23. Felicity

felicity

. . .

When I got to work Friday, Gianni told me Winnie wanted to see me. “She’s been in here a couple times looking for you,” he said. “She tried calling and texting but said you didn’t respond.”

“Yeah, I’m taking a break from my social media, and it seemed easier to just take a break from my phone altogether,” I said. “I’ll go see what she wants.”

I found Winnie in the lobby, directing guests to the patio, where a rehearsal dinner was taking place. “Hey,” I said. “You were looking for me?”

“Yes. Hutton was here.” She beamed. “But I kept the secret. I had to tape my mouth shut, but I kept it.”

“Today?” My voice rose. “He was here today?”

“Yes. Earlier this afternoon.”

“What did he want?” My heart had started to race.

“To know where to find you. I didn’t tell him,” she added quickly. “But I promised to give you this.” She reached into her pants pocket and pulled out a small, folded square.

I took it from her and unfolded it.

It took me less than ten seconds to decode the dots and lines on the page. My eyes filled.

“What is it?” Winnie asked. “Some kind of secret language?”

“Yes.” I sniffed. “It says ‘I love you.’ It’s written in the code we promised each other we’d always honor.”

“Aww, that’s so cute. He looked really miserable—he does love you, Lissy. So much.”

“You think so?”

“Of course I do! He told me he’s never been in love before, and he doesn’t know what he’s doing, and he’s scared he blew his only chance to be with the one person who means everything to him.”

Goosebumps blanketed my arms. “He said all that?” He loves me. He loves me.

“Yes! And I’m sure I was not supposed to tell you any of it, but in my defense, I did make it obvious I’m terrible at keeping secrets. He also offered me a billion dollars for your whereabouts.” She lifted her chin. “I want you to know I didn’t take the money.”

I laughed. “Thank you.”

She bent down in a little curtsy. “You’re welcome. I think maybe you should hear him out, Felicity. Guys aren’t perfect, you know? Sometimes they need a second chance to get something right.”

Later that night, when I got back to Millie’s, I called him.

“Hello?”

I couldn’t help smiling. “That’s new. I was expecting your usual greeting.”

“I’m working on some things about myself.”

“Good for you.” I paused. “I got the bat signal. Are you okay?”

“No. There’s something I have to tell you, or it’s going to eat me alive.”

“Okay.”

“Can I see you?”

“I guess so. I’m at Millie’s.”

“Text me the address,” he said. “I’ll be there as fast as I can.”

We hung up, and I sent him Millie’s address. I had just enough time to change out of my work uniform into shorts and a T-shirt, and although I debated fussing with my hair and makeup, I decided against it. Hutton knew what I looked like morning, noon, and night. I didn’t need to paint my face for him.

But I did take the ring from the blue box and slip it on my finger.

When he pulled up, I was sitting on the porch with my arms wrapped around my knees. My pulse skittered as he came up the front walk. “Hey,” I said, getting to my feet.

“Hey.” His smile was boyish and charming. “Will you go for a drive with me?”

“Sure.”

He took my hand and led me to the passenger side of his car, where he opened the door for me and closed it after I got in. A few minutes later, we were heading toward town.

“Are we going anywhere in particular?” I asked.

“You’ll see.”

I tried to guess where he might be taking me, but we stayed in so much that there weren’t a lot of places that had a ton of memories for us besides his house. Since we weren’t going in that direction, I was completely baffled.

For a moment, I wondered if he was taking me to some airfield where a private jet was going to whisk us away to some exotic location. I hoped not—I didn’t want him to think that I needed those kinds of things to be happy.

I shouldn’t have worried. Hutton knew me better than that. Even better, he knew us.

We pulled up behind the public library, where a little old lady was waiting by the door with a set of keys. She was short and plump and had a head full of coppery curls.

“There you are,” she whispered excitedly. “I was getting nervous.”

“Sorry, Gladys. Thanks a lot for this.”

“You’re welcome, dear. I’m glad to help.” She unlocked the door and put a finger over her mouth. “Don’t turn any lights on, okay?”

Hutton nodded. “We won’t be long.”

“I’ll just wait in my car.” Gladys looked back and forth between the two of us and sighed before hurrying over to a Buick, the only other car in the lot.

“What on earth?” I whispered as Hutton took my hand and pulled me through the dark, silent library. “Why are we here?”

“I need a second chance at something.” He led me into the study room off the main section of the library, and over to the table where we’d once sat studying for our AP calculus exam.

I laughed softly as Hutton pulled out the chair for me. “Thank you.”

He sat down next to me. “I don’t know what would have happened if I’d had the nerve to kiss you that night. But I do know that I have always regretted not taking that chance when I had it.”

“Is this a do-over?” I asked, my heart pounding just as hard as it had been when I was seventeen.

“It’s a do-better.” He leaned in, his lips nearly touching mine, and paused. “You’re not chewing gum, are you?”

I shook my head.

“Good.” Taking my head in his hands, he pressed his lips to mine, sending sparks shooting every which way beneath my skin. “Everything is going to be different from now on.”

