Chapter 31

Thirty-On e

LUCY

Before opening my eyes, I bask in the warmth and comfort of this bed. The mattress is just the right combination of soft and firm. The comforter and sheets lay delicately across my skin and certainly kept me warm throughout the night. I’m sure it cost a small fortune, but could one really put a price on the perfect night’s sleep?

The weight of the comforter shifts on top of me. My eyes shoot open, and I look down. It’s not the weight of the blanket I am wrapped up in—it’s Henry. His arm lays loosely around my chest while his leg is tucked between mine. Then his breath warms my skin as his head rests on the crook of my neck.

As the shock of our sleeping positions subsides, the desire I’ve been suppressing roars back to life. Every inch of my body is urging me to turn into his embrace, to face him and wake him with a kiss.

How did I get here? Could I still be sleeping? Is this a dream ?

Could this be a reality for me?

If the fake relationship, production company, social media, and ex-boyfriend were removed, could I have a future with Henry? One where we wake up in this bed every morning?

I give myself one brief moment to hope but then come back to reality. If that’s something I want, then first, I need to fix all those issues that need to be removed, starting with John.

I don’t want to wake Henry, on the chance he may too feel awkward about how we ended up in the night. I just don’t want to risk seeing the disappointment on his face when he wakes up snuggling me.

Delicately as I can, I slip out from under his embrace and head to the bathroom, closing the door quietly behind me.

During my shower, I remind myself not to cling too much to the hope of us being together. It’s desperately becoming something I want, but I don’t want it to be tangled up in all of this. I’ve had my fill of complicated relationships, and that’s the last thing I want with Henry.

I hear a loud knock over the running water. “Almost done in there?” Henry asks.

“Just another five minutes,” I yell back and hurry to make up for the time I spent standing under the showerhead daydreaming.

When I exit the bathroom with my towel tied tightly around my waist and my hair up in another, I am greeted with quite the show. Henry’s smile lights up before disappearing under the T-shirt he pulls up and over his head on the way into the bathroom. “Oh, good morning,” he says to me over his shoulder. I clutch my hairdryer and move over to my nightstand to plug it in.

I rush through my hair and makeup routine so that I can be downstairs in the kitchen by the time he exits the bathroom. I have a feeling he might walk out in nothing but his towel, and I don’t know if my heart can take that after waking up in his embrace.

Blissfully distracted by the large view of the snow-covered property, I wait for Henry to join me.

“The usual?” Henry asks.

“Yes, thank you.” My gaze remains outside. Even with all the trouble this snow has caused, I can’t bring myself to be too mad about it. “Beautiful view.”

“It certainly is,” Henry agrees. “Snow looks lovely too,” he adds.

I turn to him and roll my eyes.

“We could take a walk this morning if you’d like,” Henry suggests.

“That sounds great—I love being out in the snow.” Back in New York, when the snow fell, it meant an unexpected reprieve from the classroom. Mornings were spent shoveling. Leaving the rest of the day to spend relaxing with a movie or a book.

He leans against the island. “Could be a good place to take a picture for the social media accounts.”

Oh no. I’ve completely forgotten about the accounts since I arrived. Panic fills my system. “Henry, I’m so sorry. I haven’t posted since I arrived.” I scramble to put my coffee down and pull my phone from my back pocket.

Henry takes my hands into his. “Lucy, it’s okay. I posted.” I look up at him. “Just an old photo of Max and I, then yesterday I posted a picture of my bookshelf.”

“Oh, well, then I guess it’s caught up.” Glad he remembered all of this, but I feel a little pinch of hurt that he didn’t forget it when everything else was happening. I need to take this as a reminder of where his priorities lie.

“What do you say to posting a photo of us in the snow then?”

“Great idea. I’ll get my gloves and new hat.” I run upstairs to grab them from my suitcase before he can notice the emotions that must be playing on my face as they race through my mind.

While warming up in the big chair by the fire, I scroll through the selfies we took in the snow. They look perfect, just as romantic as the experience was for me. In most of them, it would be nearly impossible to recognize us underneath the hats, scarves, and sunglasses. Once we realized that, we took our sunglasses off, making our matching pink noses more noticeable and adorable. I think this might be the best one to post. As I move to hit the share button, I see the option to make this photo my home screen. It takes only a second before I give in to the temptation. No one but me will see it because a lilac photo still acts as my lock screen, but I like knowing it’s there.

The day continues on, and still no sign of plow trucks to clear the roads. Tomorrow is Christmas Eve, so they must plan to have them clear by then. At least, I really hope they will .

