Page 95 of Julian

“This happened before I met you,” I add. “She’s not someone I’m seeing, Harper.”

“But you were going to go?”

I look at Harper standing there beneath Rockefeller Center in her black gown and diamond earrings. I don’t want to see Giselle. I don’t want dinner with her or conversation with her or any version of the life I was still half existing in before Harper walked into it.

“No, of course not,” I say firmly.

Harper blinks. “Julian, just be honest with me.”

“I am. I’m not going. I have no desire to go. I’m going to tell her I can’t go to the gala.” I step closer toward her. “Harper, listen to me: I’m not going with Giselle. I have no interest in her. Was there a past with her? Yes. But that’s over and done with. I need you to know—”

“Julian,” she interrupts. “You don’t have to lie—”

“I’m not. I’m not lying, Harper. It was truly just another thing on my calendar that I had forgotten about,” I say. “There’s not another woman on this planet I want to spend time with or be with.”

New Year’s has already come and gone. She remains silent.

“Harper,” I say, taking both of her hands and squeezing them. “You’re right. We haven’t talked about exclusivity, but let’s talk about it now. I only want to be with you and no one else. I’m in this in a way I haven’t been in a relationship in… well, a very long time. Women like Giselle… that was casual and easily forgotten. But you’re the most unforgettable woman I know and I want to see where this goes.”

A smile teases her lips. “You do… really?”

“It’s the only thing I’m certain of,” I say. “That woman’s representative of how I lived my life in the past, and you’re representative of the current Julian. I’ll cancel it first thing in the morning… I promise.”

I look at Harper standing there, shivering, in the middle of midtown Manhattan and I can tell by the expression on her face she finally believes me.

“Well,” I say softly, “I guess we missed midnight.”

The corner of her mouth turns into the slightest smile. I step closer.

“But maybe,” I murmur, “we can have our own redo. Midnight, part deux.”

And there beneath Rockefeller Center at 12:07 in the morning, surrounded by the glittering madness of New York beginning another year, I kiss her.

And right then and there, with her lips on mine, I know this is where I’m meant to be… and who I’m meant to be with.

Chapter 24

Harper

The new year has started off remarkably well.

I guess, technically, from midnight until approximately 12:07 a.m., things were a little shaky. Slightly catastrophic, even. But after that, wonderful.

At some point between me storming out of the Rainbow Room and Julian sprinting through Rockefeller Center in a tuxedo like a deranged leading man in a cheesy Hallmark movie, our relationship changed for the better. And it wasn’t just because he explained the situation with Giselle, but because of how immediate his clarity became afterward. There are no games with Julian. No keeping options open. He simply looked at me standing there beneath Rockefeller Center and decided—with total certainty—that I was the only woman he wanted to spend time with.

January in Manhattan is hopeful.

Dylan came back from North Carolina looking refreshed, which I honestly wasn’t expecting. Usually after extended time with Mom and Marley, he returns carrying the emotional exhaustion of being the only functioning person in a house full of dreamers.

But this time seems different. Maybe because he’s getting older and he’s beginning to understand that he can love people while also understanding their limitations.

Or maybe he’s just genuinely happy to be home.

Either way, it’s been adorable watching him prepare for the new semester.

This morning, for example, I wake up to find him sitting at our tiny kitchen table organizing school supplies.

“Why do you have binders?” I ask as I pour coffee.