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She brushed at the corner of her eye and gave a watery chuckle.
“Is that just because you know I don’t hog the blankets so you know you’re not in any danger of freezing to death?”
“That might be part of the reason.” He stepped closer. Her breath caught and her smile faded. “But only because that shows me what kind of character you really have. The kind where you put others first, even if it means you’ll end up cold. How can I get snowed in with someone like that and not fall in love with them?”
Her mouth opened and her body froze.
He moved closer. His hand slid from her arm to her waist.
“I know you might not feel the same, especially after what I did earlier this week. I was stupid and wrong and you can’t believe how sorry I am about that. I’m just hoping and praying that you’ll give me another chance. I want to show you that you’re more important to me than anything or anyone else. I know I can tell you, but I showed you something different this week. I can’t expect you to forget so soon and I don’t blame you for not believing me. I’m willing to wait as long as it takes for you to see, and maybe feel something for me, even half of what I feel for you. I love you.”
She blinked, trying to take it all in. He had apologized. Had asked her to forgive him. Wanted to wait for her to feel the same...
“I do feel the same!” She put a hand on his chest. “I thought God was clearly telling me that you were perfect for me, but when you chose Maisie...I thought I was wrong.”
“You weren’t!” His eyes pleaded. “I just made a stupid decision. The wrong decision. It was...easier. And easier is usually not better.”
“I’d already forgiven you. But I thought, after tonight and what Maisie just said, that you truly wanted her and I was wrong.”
“You weren’t!”
She smiled. He was out here with her, rather than dancing with Maisie. “I know.”
“Does that mean I still have a chance with you?”
“How could I turn down someone whom I know doesn’t hog the covers? Who delivers kittens and gets up in the middle of the night to fix the fire and snuggles with me to keep me warm?”
“It wasn’t a hardship.” His lips smiled, even as his head lowered.
“Good to know,” she murmured just before his lips touched hers and his arms pulled her tight and she buried her hands in his hair and forgot about the gala and Maisie and her sister and husband who were waiting on her, and just pressed herself to Franklin, not able to get close enough, hold tight enough, or get enough air to breathe.
She pulled back, trembling a little. “I love you.”
“I know. The kind of love that has you here to support me, even after I hurt you and acted like an idiot. Don’t you know how beautiful and amazing that is to me?”
She bit her lip, willing her eyes not to fill with tears again. He didn’t know how close she was to not coming.
He continued, not needing her to say anything. “I don’t want to take advantage of someone who will stick beside me like that, but I also don’t want to lose you. Whatever it takes to keep you, to be with you, to learn to love you in the exact same way, I’m willing to do anything, because having someone like you beside me is priceless. I don’t deserve it.”
Maybe they were the words she needed to hear, but more than words, she needed to have him choose her, not because it was convenient or easy, but because he wanted to. That, more than all the words in the world, made her heart sing and her spirit know for sure that Franklin was the one who brought light to her life.
“Tonight was enough.” That was all she could say. But he understood, because he smiled, and his eyes crinkled, while his arms tightened around her.
“Thank you.”
They looked into each other’s eyes, the faint strains of the music drifting through the closed doors as they said so much to each other without saying anything at all. Commitment and sacrifice and the light of love weaving through the air between them. Eleanor had never felt anything like it, but more than that feeling, was the sure knowledge that Franklin was a good man, a man of character and integrity, who loved God and would stay beside her and choose her over everything and everyone else. What more could she ask for?
