Page 68 of Inherited Holiday

“You know why.”

“Ugh! You can’t just ask me to leave with you and expect me to say yes. That’s not fair.”

Neither one of us said anything for I don’t know how long. Both of us were lost in our own thoughts. The future played out in front of me, almost like a crystal ball.

I didn’t like what I saw.

What I felt.

It was awful.

I didn’t have my best friend.

“Please don’t go,” I begged, needing to get through to him.

“Please come with me,” he pleaded, wanting to get through to me too.

Again, silence.

It was truly deafening and loud at the same time.

He kissed me.

Softly.

Affectionately.

It was a goodbye kiss.

The one you see in movies.

Read about in books.

I wanted to understand him, but I couldn’t, and I hated him for that. The emotions were conflicting, each and everyone.

“Please don’t do this…” I proceeded, my will to not leave with him dwindling.

I didn’t think it was over.

Even after he left.

Even after I realized much later that this would be the last time we’d see each other for the next thirteen years, yet he still didn’t say…

“I love you.”

CHAPTER 26

NOELLE: NOW

“Ishould have said it then to you,” he confessed like he knew exactly where my mind went.

He didn’t hesitate to grip the back of my legs and carry me inside the gingerbread house.

Talk about full circle.

It had a heater, along with an obscene amount of food and blankets. He turned it into a cozy place for us to hang in. What a perfect way to spend Christmas Eve.

He set me down on the table he built for me with his own bare hands. Once I was sitting between his legs, he kissed me.

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