It’s time to prepare John for our anticipated departure tomorrow.

I make my way to his room but stop at the first stair as if the magnetic pull from yesterday’s kiss with Henry still resides in that spot. If this is what you want, you have to clear out all the mess first. Right, I continue up the staircase and knock on John’s door.

“Hey, it’s me. Can we speak for a moment?” I ask.

John opens the door quickly and motions for me to enter with a smirk on his face. He must assume I am here to rekindle our relationship, but it’s just the opposite. I enter but stop only a step inside.

“The snow has stopped, and the plows should be coming around shortly to clear the roads. With the possibility of ice, I’d rather not travel after dark.” He looks at me, confused. My patience with him is running out.

“Plan to leave first thing tomorrow. I’ve arranged for the driver to be here at 8:00 a.m. sharp. It will take us at least an hour to get back to London, and then the driver will be able to return to his family’s celebrations fairly early. Once we get to my apartment, we will book you the next flight out of London.”

“You’re coming with me tomorrow morning?” he asks.

“Yes, you don’t very well know your way around the city, and honestly, John, I don’t trust you after showing up here, so I plan to watch you get on that plane myself.”

“I think after we get away from this mansion and finally have time alone to talk things through, you’ll see things a little differently,” he says confidently.

“John, don’t start this.”

“Lucy, I’m looking forward to leaving tomorrow morning. I think spending time, just the two of us, on Christmas Eve in London will be just what we need.”

“There is no more we, John.” This conversation is more exhausting than the hours I just spent in the snow. That’s because those were with Henry, and time with Henry never feels like this. “I am with Henry now. I am just accompanying you to the airport tomorrow afternoon. Understood?”

“Absolutely, and I look forward to our time together,” he answers with a smirk.

Exasperated, I turn and leave, closing the door behind me. Henry is leaning against the railing opposite John’s door, looking as handsome as ever. He doesn’t say anything as I walk across the landing and into his arms.

“The girls are looking for you. They are in the lounge downstairs.” His tone is soft as he speaks. I nod but remain in his embrace. He kisses the top of my head. “After you’re done with them, I’ll meet you in the kitchen, and we can start on dinner.”

Reluctantly, I pull out of his arms, “Okay, see you then.” I head down the staircase, turning back to look at him when I reach the bottom stairs. He smiles down at me.

“Lucy!” Mia shouts, “Where have you been? We couldn’t find you.”

I slump my shoulders as I land in the chair next to Mia and Hannah on the loveseat. “Unfortunately, dealing with the ex-situation.”

“How’s that going?” Hannah asks.

“As frustrating as ever, but hoping to have it resolved in the morning. ”

“You’re planning to take him back to London on Christmas Eve?” Hannah asks.

“Yes, that’s the plan. I need to rid myself of the parasite as soon as possible and by any means necessary.”

“The what?” Mia asks as she’s laughing.

“The parasite.” I smile. “That is the nickname my best friend Ellie gave John years ago. It is fitting, as you now know, he is very difficult to get rid of.”

Laughter erupts among us. “We’ve all got crazy ex stories, Lucy, but I think this one wins the award for the worst,” Mia says, wiping the tears from her eyes.

“I, unfortunately, will accept that award.” I stand to take an obnoxious bow.

Hannah, always the kindest in our group, changes the subject to something unknown to her that Mia and I have been trying to find a natural way to bring up. “Don’t forget we will still need fancy dresses for New Year’s Eve. The snow has deprived us of our shopping days before we leave to visit our families. Since we don’t plan to get back until the thirtieth, I’m not sure if that will give us enough time to shop.”

“We could each plan to shop while we are at our next destinations, then come back to show off what we find,” Mia suggests.

Perfect, Mia. “Yes, that way, we don’t have to panic about finding the perfect dresses at the last minute, and we could plan to go to the salon on the thirtieth and get manicures and pedicures. New nails for the New Year,” I suggest.

“Oh, that sounds fun,” Hannah agrees. This is almost too easy. “But I’m still worried about finding the right dress. I was thinking maybe we should order a couple online, in addition to your idea, Mia, just to be safe.”

Mia and I both agree.

“Have them delivered here so they will arrive while you’re gone and ready for you when you get back,” I suggest.

“Yes, let’s do that now. We still have time before dinner,” Mia suggests, and we each pull out our phones and begin our online shopping for the perfect New Year’s Eve dresses. Mia and I fabricate how dressy we are planning to look to make sure Hannah looks radiant on her big night.