CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Instead of answering, Lindy opened the door. Billy looked up from his desk and wordlessly stared at her as if she were an apparition. He briefly closed his eyes before he slowly came to his feet and walked around the desk. It was almost as if he didn’t know what to say.
“I wasn’t expecting to see you.”
“I know. It was a spur-of-the-moment decision.” She noticed that he kept his distance. And she knew why, too. Billy didn’t dare hope she was back for good this time.
“It’s good to see you, Lindy,” he said, placing his hand on the edge of his desk as if to steady himself. “I suppose you’re heading back tomorrow?”
“Yeah, unfortunately. Media Blast is going to want at least two weeks’ notice.”
His gaze shot to hers. “You’re giving your notice?”
“It’ll take some time to find someone to sublet my apartment, so it might be longer than two weeks.”
Billy’s eyes met Lindy’s, and it seemed to take an inordinate amount of time for her words to sink in.
“You’re actually quitting your job?”
She nodded.
“I thought winning this proposal was a dream come true for you?”
“It thought it was, too.”
“Then why are you walking away from everything you’ve worked this hard to achieve?” he asked.
“Don’t you know? Can’t you guess?”
Billy maintained his distance.
“Because I realize that everything that is important to me is right here.”
Lindy couldn’t understand why he hesitated. She expected to have been in his arms long before now.
“Do I dare hope I’m someone who’s important to you, Lindy?”
It felt as if a giant vacuum cleaner had sucked all the oxygen out of the office.
“You should know, Billy Kincade, that you’re the reason I felt the need to return to my roots, to my family, to my closest childhood friend. But far and away, I knew I needed to come back to the boy who claimed I’d written my name on his nine-year-old heart.”
He came to her then, reached for her hand, and placed it over his heart. “Your name is still there, Lindy, and it’s not going away.”
“And neither am I,” she promised.
He kissed her and it was every bit as good as she remembered. Every bit as wonderful as the first time during their sleigh ride.
Her face was flushed with warmth and love when they returned to the bar area where Peggy and the others sat waiting.
Just then the crowd started the countdown to the New Year.
Ten. Nine. Eight. Seven. Six. Five. Four. Three. Two. One.
Then Lindy was in Billy’s arms. His lips were on hers as they brought in the next year together. It went without saying that this year and every year in the future, Lindy hoped to be spending with Billy Kincade.
Santa knew what he was doing when he told her she would have all her wishes fulfilled.
And she had far and above all she could have imagined or hoped for.