Nicola worked hard to keep Caroline cheerful and in the holiday spirit as the days clicked down to Christmas Eve. By the time the big day arrived, all the presents were wrapped and nestled under the tree, there was a freshly baked assortment of biscuits, and the schedule for the festivities was all set. They were so well organized that by the morning of Christmas Eve, there weren't many details left to attend to other than making the meal for that evening's anniversary celebration and, since the guests weren't due to arrive until late afternoon, there was plenty of time to work at a relaxed pace.

Caroline had been so busy she didn't have much time to lose herself in her thoughts until she woke on Christmas Eve and found she was alone in the bed. She felt a familiar ache in her stomach as she rolled over to look at the clock on the nightstand. Without realizing it, she had slept until 7:30 am, well past her usual wake up time; Greg and Flora were set to return from his parents at noon and Lawrence had slept at Angus's so the house had been quieter than usual. In an effort to keep her thoughts of Kate at bay, she decided to jump out of bed and get a start on her day.

As she emerged from the en suite, she discovered Nicola carrying a breakfast tray into the bedroom. "Oh, you're up already? I wanted to surprise you with breakfast in bed. I thought maybe we should enjoy a little peace and quiet before all the Buttershaws descend this afternoon."

"Aren't you lovely? Is that the dish we had the first time we had breakfast in bed at the spa?"

"Mmm hmmm. I thought it could become our Christmas Eve tradition. If you play your cards right, I might even make sure it happens more than just on Christmas Eve morning."

Caroline felt that ache in her stomach disappear and her appetite kick in. They enjoyed a little lie in after they ate and by about 10 am they decided to get a start on the final details for dinner before the house started bursting at the seams with the extended family.

While Nicola was in showering, her phone sprang to life with a text message. Without meaning to, Caroline glanced at it and saw that it was from Angela. She called out to her that she had a text. Nicola, who was feeling soft and relaxed from their lazy start to the day, asked her to read it to her and gave her the code to open her phone.

Hope you're having a great vacation with Caroline. Have you told her yet? If so, let me know how she reacted. If you didn't and you want me to, just let me know when can I talk with her. Happy Christmas.

Caroline was concerned that she might have stumbled upon something she wasn't suppose to see so instead of being up front about it she put her readers in her nightstand and replied she didn't have her glasses. It was a response she instantly regretted as her imagination and curiosity began to run wild.

When Nicola stepped out of the en suite, Caroline, without making eye contact, quickly slipped passed her and into the bathroom as she didn't want to watch Nicola read the message.

As soon as she picked up her phone she knew Caroline had seen the message. She instantly went into more than a little bit of a panic and thought about how to handle the situation. After dressing, she sat on the bed with her phone in her hand, waiting for Caroline to emerge, trying to keep herself calm in the process.

"Oh, I thought you'd be downstairs already." Caroline was trying not to appear flustered but she was no less calm about the confusing text now than she was before she dashed into the bathroom.

"I was waiting for you. I thought we might need to talk about Angela's text as I'm sure you saw it and I don't want you to misunderstand."

"Okay." Caroline tried to keep her face devoid of any reaction. She didn't know if the text was about something good or something bad and had no clue the right way to respond. "Yes, I read it but it looked like it was something I wasn't meant to see so I decided to play dumb."

"You weren't meant to see it but I can explain." Nicola shifted on the bed to watch her as she walked into her closet. She tried to be patient as she waited for her to return to her line of vision with her clothes for the day in her hands.

"You don't have to explain if you don't want to. I can forget what I saw but I will admit that it has me curious." Caroline juggled the clothes while trying to keep the towel wrapped around her in place as she was feeling too vulnerable just then to be naked in front of Nicola.

"It's nothing bad Caroline. It's actually something that could be quite wonderful but I didn't want to drop it on you with all you have going on this holiday."

"Well, that sentence brings two thoughts to mind. First, I hope you don't think that I am so frail emotionally that I can't handle something, and second, if you can't share wth me what's important to you, then maybe…" she couldn't finish verbalizing that thought as she was afraid she was treading onto thin ice and the last thing she wanted to do was jeopardize the calm feeling she had before the text arrived. She knew at some point that they would hit a rough patch but she didn't want or need it to be today of all days.

