re so far away. We can’t actually pull this off. You’re hardly in Minnesota, and when you are I’m sure it’s for work. And I most certainly don’t make the kind of money that can fly me out to L.A. on a whim. Long distance doesn’t work.”
“Doesn’t it?” he asked.
“No,” I said. “It doesn’t.”
“Then, I’ll just have to ask you to come with me.”
I stared at him in disbelief as a grin crossed his cheeks.
“What?” I asked flatly.
“Come with me. Back to L.A. Take the P.R. job there,” he said.
“You can’t be serious.”
“I was serious the first time I offered it to you and I’m serious now.”
“You mean you haven’t filled it?” I asked.
“No one’s been qualified for the position.”
“That’s a load of shit and you know it,” I said.
“Well, according to you, so are long distance relationships. So, we won’t be long distance.”
“I can’t just up and move to L.A. My family’s in Minnesota.”
“It’s not like you haven’t left them to start your own life in California once. They’re grown. I promise you they’ll do just fine.”
“Yeah, and look at how that life turned out,”
