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Fiona had moved on, and I had too.
We worked in silence, Fiona occasionally asking me for my opinion about the placement of one of the ornaments. I never cared about decorating before, but I wanted this to be perfect for her. I wanted her to lie in her bed at night and stare at the twinkling lights, knowing I’d given them to her. I wanted to make her life beautiful.
I couldn’t reconcile my feelings for her. My desire to make her life better with the idea that our relationship was in the past.
When Fiona placed the last ornament on the tree, we stepped back to consider our work.
Fiona pointed toward the top of the tree. “We’re missing a tree topper.”
“I’ll have to look for one. I’m sure we have extras somewhere.”
Fiona shook her head. “Don’t worry about it. This is fine.”
But I wanted her to have everything.
Then Fiona’s stomach rumbled, and she covered it with her hand.
I raised a brow. “Did you eat breakfast?”
“Just coffee,” Fiona said sheepishly.
“Come down and grab a muffin. Then we can take a look at that old theater.”
Fiona clapped her hands together. “We can do that this morning?”
“I have to take advantage of Marley working the front desk.”
I waited for Fiona to put on her shoes. Then we went downstairs to the kitchen. There weren’t many guests milling about. By this time of the morning, most were already exploring the area, visiting historic Annapolis, shopping, or even taking the drive to Washington D.C.
In the kitchen, I pulled the cover off the pastries, waiting for Fiona to choose a croissant before I covered it again. Then I poured her more coffee.
Fiona sat on the stool at the counter. “I could get used to the service here.”
I winked at her. “Especially when your server is so handsome.”
She chuckled. “If you say so.”
“You never complained before.” She’d always said how good looking I was when we were dating.
Fiona frowned as she pretended to consider me. “You’re okay.”
I shook my head. “I should come over there and kiss you. Remind you how things were between us.”
Her lips parted. “We can’t.”
I shook my head. “Sorry. I don’t know where that came from.”
“Our relationship is in the past. We can’t be anything more than friends.” Fiona’s tone was unyielding.
“I can handle that.” I wasn’t so sure I could be friends with her and not follow through on my promises. Spending time together in her room decorating that tree brought out all the dreams and hopes we’d had for our future. I was supposed to wait for her to graduate. Then we’d move in together, get married, and start our life.
The one thing we always missed in those plans was what I would do. That was one of the reasons I’d looked into the military. I couldn’t afford college, and my parents wouldn’t fill out any of the paperwork so I could apply for scholarships. I wasn’t sure I was college material, but I’d wanted to be with Fiona.
Fiona blew air over her coffee. “Good. Because that’s all I can handle. I’m on break from my job and my last relationship.”
“What do you mean?”
“The guy who got the promotion was my boyfriend.”
