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“Can we?” Izzy asked Daphne as she approached us.
Daphne nodded in my direction. “If Fiona says we can.”
“I think Aiden was planning on having a few people view a movie before Christmas, and then we’ll have a party sometime in the New Year.” It felt weird to talk about plans because I knew that I wouldn’t be a part of them after I left. Everyone would move on without me. The renovations would be completed. Marley would have another party to celebrate.
Cole held his hand out to Izzy. “Let’s go see what Grandpa has to snack on.”
My heart squeezed when she took his hand and skipped along next to him as they headed for the kitchen.
“Will you be here for that?” Daphne asked softly.
I turned my attention to her. “I think Aiden wants to have it before I leave.”
Daphne’s forehead wrinkled. “Are you still planning on leaving?”
“Why wouldn’t I be?” I asked brightly even as my heart picked up the pace.
“Heath mentioned that you and Aiden have been spending a lot of time together.”
“You know we’re working together.”
Daphne kept her gaze steady on me. “When we were younger, and I asked why you didn’t come home more often, Teddy told me that you were avoiding Aiden because you’d dated, and it ended badly. I was hurt that you didn’t talk to me about it until recently.”
“First of all, no one knew about it, and you were a lot younger than me. Your age doesn’t matter now that we’re adults. But back then? I wouldn’t have confided in you.” There was a divide between us that was only partially about the fact that she was in middle school. She hadn’t even gotten crushes on boys yet, whereas I was in love with one.
Daphne sighed. “Why don’t you talk to me about what’s going on now?”
She led me into the rarely utilized living room. Mom always wanted us to keep this one room nice. It still had all the same furniture but with a lot more dust. We settled onto the couch, and I said, “You just got engaged and moved in with Cole. Your life is moving in a different direction.”
“That doesn’t mean you can’t talk to me. I know there’s a gap of years between us, but you’re my only sister. I thought we talked over those video calls because you wanted to have a better relationship.” She chewed her lip. “Maybe it was only because of Izzy.”
I covered her hand with mine. “I do want to have a relationship with you. Our bond is special. It’s just… I’ve been spending a lot of time at the inn, and every time we’re together lately, it’s a family gathering.”
“We obviously need to change that. But in the meantime, what’s going on with you and Aiden?”
I let out a breath. “We were snowed in, and he was being all romantic.” When Daphne inched closer with a smile on her lips, I continued, “We spent the day in the snow, built a snowman. Then he took me on a snowmobile to see the lights at the pond on the Monroes’ farm. He even cooked dinner for me, and we ate in the formal dining room. He insisted we get dressed up. Afterward, we danced in the ballroom.”
Her expression filled with awe. “That is so romantic. You and him all alone in that inn? It’s a scene from a movie.”
I laughed without any humor. “Our relationship doesn’t have a happy ending.”
Daphne frowned. “Why not?”
“You know he enlisted my sophomore year. After Mom died.”
“You think her death prompted it?”
“Honestly? I don’t know. He had this inner drive to prove himself, or he thought the military would turn him into a respectable man. He said he didn’t want a future with me. We didn’t want the same things.”
“Are you sure that’s what he wanted? You were so young.”
“Last night he said that he pushed me away because he didn’t want me to quit school and follow him around the world. It’s in the past. My issue is that we’re in the same situation again. My job is somewhere else, and his is here. I wouldn’t take him away from Marley now that he’s just gotten her back. And he loves running the inn.”
“Are you happy? Will you be when you go back to your job?” Daphne asked.
“I can’t just quit my job in the hopes that what Aiden and I have will last. There’s no guarantee that he won’t push me away again.” If anything, he’d held me tighter last night. It had felt different from any other time we’d had sex. Like it meant more to him. He’d said I was his, and I hadn’t responded. My throat had gotten tight, and I was scared that the hope in my chest would expand so much that I wouldn’t be able to rein it in. It felt imperative that I hold myself back so I wouldn’t get hurt.
Daphne’s forehead wrinkled. “Oh, Fiona. You’re so afraid of people leaving that you won’t take a risk to truly be with them.”
