“Me too,” I whisper. Rory leans forward and brushes his lips against mine. Like the first time we kissed, my body explodes with its own personal set of sparklers, never dulling. He pulls away all too soon. It could be from the cheering our daughter is doing or the fact that someone is clearing their throat behind him.
I look over his shoulder to find my sister standing in our entryway. Her beaming smile says it all, and yet my thundering heart is screaming something else. Something I don’t want to hear or even think. I don’t want to think Rory’s here because of the holidays. Deep in my heart, I know he’s changing, and for the better. It’s not some game or some ploy to get back into my good graces. I have to believe Rory and not the nagging, unhelpful voice that seems to linger.
“Oh good, you’re here. Rory and I can go now,” I say, using Rory’s assistance to step down the last two stairs.
Rory picks up my shawl and drapes it over my shoulders. “It’s good to see you, Eliza,” he says before ushering me out the door. There’s a strain between them. It’s expected. My hope is that they can overcome this obstacle and be friends again, regardless of how Rory and I end up.
We reach the old McMullan mansion in only a few minutes. The drawback and bonus to living in a small town is that everything’s close but never far enough away that your car can get warm in the middle of winter. Not that I need it, because Rory’s hand is on my leg, and that’s enough to keep the fire simmering within me.
At the mansion, the valet is there to open our doors. When the valet reaches for my hand, Rory is there instead, pushing him out of the way. “I’ve got her,” he tells the young kid who backs away quickly.
“Was that necessary?”
“Probably not, but the last thing I want is for someone else to touch you. It’s a bit possessive, but I’m afraid I’d be rather jealous if another man held your hand tonight.”
His words take me by surprise. This is a side of Rory that I haven’t seen in well over a year. While I like it, it makes me question everything. I pull him over to the side, away from the entrance. I need answers. “Where is all of this coming from?”
“What do you mean?”
“The romantic gestures, the flowers, which I forgot to thank you for by the way, the sweet tender touches and compliments?”
Rory sighs and runs his hand through his hair, messing it up. He tries to smooth it down, but it’s no use. “When you asked me to move out, I was so angry. I couldn’t understand because I was giving you and Ruby everything. Night after night, I would lie in bed, wondering why. Then it hit me. Somewhere along the way, we lost us. I started working more, and you started needing less from me. It took you kicking me to the curb to realize that we can have the best life, together. That my job can end on time, and I can be the father and husband you need me to be.
“I tried to imagine my life without you. I tried to picture the future, you with another man. And …” He pauses and shakes his head. “That’s when I knew I had to change. I had to fix what I broke because when I look at us as a family, you’ve been there, guiding and encouraging me, and I’m the one who shut everyone out.
“Gwen, I love you more than I can put into words, and I will do anything to make our marriage work. All I’m asking for is one chance. I just need one because I promise I’ll never mess up this badly again.”
Before I can answer, before I can give him my heartfelt reply, someone yells our names. Friends of ours are standing on the steps, waving us down frantically. I don’t know about Rory, but I haven’t seen them since before Thanksgiving and am unaware whether or not they know about Rory and I separating.
“Do they know?” I ask. He shakes his head. “Well good.” I link my arm with his and all but drag him toward the stairs. It’s a coward move, but I need time to think and process his words. He’s telling me everything I want to hear, and while this should make me happy, I’m skeptical, and I don’t want to be. “Diane and Larry, it’s so great to see you. How’s Boston treating you?”
“It’s beautiful, especially this time of the year,” Diane says as we embrace each other. “When are you going to come visit?”
I look at Rory. He shrugs, leaving the answer up to me. “Probably once the snow has melted. Maybe for spring break, we’ll drive over.”
“That would be wonderful.”
The four of us make our way into the mansion and into the grand ballroom. Rory and I have spent many evenings here, from proms to our wedding reception. When I was younger, I fell in love with the arched entryways, the marble columns, and domed rooms. This is where Cinderella comes to meet her Prince, even if it’s only for one magical night.
After dinner, Rory takes me out onto the dance floor. The jazz band plays a light selection of music, making it easy for us to sway together. He holds me close, gazing into my eyes. I wonder what he’s seeking. Is it a response to his statement earlier or something else?
“At Last” by Etta James starts, and he pulls me closer. This was our wedding song, and I can’t help but get lost in the memory of the evening we became husband and wife. My hand moves to the back of his head, and my fingers tangle with his hair. I lean forward and kiss him, keeping it chaste. “Will you come home tonight?”
“Just for tonight?” His voice is a bit raspy.
“No, forever. Please come home, Rory.”
Chapter Nine
Rory
I don’t care how well my wife plans, she always forgets something on Christmas Eve. This year, it’s the rolls, and finding rolls the night before a major holiday, in a small town grocery store, is nearly impossible, so I have no other options but to buy the ingredients to make them homemade. Is this what Gwen wants? Nope, but going home empty-handed is out of the question. I could drive out of town, going store to store, but I have a feeling the outcome is going to be the same. Besides, I plan to help her.
It’s nice to see I’m not the only husband here. In fact, everyone in line in front of me is male, and most are grumbling to each other about being out right now. For me, this is happiness. When she asked me to come home, I could barely contain myself. We left the party instantly, forgetting to say good-bye to the people I work with, and went straight home, where I showed her how much I love her. The next morning, I packed up my tiny apartment and turned in my keys, hoping to never see the likes of that place again.
Now that I’m home and we’re a family again, I feel like a new man. For a time, I thought I was going to lose everything, and I still may on the financial end of things, but I’ll have my girls, and they’re most important part of my life. They?
??re all I need.