Faking It with My Bossy Ex (Sweet Christmas Kisses)

26. Dylan

Chapter 26

Dylan

“I’m Leo.”

So maybe revealing who I really am up on stage was not the best idea.

“I’m sorry. I never meant for it to happen. I promise I told myself I’d leave you alone, let you live your life. Then one day, I saw one of your paintings. I bought it and you sent me a thank you email.”

The day is fresh as rain in my head, and I think about it often.

“I thought we could be friends.”

“So for the past almost six years, you’ve been my friend? ”

“Yes. It was never supposed to be more than that. Then we ran into each other here, and …” I shake my head. “Please don’t be mad.”

“I’m not mad. I’m not sure what I am.” Someone steps out of the main auction hall, and I pull her away from the walkway and turn her back to the wall, caging her in with one hand against it by her head, the other cupping her cheek.

“I’m in love with you, Amy. I’ve never stopped. I’d do anything, be anything, just to have a real chance with you again. I know I can’t erase what happened, but I can promise you that I’ll spend every day proving I deserve this chance. I’ll be whatever you need.”

“Dylan.” Her voice is breathy, so fragile. I brush my thumb over her cheek. There’s no space between us, save for an inch. I can feel her chest rising and falling with mine. Her flushed cheeks, the way she leans in ever so slightly …

“Ames, will you give me a second chance?”

Her eyes meet mine, wide, almost searching, and every second that passes feels like a lifetime.

The answer, the one that will either make me a new man or crush me completely hovers there, unspoken.

The door bursts open, and people crowd the halls, pulling us from the moment.

“Come on! The fireworks are about to start.” Laura motions to us as she passes and I freeze.

Fireworks? I almost forgot. There was a fireworks show donated by the mayor at the last minute. I take Amy’s hand in mine.

“What do you say? Do you want to watch the fireworks with me?”

She nods, her eyes still wide. I’m dying inside. Will she accept me now she knows the truth? We follow the surge of the crowd down the hall and out into the snowy night. I lead us to a spot where we’re not too crowded by everyone else but still able to see the fireworks.

A loud bang lights the sky with beautiful reds, blues, and greens. But all I can focus on is Amy. The way her face lights up in the glow, the slight upward curve of her lips …

She is the only one I want to be looking at tonight, or any night.

“I never tried to come here at the same time as you. I just wanted to do something that reminded me of you. I’m not sorry we ran into one another, either. We were meant to be. This was meant to be …”

“I’m not sorry either,” she says softly, wrapping my heart in a vise. Please let this mean what I think it means.

***

Amy

Dylan is Leo. My Leo is Dylan.

The funny friend who could make me laugh on the darkest days, who saw right through my fears and insecurities without even trying. How could I have missed it?

I want to be his. Not just for now, not just for a while, but for always. Forever.

“Oh,” his eyes light up, drawing my attention, shaking me from my stupor. “I forgot.” He digs into his pants pocket and pulls out a small black box. “Merry Christmas,” he says. My hands tremble a bit as I reach for it.

I take the box. What other surprises could he possibly have? He’s done too much for me already, and I didn’t even get him anything for Christmas.

I crack the box open and gasp, covering my mouth with my hand. I never thought I’d see this necklace again, let alone feel the weight of it against my skin, mended and whole—just like us.

“Dylan, you … how did you manage to do this?” It’s my mother’s necklace, repaired perfectly. I meet his gaze. “This is too much, the painting, and this, and …” I trail off, shaking my head.

“It’s not. This is only a fraction of what I should be doing to earn your trust and your heart.”

“You never lost my heart.” I breathe the words of truth I’ve been scared to admit, even to myself, and especially to Dylan. How can I stay mad at him?

This Dylan, he’s moved heaven and earth to make me happy.

“I’ve been thinking,” I say as I pull my mother’s necklace from the box and hand it to him, while moving my hair so he can put it on me. “If they have extra pillows on that cruise, enough for a proper wall, I wouldn’t mind the company.”

He chuckles as he steps closer behind me, his breath fanning across my neck.

“In that case, I think I’m looking forward to the cruise. I might even be able to help you build that wall.”

He gently places the necklace against my chest as I sweep my hair out of the way. The warmth of his fingers lingers on my skin as he fastens the clasp. He turns me around, his hands resting ever so lightly on my shoulders. He pulls me toward him, leading me back a couple of steps. I look up at him, my breath catching in my throat.

“Look up,” he whispers. His eyes twinkle, and a smile lifts his lips.

There, hanging above us, is a sprig of mistletoe. Heat floods my body, spreading up to my cheeks. His hands are still on my shoulders, sending little tingles down my arms.

“I love you, Dylan. Thank you for not giving up on us.” I look into his eyes.

His eyes soften, a smile spreading across his face.

“I love you too,” he says, his voice full of warmth and certainty. “I always have.”

He's so close, yet not close enough. I can't tear my eyes away from his. The way he's looking at me … like I'm his whole world. My breath catches. I want him closer, need him closer.

Pushing up on my tippy toes, my heart beating in time with his, I press my lips to his, evaporating the distance between us. My lips touch his, barely there at first, then pressing closer until he’s all I can feel, everything that I am.

His arms go around my waist, drawing me close, enveloping me like a hug. The cold around us vanishes. It’s like I can feel the fireworks in my body. This feels right. It feels like home.

Dylan is mine, mine to love, mine to have, and I am his. Maybe we were never anything else all along. We always belonged to each other. It just took a little while to find one another again. This time, I'm never walking away, and I know Dylan won't ever let me go again.

We're in this together, forever.