"Caroline, come here. I didn't want to do this right now but I can't let this fester. Come sit with me." She held a hand out to her and felt her stomach do flip-flops as she watched Caroline trying to decide whether or not to do so. When she finally did, Nicola turned to look her in the eyes and took both hands in hers.

"Okay. Here goes. Unilever has a private foundation and Angela does all the HR work for it, " she began. She took in a deep breath and closed her eyes for a beat before she continued on. "Angela told me about a new direction the Foundation has decided to take to encourage more girls to go into the field of science."

"That's laudable. But what does that have to do with her text and me?" Caroline released her hands to tighten the towel around her.

"The thing is…the thing is that they are looking for someone to lead the initiative and Angela thinks you are the perfect candidate." She paused to let it sink in.

"Me?"

"Yes. First, you have an Oxford doctorate in Chemistry so you have already accomplished what they hope to inspire other women to do. Second, you have paid all your dues in the field of education and understand how to reach students to ingite a love of learning in them. Third, what you have done at Sulgrave has been nothing short of amazing. Do you realize that you have more graduating girls matriculate into the sciences than any other private school your size?"

"I don't understand. How do you know all that?"

"Well, Angela is very good at her job. Before she talked to me about whether you might be interested in this position she did some research on you and your credentials."

"She researched me?"

"It's not what you think, Caroline. As I understand it, Hunter Jameson, the Chairman of the Foundation Board of Directors, was apparently very impressed by you at Wimbledon. The Foundation had just approved exploring this initiative right before it broke for the summer season. When he learned you had your doctorate he asked her to vet you as a candidate."

"So is that why our dinner on my birthday felt more like a job interview than anything else?" Caroline could feel the anger rising and her cheeks flushing despite her attempt to control her anger.

"It's not what it seems, Caroline. She and I were trying to decide when and how to talk with you about this opportunity. She's wanted to approach you for weeks but I asked her to wait until after the holidays since you have so much on your plate."

"I don't…I can't…why wait?"

"Caroline, come on. You know what this means. If you are interested, you have to go through the hiring process as there is no guarantee you will get the job, even though she and I both think you are perfect for it. But if you do get the job, that means moving to London, which of course I want more than anything, but I don't want you to do it just for me. I guess I was afraid that if you turned down the opportunity to even apply for it, that could signal that you weren't as committed to our relationship as I want you to be." Nicola felt some tears welling in her eyes and reached for a tissue, noticing Caroline didn't seem to be breathing or reacting at all to her confession of being insecure.

When Caroline didn't say anything, Nicola continued. "This has to be right for you and it's not even been a year since Kate has passed. I just didn't want to put more pressure on you or us than I thought you were ready to handle. Damn Angela. She accuses me of being ridiculous about wanting to know what's in my presents before I open them but she just wants this so much for both of us that she's put her foot, and sadly mine, in it. I'm sorry, this is not how or when this was meant to happen."

Caroline silently stood up and started to pace. Suddenly, she needed space from Nicola. After what felt like forever, Nicola said, "Talk to me Caroline. What's going through your head?"

"I don't know. I just don't know. Damn Angela."

"Let's be fair. She's scheming for us, not against us here."

"I get it. It's just that with the timing of this, I don't think I can deal with it, today of all days. I'm sure when I have time to process it all, I'll be as flattered as I'm suppose to be but I'm on system overload as it is right now as you said. Can we table this until much later tonight or maybe even tomorrow or the following night?"

Nicola shifted uncomfortably on the bed. She suddenly feared a complete rejection and this was not how she intended to spend Christmas Eve or the next couple of days. She had been expecting to walk on eggshells if Caroline started to battle her memories of last year with Kate, but didn't expect to be walking on them with their future hanging in the balance. Suddenly she needed space to think too. She stood to head toward the door.

"Yes. Let's just put it on a back burner until you are ready. There's no pressure here. Last thing I want to do is add to your stress today," she said as she tried to take a step closer to Caroline whose eyes showed all the fear of a cornered animal. "But before we do, I just want to say that I love you more than I ever loved anyone before Caroline. I hope I've shown you this week how good we are together and given you a taste of what it would be like if you did come to London."

Caroline's eyes softened as she recognized the fear in Nicola's eyes for the first time during their tense exchange. She gave her a reassuring hug and said, "I love you, too. Somehow we'll figure it all out."