“It is?”

“Yes. That night, you told me something you’d never told anyone before. I’m going to return the favor.”

“Okay.” I tried to swallow and found it difficult.

“I love you, Felicity. I’ve always loved you. And if you’ll let me, I will love you for the rest of my life.”

I gasped. “Oh my God. Hutton, I?—”

“Hold on. I want to hear every single word you want to say, but I’m afraid if I don’t get everything out all at once, I’ll lose my nerve. Or I’ll forget something important.”

“Okay,” I said, laughing softly.

“That day my family showed up at my house and I asked you to keep pretending we were engaged, it wasn’t only because I wanted my mother off my back. It was because I wanted the chance to be with you without the risk of losing you. I didn’t trust myself not to screw things up. I didn’t believe that someone like me could hold onto someone like you. I was convinced that if you got close enough, you’d see all my flaws and idiosyncrasies and know you could do better.”

“All I want is you,” I whispered. “But I understand your fear. I was scared too. I thought I could ration my feelings the way I usually did.”

“Like truffles?”

I smiled. “Like truffles. But it didn’t work. Every day we were together I just fell deeper and deeper.”

“I did too,” he said. “I was a wreck when we got home from New York.”

“Same! Even in New York—that day I tried on the dress.” I shook my head. “I knew it wasn’t just a dress, no matter what you said.”

“You were right.”

“And the ring.” I looked down at my hand, at the band circling my finger. “You gave me a real ring.”

“I wanted to buy you all the real things, because my feelings were real. But it was easier to spend money than to admit them.”

“Let’s make a promise that we’ll be honest with each other from now on.”

“Deal.”

“Is this where I can tell you I love you too?”

He smiled. “Sure.”

“I love you too—everything about you. What you see as flaws and idiosyncrasies are what make you different and special. I’m not perfect either,” I said with a laugh. “I’ll probably always cut my hair when I’m stressed, never walk right in high heels, and continue to blurt random things when I’m nervous.”

“I might think you were the wrong girl if you didn’t.”

“And I know that you might not always be in touch with your earthy bull feelings, but I promise to be patient and not snatch them back into my little crab shell.”

“Good.” He leaned forward and kissed me. “Because there’s only one crab for me.”

“So what happened that made you realize all this?”

He laughed. “My sister. Turns out, she knew the engagement was bullshit, but she didn’t say anything, because she thought it was just how we were working up the nerve to admit how we felt for real.”

I gasped. “Just like Millie!”

“She saw me wrestling with my feelings and pretty much told me I had to get over myself or let you go.” He shook his head. “Letting you go was not an option. So here we are.”

“Here we are.” I smiled and glanced around. “How are we here, anyway?”

“Turns out, one of the Prancin’ Grannies is the boss here.”

“Gladys?”

“Gladys.” He shrugged. “Also I made a very large donation to the Friends of the Public Library Foundation.”

I laughed. “Will there be a Hutton French wing sometime next year?”

“Possibly.” He took my hand again, playing with my fingers. “What are the chances I can get you to come home with me tonight?”

“Hmm. Are we talking theoretical probability here?”

He shrugged. “If you insist.”

“Then I would say the desired outcome is highly likely. In fact, I would say it is a mathematical certainty.”

The following morning, Hutton woke up early as usual for his run, but I grabbed his arm and snatched him back into bed. “Five more minutes,” I begged.

Laughing, he pulled me close once more, and we lay tangled up in each other as the sunlight streamed through the window. We hadn’t even bothered pulling the drapes closed last night, we’d been in such a hurry to tear each other’s clothes off. Our reunion had been hot and frantic at first—we’d gone at each other as if we’d been apart for months, not days. But the second round was slower and sweeter, like we were settling into it and knew we didn’t have to rush. There was no deadline, no end in sight. No one was going to take this feeling from us.

“So about tonight,” he said, brushing his hand up and down my naked back. “I have a surprise for you.”

“You do?” I smiled and snuggled closer.

“Yes—that is, if I have permission to surprise you.”

“You do.” I giggled. “I like your surprises.”

“I just have one request. Can I pick you up for the party at your sister Millie’s house?”

“Sure. But why?”

“If I tell you, that will spoil the surprise.” He kissed the top of my head. “You just have to trust me.”

“I do.” I closed my eyes, blissfully happy. “I do trust you.”

“I haven’t mentioned this yet, but I told Wade I’m not coming back to San Francisco.”

I picked up my head and stared at him. “What? You’re leaving HFX?”

“I haven’t decided that yet. But I want to live here—with you. I’ll start looking for a new place this week.”

My eyes filled. “Really? You’ll stay here? Because I’d go with you to California if that’s what you wanted. My business can go anywhere with me.”

“Nah. I’ve had enough of that life. I like it here. My family is here, your family is here, it’s peaceful and quiet...I don’t want to leave.”

I put my cheek back on his chest, and he held me tight.

“Everything is going to be okay,” he promised.

It felt like a dream, but we were finally real.