Chapter 41 Does She Know You Love Her?
Everett
Today has made my heart feel fuller than ever.
After the competition, Claire and I spent the afternoon with the people who we’ve grown to care about, and I can see why she loves this time of year so much.
There’s something special about spending time with people who fill you up and make you feel good, and I think that it’s something I want to do more of when I get back to New York.
Just not with Claire, but with my friends and family too.
We make our way to the front of the Christmas tree where a podium with a microphone is set up. The sun is gone, and stars fill the night sky. The lights strung between the buildings are glowing and casting warm light along the snow covered street.
A crowd is gathering in front, and I look around, spotting all the people we’re going to miss when this is over. A light dusting of snow begins to fall around everyone.
Stella taps the mic, and the thuds send a hush over the town.
“Welcome to the Sugarplum Park Annual Christmas Extravaganza,” she chimes.
Applause erupts, and she gestures for everyone to settle down.
“Thank you to everyone who helped make today possible. I thought we’d kick things off by announcing the winner of the competition. ”
She gestures for me and Claire to walk forward.
“Our king and queen have scored all of the entries, and I tallied the results. So without further ado…” She hands Claire an envelope, and we both step up to the microphone. Claire’s eyes find mine, and I nod, encouraging her to open it.
“The winner of this year’s Christmas Cup goes to…” Claire begins, her eyes going wide as she flashes the card towards me.
“Lolly from The Gum Drop Sugar Shop,” I announce.
The crowd erupts in applause, and Lolly wraps Aster in a hug before making her way toward us. Claire throws her arms around her friend and squeezes her tight. Both of their faces are pure joy, and my chest tightens at the thought that going home means Claire will lose her.
“I can’t believe it,” Lolly says.
“Congratualtions,” I offer, moving backwards so Stella can take my place. Lolly takes the silver Christmas Cup trophy and holds it into the air. More applause and cheers come from the town, and Stella steps up to mic, thumping it once more to quiet everyone down.
“And now the moment you’ve all been waiting for,” she says, lifting her arms and then dropping them at the same moment the tree behind us bursts with light.
Everyone’s eyes are glued to its magnificence except for Lolly’s. Hers are locked on Chip, and his are locked on hers. Shaking his head, I watch as he leaves the crowd and walks away.
“Shit,” Lolly mutters under her breath.
“I’ll go,” I offer, catching Claire’s eyes and handing her my crown before I move off the stage and after him.
“Chip, wait up man,” I call as I approach him on the outskirts of the party. “You aren’t heading in? The night’s still young.”
“She’s so fucking infuriating,” he says, turning to face me.
“Who?” I ask, trying not to chuckle.
“Lolly.”
“I don’t know. Claire seems to like her, and I think she’s pretty cool.”
He throws back his head and exhales, causing a white puff of smoke to appear in front of his face.
“You don’t get it. You don’t know what it’s like to have a woman get under your skin like this.
” He starts to pace in the street. “She’s maddening the way she walks around the town looking like some type of goddess.
She makes me feel insane, and then she had to go and make the exact thing I made and do it better.
Because of course she would because she has to be so fucking perfect all of the time. ”
“Does she know you love her?”
“What? I don’t love her.”
I shrug. “Kind of sounds like you might.”
“No.” He shakes his head. “Impossible. She drives me nuts. I’m just pissed she beat me.”
I chuckle. “Claire drives me nuts sometimes, but it’s part of the reason why I love her so much. She tests me and pushes me like no one else has before.”
“I don’t love Lolly.”
Exhaling, I hesitate before I say the next part because I realize I have to choose my words carefully.
“You know Claire has an opportunity in a different city.”
“What?”
“Yeah, uh…we haven’t said anything to anyone, but I think we might be…uh…moving.”
“Moving?” His mouth falls open.
“Yeah, and for a while I’ve found myself considering not moving because life feels really easy here, and going to this other place would bring back some…um… feelings I never fully dealt with.” I roll my shoulder and swallow hard.
