it that time already?” I asked. The night had flown past. It felt like it had only just started and here we were on the cusp of a new year. Time sure did fly when you were having fun.
“Yep, I’ll get the mixologist to count it down?”
“Please.”
The mixologist had turned out to be seriously popular among the guests – not only could he mix a good gimlet but he laughed and joked with the crowd, making them feel special. And it definitely helped that he was easy on the eye… Amory had chosen well, and I hoped to secure him for every future Cedarwood Lodge event. If we could continue to tempt him out to the wilderness of Evergreen, that was.
“Ready for a new year?” I asked my friends, eventually settling my gaze on Kai. He took my hand and squeezed it, giving me a look loaded with meaning. But what that was exactly, I didn’t dare interpret.
The countdown started as everyone paired up and raced outside to the decked area to watch the fireworks. Ten. Nine. Eight. We all chorused, a whole group of people together in one moment in time. Seven. Six. Five. Four. Three. I felt Kai pull me away from the crowd. Two. His arms closed around my waist and all I could do was stare into his eyes. One. Cheers rang out as the fireworks lit up the sky in a riot of color. But I didn’t see them at all because Kai’s lips were pressed firmly against mine, and I felt as if I was floating. Here I was, surrounded by my friends, a deck full of strangers, and Kai exactly where he should be – with me. Did this mean he felt the same, or was it the magic of New Year’s Eve rubbing off on him?
The world spun dizzyingly around as the opening to ‘Auld Lang Syne’ rang out and the guests joined in… this truly was the most magical of moments. That song always made me cry, dammit, and I tried very hard to rein in my emotions, which were scattered like marbles.
Amory came up behind us. Once again interrupting a moment between me and Kai, and completely oblivious to it. “Before we get back to work, let’s share our New Year’s resolutions,” she said, dragging Cruz behind her. “You first, Cruz.”
Cruz, the only one not in a suit, still looked handsome in his chef’s whites. “I want to find the perfect recipe for beef wellington and I’m willing to put in weeks of practice. Is anyone willing to be my taste tester? I warn you, it’s going to be a lot of fun…”
Amory raised a brow. “Oh sorry, darling, but I’ve signed up to be Aunt Bessie’s new taste tester. And I might be a little busy fulfilling my own resolution – to buy every kitten-heeled Jimmy Choo I can get my hands on. It’s such a hard life.”
“You, Clio?” she said, turning to me.
“I…” I froze as all eyes were on me, worried I’d blurt out something about Kai.
“OK. We’ll come back to you. What about you Kai?”
Kai blushed and averted his eyes.
“You two are useless,” Amory remarked, turning on her six-inch heels and sauntering off into the crowd as the mixologist gestured for her help. Guests were clinking glasses, and some were locking lips under doorways laced with mistletoe.
Micah and Isla were called away by guests, but Micah paused before he left and whispered to me, “When you know, you know.” He was referring to his marriage proposal, and I gave him a quick squeeze.
We’d been through a lot, Micah and me. Sometimes we’d been there for each other, and sometimes we hadn’t, but now he’d found the perfect girl. One who loved him unconditionally, who didn’t take him for granted, who didn’t stomp all over his dreams. He’d known she was the one from the moment he saw her, and I’d been there and caught the moment Cupid’s arrow had struck his heart. When you know, you know, he’d said. And I couldn’t help thinking his sentiment applied to me too. Hadn’t I known it the first time Kai had jumped from the cab of his truck?
I had recognized him, yet I hadn’t met him before, or something primal had happened, because the world had got brighter, music had sounded sweeter, laughter had come quicker, and all of that paled when he wasn’t here. And I couldn’t let that happen again.
Shuffling on our feet, we tried to talk, but the music had been turned up and I soon found myself pulled back to the party – ensuring everyone’s champagne flutes were filled to the brim and bidding farewell to a few guests as they left, slightly wobblier than when they’d arrived. I grinned when I saw Kai get strong-armed into dancing with a foxy seventy-something-year-old who wouldn’t take no for answer.
Hours later, the party was winding down; women carried their heels and men had shrugged off their coats. The last partygoers were sitting around drinking the rest of the champagne. The party had been a roaring success but it wasn’t quite over yet. By the photo booth Timothy stood with Vanessa, his assistant. They had their heads bent conspiratorially and, before I could avert my eyes, they kissed, and I smiled, glad Tim would find his own happy ever after, because he deserved someone to love. All they’d needed was a very gentle hint and they’d realized… Love was so simple for some.
“Go,” Amory said, tapping me on the butt.
“Go where?”
She pointed to where Kai was standing outside on the deck, fairy lights twinkling above him, his hands deep in his pockets. He cut a fine figure standing under the moonlight with soft snowflakes drifting down.
I gave Amory’s hand a squeeze and went to him.
Sensing my presence he turned and gave me a heart-melting smile. I smiled back; I couldn’t help it – even if Kai was about to break my heart and announce he was off again, being around him just made me feel lighter.
“Clio, I’ve been heartsick at the thought of leaving…”
I couldn’t speak. I just stared at him, my hand tingling in his. Eventually I managed to nod.
“When I wake up,” he whispered, “I’m thinking of you. When I sleep you inhabit my dreams. Your smile, your laugh, the way you cry to Bonnie Tyler when you think no one can hear…” He tailed off and a smile crept onto his face.
Oh God.
“Your ability to burn toast, and blame the toaster, the way people flock to be in your spotlight. I’ve been so torn about everything, not wanting to appear like the lost soul I was. How do I say how I feel without putting any more pressure on you?”
“What do you mean, Kai?” My breath caught. What pressure?
“You know, when I found out I was adopted I ran, took my things, cursed them all and got lost in the biggest country I could find. And now I see that for what it was. Without knowing the truth, without reconciling the past, I wouldn’t have found you. I would still be in Australia catching waves, and building other people’s houses, but missing something I couldn’t quite put my finger on.”
“So…?” Was this goodbye?
“It was you, Clio. That’s what’s been missing from my life. And now I see I had to make sense of the past to be able to live for the future. And I hope that future will be with you. Here.”
“You’re staying at Cedarwood?” My legs were like jelly, but I fought the urge to stumble into his arms. It was all too good to be true. I was sure it was a dream and any minute I’d wake
