Chapter 34

Thirty-Fou r

HENRY

Somewhere between sleep and consciousness,

memories of the night before fill my mind. Lucy stalked toward me before climbing on top of me, kissing me to the point of madness. When I could no longer restrain myself, I gave into my lust, devouring her on my bed.

Everything in my body told me to keep going, to finally make her mine, but thankfully, I stopped it when I had. She needs to know how I feel before I claim her completely.

The way she moved beneath my touch confirms that she feels the pull between us just as strongly as I do, but I need to know if it’s more than the physical attraction.

Sharing her pleasure was enough for last night, but today is a different story. Not another moment will be wasted on uncertainty between us.

There will be time for flowers and romantic dinners later, now I need to express my admiration. I’ll wake her with soft whispers, declaring my affection for her .

Rolling over, I slightly open my eyes to find her as my arm falls across an empty bed.

“Lucy?” I call toward the bathroom.

No answer.

Her e-reader sits in its place on her nightstand. She never goes anywhere without it. Even when we were in London, she always had it on her. London. She’s taking John back today. She must be downstairs, waiting for the driver. I grab my phone to check the time and find a text from her.

Lucy

Didn’t want to wake you, leaving for London now. Thanks for the coffee! I’ll text you with updates as I have them. Talk soon!

Loneliness overcomes me as I dress for the day. She left her e-reader here, a clear sign she plans to return soon, hopefully tonight.

Moving through the house, it feels empty.

I stop to peek in the spare bedroom that John occupied, it’s as if he were never here. It looks just as I set it for Lucy before they arrived, except for the books she brought with her into my room. I smile at the memory of her pulling them off the shelf and clutching them in her arms as she walked across the hall.

Even with everything that we shared between us last night, I can’t overcome this feeling of jealousy as she spends the day with another man, one she has a complicated history with. My instinct was to insist I go with her, but after all he’s put her through, I know how important it is for her to end this on her own. It’s not her that concerns me. It’s him and his persistent pursuit to win her back.

Standing at the counter, the sound of the coffee brewer starting up is the only noise in the house as my gaze sweeps over the snow-covered garden.

Thankful for the brief privacy, I begin what I expect will be a long day of repeating “everything will be fine” to myself.

Oliver and Finn, accompanied by their partners, gradually make their way to the kitchen. It was decided days ago that today will be a simple breakfast, everyone skims through the pastries and fruit before taking a seat at the table.

I draft a quick text to Lucy, trying my best not to sound too desperate.

Henry

Be safe.

I hit send, even though I have so much more I’d like to say. Those words are not meant to be shared in a text message.

Finn breaks my concentration, “Lucy and John leave already?”

“Yes, a little more than an hour ago,” I answer.

“That guy was something else,” Hannah adds, shaking her head.

“Last night, he was really putting on the charm. I think he was even trying to win us over to his side,” Mia adds, then meets my gaze. “Of course, he didn’t, Henry. You have nothing to worry about. We all know you’re much better for her than he ever was.”

“Even after twenty years…” Finn mockingly repeats John’s favorite piece of evidence in his case, causing laughter to erupt around the table.

Oliver turns to me with a serious expression. “How are you holding up with all of this? Her leaving with him can’t be easy.”

“It’s not.”

He nods, “Why don’t I come with you to town? You said you had to pick up a few things, and I’d like to get some flowers to bring to Hannah’s mother.”

Oh yes, I almost forgot this was our cover story for leaving the house today to make final preparations for his proposal. “Yes, thank you. I’d appreciate the company.”

The first stop in town is at the bakery. I have a smaller order of pastries to be delivered on the twenty-seventh for Lucy and me, then a larger one to be delivered on the thirtieth for when everyone rejoins us.

Oliver finalizes the order of a dozen double chocolate cupcakes, Hannah’s favorite, for New Year’s Eve. I coordinate with the bakery to be the contact person for deliveries, giving my cell for them to text upon arrival so we can be sure to sneak them in without Hannah noticing.

Next, we move to the florist. Oliver orders a customized garland to decorate the banister of the staircase and large vases to sit on the bottom steps filled with red roses .

To Oliver’s surprise, I also place an order for a few bouquets of fresh flowers to have around the house for Lucy.

Before we leave, I remind Oliver that he needs to get the flowers he announced at the breakfast table he was picking up to bring to Hannah’s mother.

“Thanks, Pop. It completely slipped my mind.”

The rest of the day is spent cooking with everyone pitching in. As we set the table, I take a photo of the arrangement and post it to my account with a caption Lucy came up with, “Happy holidays from my family to yours.” Dinner is a success.

After dessert, we move to the lounge and settle in for our Christmas Eve gifting. Once my gifts are open, I excuse myself like I do every year and give the two couples privacy to exchange between themselves.

Checking my phone again, it’s nearing midnight, and I’ve only received two additional texts from Lucy today. The first briefly said everything was fine. The second confirmed she wouldn’t make it back here this evening but would call tonight.

My phone battery is almost dead, so I grab my charger and plug my mobile in, turning the volume up as high as it can so I don’t miss her call while I am in the shower.

Stepping under the powerful streams, I let the warm water consume me while trying to remain positive.

Everything is all right.

She can handle this .

There’s nothing to worry about.

If something was wrong, she would have called.

Everything is all right.

I keep repeating these rational thoughts over and over in hopes of drowning out the many more irrational ones that refuse to go away. I stay in the shower longer than normal to delay the inevitable, having to sleep in my bed alone.

I turn off the water as my skin begins to raisin. Using a towel, I dry off my hair and then wrap it around my waist. The phone screen is dark as I walk back to my nightstand. The screen lights up when I tap it.

MISSED CALL: LUCY

1 NEW VOICEMAIL

Not waiting to listen to the message, I call her back immediately, but it doesn’t ring. It goes straight to her voicemail.

Hanging up, I listen to the message she left.

“Hi Henry, it’s been a hectic day. I’m sorry to be calling you so late. Everything is fine, but I can’t give you the full story now. My phone battery is about to die, and I forgot the charger at your place. Hopefully, I’ll be able to find a shop that’s open tomorrow to buy another. I’ll call again as soon as I can. Merry Christmas, Henry.”

Hearing her voice settles my nerves. She isn’t avoiding me. She said everything is fine, but didn’t mention John at all. Is he already on his way to the States, or is he squatting in her apartment?

She didn’t sound stressed, only tired .

If something were to happen, she would have no way to reach me. I could get in my car now and drive to her apartment. Not in the middle of the night. She’s probably sleeping already. Now is not the time for me to make these decisions. I’ll try to sleep tonight and hopefully hear back from her first thing.

If not, I’ll go to her.