“Seems like a really weird time to tell me this, Everett.”
“I have a point. I promise.”
He nods.
“The thing is, I realized that even if moving makes me uncomfortable, I’m willing to feel that way if it means Claire will be happy.”
“Well, yeah, because you love her. Everyone knows you’d do anything for her.”
“Exactly, so I say all of this because I think you aren’t actually mad that Lolly beat you. I think you’re freaking out because you’re realizing you’d gladly lose the competition that meant a lot to you, if it meant she was happy.”
He stops moving and stares at me, his eyes blinking like he’s realizing his feelings for her for the first time.
“I could be completely off base, and by all means you’re welcome to go wallow about losing somewhere else, but if I were you, I’d go get the girl.” I nod back in the direction of the festival.
He nods and looks behind me. “I want to talk more about this move, but—”
“Go get her,” I say. He takes off jogging to find her, and I turn to find Claire standing a few feet away from me.
“Was all that true?” she asks.
“How much did you hear?”
“Just the part where apparently we’re moving.” Her face breaks into a grin. “Have you really considered not going back?”
“Not really. I don’t know,” I say, walking toward her. “I mean, I don’t really want to face the reality about my shoulder and what it means for my career, and not being in pain everyday has been nice, but I’m not going to let my fear get in the way of your dreams.”
“I don’t want you to be in pain though,” she says.
I shake my head. “No. I told you I’d get you home, and that’s what I plan to do. Whatever is waiting for me back in New York, I’ll be able to handle it if you’re next to me.”
She pops up on her toes and kisses me.
“Ready to go share our final dance?” she asks.
We turn, walking back to the party and onto the make-shift dance floor. The crowd seems to part as I take Claire’s hand and begin to spin her around as the music plays.
“You know how to dance?” she asks.
“What, like it’s hard,” I tease, spinning her out and then back into me.
“Seems like your pep talk worked,” Claire says as Chip and Lolly join us.
She smiles towards her friend, and Lolly grins as Chip spins her into his chest.
One by one, the rest of the town begins to join us. Cami and Joe and then Ginger and Rusty. Their kids grab Aster by the hand, pulling her on to the dance floor, and the little girls giggle as she spins them in circles over and over.
Stella floats by us, heading straight for a very uncomfortable looking Reid.
“Oh no!” Claire laughs. “He’s not going to like this.”
“Now, come on,” Stella sing-songs as she moves. “Everyone must dance, and that includes you, Reid.” She takes his hands, and a blush covers his face as she begins to drag him around to the music.
“I’m surprised Lolly won,” Claire says as we sway to the music. “She was my third highest score. I voted for Ginger.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. You voted for her?” she asks.
“No, she was like fourth on my scorecard.”
We both turn to find Stella and begin to laugh.
“She rigged it,” Claire says.
“Sounds about right.”
Pulling her close to me, I breathe her in. “You know,” I whisper. “There’s a real chance that tomorrow we’ll wake up here.”
“I know,” she says, laying her head against my chest.
“How does that make you feel?”
“Honestly,” she says, peering up at me. “I think if that happens, then I’ll know we tried, and I’d be more than content to live out the rest of my days married to you here. I’m realizing that home for me is wherever you are. You?”
She thinks I feel like home. My heart leaps in my chest and then dips down into my stomach.
“Yeah, Sugar, I think I’d be good with that too.”
My heart rate begins to build, and my mouth goes dry.
“What’s wrong?” she asks, sensing my shift and slowing our dance.
“I don’t know what tomorrow is going to bring, but I do need you to know that I love you.”
Her breath hitches.
“I’ve been wanting to say it, and I don’t expect for you to say—”
“I love you too,” she says, smiling.
“You do?”
“Yeah. I love you so much,” she repeats.
My mouth finds hers in a passionate kiss, the snow continuing to fall, and the whole world blurs into swirls of pink around us.