* * *
One hour and approximately fourteen orgasms later, Harry and Willow moved out to the deck to enjoy the sunshine. Harry bundled up in jeans and a sweatshirt while Willow sported a short-sleeved T-shirt.
He gave her a look like she was a madwoman. “Aren’t you cold?”
“You South Carolinians are so cute,” she said as she reached across the open space between their armchairs and patted his hand. “When I left my apartment this morning, it was four degrees. Four. The sky has been gray for the last week straight. Right now, I’m basking in the sunshine in nearly sixty-degree weather.”
“Does that mean you aren’t cold?”
“No, silly! It means you’re ridiculous for being cold.”
Harry pursed his lips and lifted his eyebrows. “Now the gloves come off, huh? Is this what life with you is like? Is this what I have to look forward to? Name-calling and abuse?”
Willow’s stomach did a flip-flopping head-over-heels tumble and she choked on her laughter. What did he mean, look forward to?
Did he mean, like, the way things were in that moment? With him in Bliss and her in New York and a lot of missing each other in between?
Or was he looking toward a real, honest to goodness future? One where they shared the same space, at the same time, all the time?
Harry’s face fell. “Uh-oh. What did I say? You look like someone just ran over your cat.”
“I don’t have a cat.” She really wasn’t ready to ask the whole where is this relationship going question. Absolutely no one liked that question and the chances were that his answer would be just as vague as hers and then there would be this big, blank space of awkward hanging in the air between them.
“Clever,” Harry said. “But don’t do that. Remember what I said about wanting nothing between us? That whole deal where I got super romantic and told you that the physical distance between our homes was enough? That we didn’t need to add anything else?” Carefully, cautiously, he took her hand, ran his thumb over her knuckle, and leaned across the space to kiss each finger. “I think you just added something.”
Willow looked away and shook her head. “It was just a silly thought. Not important.”
“Nope. Not gonna accept that as an answer.”
She looked at Harry and sighed. She knew the moment she brought up the future, it could force a conversation which might lead to the realization that there was no future for them and she one-hundred percent did not want to do that.
“Shit, Willie. You’re scaring me. Is it that bad?” Harry sat forward and swung his legs off the chair so he could face her.
“No, no, no. It’s not bad…” Willow closed her eyes and took a breath.
“Well then come on, baby. Talk to me. I’m here for you, in all ways on all days.”
When she opened her eyes, she almost couldn’t see through the tears. “That’s the thing. I want that. I really, really want that. I want you every single day of my life. I spend so much time missing you, and then we finally get together and time stops because it’s like finally all is right with the world. And then I go home, or you go home, and life goes back to normal…” She swiped at the tears in her eyes. “That’s the thing, I guess. I want being with you to be normal. Not the other way around.”
Harry pulled her into his lap and wrapped her in his arms, rocking her back and forth while she cried. He didn’t say a word, just let his body and his breath comfort her. When she finally stopped crying, he tilted her chin and pressed a delicate kiss to her forehead.
“It’s the only dry spot on your face,” he said. “Or I would have gone for the lips.”
Willow made a sound that was supposed to be a laugh, then did her best to dry her face. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to mess up our time together.”
“Don’t you dare apologize. And I want you to know that I feel the exact same way. I miss you and I don’t feel like I’m really living until we’re together. You’re my oxygen and my heart lives with you.”
Willow sniffed, her eyes burning. “You’re gonna make me cry again.”
“I promise you. All I want in this life is you. And right now, that means I only get you in short doses, and think about it. Isn’t that the way it should be at this point in time? You’re busy. You’re dancing in your dream company, getting ready to debut in your dream role! Where the hell would I fit into your life right now?”
Willow started to protest and Harry held up a hand.
“That’s the way it should be. You worked hard for this. You have to reap the rewards. But you better believe that once the curtain closes on that final show of Romeo and Juliet next month, I’ll be doing my damnedest to make sure that I’m part of your next set of dreams.” Harry swallowed hard and Willow could have sworn she saw a million things he couldn’t figure how to put into words begging to be noticed in his eyes. “Because you better believe that you’re a part of mine.”
Chapter Thirty-Two
Harry
February
Harry stared at a diamond ring in a plush black box, the dark velvet making the glinting stone stand out all the more. He couldn’t wait to see it on Willow’s finger. It would pale in comparison to her beauty, or maybe she would amplify its beauty, or maybe, knowing that wearing the ring meant she was his for the rest of
