Snowed In (Fitzpatrick Christmas, #2)

by Catherine Walsh

Turns out the right decision just happened to be the most dramatic one, and as my getaway driver pulls out of the parking lot, I feel nothing but relief as we leave the hotel, the church, and my future behind.

I take her at her word, uploading the photo, and announcing our relationship to every social media account I have. It takes only a few seconds for the first few likes to start coming through. Only a few seconds to make it official. And that’s it. We’re coming home for Christmas.

“You are the passenger princess, which means you can do whatever you like.”

“I’ve had no complaints.” “How did we go from knitting to this?” “It’s the quiet ones you have to watch out for,” I say, and watch him smile as he makes a turn and drives us out of the city.

“Do you know what I was thinking earlier?” he asks. “When you left? I was thinking that I wish you hadn’t. I was thinking that I wished you’d stayed. And I was thinking, what am I going to do if she wants to stick to the plan? If, in a couple of days, she shakes my hand, and we go our separate ways. What the hell am I going to do? Because the thing is, the biggest thing I’ve realized is that this is real to me. All of it. The cabin. The party. You. Me. Everything. And I’ve been trying to figure out when it stopped being pretend, but I can’t put my finger on it. I think because a part of me has wanted this from the moment I bumped into you. It was like I couldn’t leave you alone even then. I didn’t want to.” He clasps his hands gently on either side of my face, dipping his head slightly so he can look me straight in the eye. “I’ve been searching for something my whole life, and nothing’s ever clicked. And I think it’s because I was looking for you.” His voice turns thick. “I’m falling in love with you,” he says and my heart squeezes like a fist. “I’m falling hard and fast and I don’t want to stop. But I don’t expect you to feel the same way. I swear, I don’t. We can take this slow, and if that means breaks or time apart, then we can do that. But I want you to know where I stand. I want to spend next Christmas with you, Megan. And every day in between. I want to wake up knowing I’m going to see you. I want to know everything there is to know about you and I want to start rig...

“Take me on a date,” I whisper. “A real one. Our first one.” “I can do that,” he murmurs. “And then?” And then? “Everything,” I tell him. “And then everything.”

“What’s Christmas without your family annoying you?” “A really good one?” “Don’t worry,” I say, as the first person rounds the corner. “I’ll be your backup.”

I am, as I seem to be more and more lately, right where I want to be. Right where I need to. And someday, I might be here again, and it will be me walking up that aisle. Me in that dress. And on that day, I’ll have no doubts, no worries. I’ll have nothing but hope and excitement for the future. A future with the man who I love more than I thought was possible. Who’ll stand beside me come what may. Always and forever.