I couldn't help myself and wrote a follow up to chapter 2 – so please read that one first.
New Year's Day
He takes a deep breath before he knocks at Juliet's bedroom door and waits for her to answer. It's after 6 a.m. but she didn't leave the New Year's party until 2, so there is a rather good chance that she is still asleep. He briefly considers turning around and letting her rest, telling himself that she's not going anywhere. But then he raises his hand to knock again.
He simply can't afford to think this through.
His knuckles are about to make contact with the wood when she opens the door.
"Thomas?" She greets him with a questioning look, not sure what to make of his visit.
"I'm sorry I didn't want to wake you, but I just got back…" he explains, looking at her with twin expressions of intensity and desperation. "And I had to see you…"
"What's wrong? Did something happen?"
"You could say that," he awkwardly shifts his weight from one foot to another as his eyes dart to the ground and back to her. "I broke up with Lia."
"Oh…" she fumbles with the belt of her short silk robe. "I'm sorry, I know you were trying…"
"Don't," he cuts her off. "Lia and I, we had a great time last night, but then we got into the car and I looked at her, sitting there in your seat and…" he pauses, needing a moment to reassure himself. "I realized that she wasn't the reason for my doubts…"
"Thomas…" she whispers, finally meeting his gaze.
"Listen, I'm not here because I expect anything. I just…" he hesitates. "I need to know…"
"You…" she turns away, taking a moment to gather composure before she narrows her eyes at him. "You can't…You can't just show up at my door because you're confused and expect me to figure it out for you Magnum!"
"That's not…" he tries to elaborate but she's already too riled up to listen.
"No! You said it yourself, it either is or it isn't! So come back when you do know!" She's about to slam the door in his face, when he stops her halfway.
"What I need to know is…" he pauses until he's sure he has her full attention. "Do I have a shot? Because if there's one thing I do know, it's that I want one."
He can feel his heartbeat accelerate as he waits for her to process his words. He knows he didn't misjudge the situation (the door is still open), but he also knows how stoical she can be.
"Your turn," he manages a nervous smile, inwardly begging her do something, anything…
And then she does.
His eyes widen when she cups his face and kisses him.
It's soft and tentative, but he catches on quickly. Following her lead, he closes his eyes and wraps his arms around her – minimizing the distance between them.
They're flooded by a sense of openness and exposure, releasing any energy that previously went into fighting and denying their feelings into this moment.
Her hands travel down to his chest while he has one on her hip and the other at the nape of her neck, weaving his fingers through those blond curls of hers.
It's not until they hear the Lads bark that she pushes away from him.
"Sorry, I let them sleep in here last night."
He laughs, feeling completely at ease for the first time in months. "Got room for one more?"
"Is this you taking a shot?" She tilts her head to the side, the gleam in her eyes reflecting his own as she waits for his answer.
"You can't blame me for trying after what you just did," he teases.
"You started it!" She counters and he can't help but smile. Some things never change.
"Let's say it was a team effort," he runs his thumb along her cheekbone and tucks an errant curl back behind her ear before his mouth slips over hers again.
"I want to do this right, so I'm gonna go now. But we are going to talk about this," he takes her hand and squeezes it reassuringly.
She nods. "Go get some rest."
He does what he's told and retreats to the guest house, but not without stealing one more kiss.
Leaving them both with an undeniable sense that this was it.
This is indeed it – I will go back to the one shot format in the next chapter. Comments are always appreciated and I can't wait to see what 2022 has in store for these two!
Lots of Love
Laura
