Chapter 2
864 Words
Unfinished business
The glow of the New Year’s Eve gala lingered in the air, but Emily Harper felt anything but festive as she stared at her reflection in the antique mirror of her bedroom. Her fingers absently traced her lips, still warm from Ethan’s kiss, as if the memory had branded itself on her skin.
“What was that about?” she whispered to no one in particular.
The kiss had been brief yet intense, leaving more questions than answers. Ethan Blake wasn’t the kind of man to act on impulse, not the boy she remembered and certainly not the man he had become. His return to Winterhaven was a surprise in itself, but that kiss had thrown her completely off balance.
The faint chime of her phone brought her back to reality. She picked it up and saw a text from Lily:
Lily: “OMG, you and Ethan?! Call me now. Details, please!”
Emily groaned and tossed her phone onto the bed. She wasn’t ready to face the whirlwind of gossip she knew was coming, not when she didn’t even understand what had happened herself.
Tomorrow. I’ll deal with it tomorrow, she decided, crawling under the covers and pulling the blankets tight around her. But even as she drifted off to sleep, her mind replayed the scene at the gala, the feel of Ethan’s lips against hers, the look in his eyes before he disappeared.
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The next morning, Winterhaven was quiet, the town still recovering from the night’s festivities. Emily busied herself in her small workshop, the hum of her tools providing a much-needed distraction. The jewelry pieces she’d donated to the gala had been a hit, and she had a fresh wave of orders to fulfill.
Still, her thoughts kept drifting to Ethan. Why had he kissed her? Was it a spur-of-the-moment thing, or did it mean something more?
Her musings were interrupted by the soft chime of the bell above her shop door.
“Be right with you!” she called out, wiping her hands on her apron as she turned to greet the customer.
Her breath caught.
It wasn’t a customer. It was Ethan.
He stood in the doorway, looking as confident as ever in his dark coat and scarf. There was a hint of hesitation in his posture, though, as if he wasn’t entirely sure he was welcome.
“Morning, Emily,” he said, his voice low and calm.
“Ethan.” She forced herself to appear composed, even as her heart raced. “What are you doing here?”
“I figured we should talk,” he said, stepping inside and closing the door behind him.
“About last night?” she asked, crossing her arms.
“Among other things.” His lips curved into a faint smile.
Emily raised an eyebrow, trying to ignore the flutter in her chest. “Go on, then. I’m listening.”
Ethan hesitated, his gaze sweeping the room before settling on her. “I’m not going to pretend that kiss wasn’t intentional. It was. But it wasn’t just the mistletoe or the countdown.”
“Then what was it?” she pressed, her voice sharper than she intended.
He sighed, running a hand through his dark hair. “I’ve been away for a long time, Emily. Too long. Coming back here… seeing you again… it made me realize there are things I left unresolved.”
“Like?”
“Like us.”
Emily blinked, caught off guard by his directness. “Ethan, there is no ‘us.’ There never was. We were just—”
“Friends?” he interrupted. “Don’t lie to yourself, Emily. You know as well as I do that it was more than that.”
His words hit her like a freight train, stirring up memories she’d tried to bury. Late-night talks by the lake, the way he’d always made her laugh, the stolen glances she thought no one noticed.
She shook her head, trying to regain her composure. “That was a long time ago, Ethan. Things are different now.”
“They don’t have to be.”
The silence that followed was thick with unspoken emotions. Emily wanted to argue, to push him away, but the vulnerability in his eyes made her pause.
“Why now?” she finally asked, her voice barely above a whisper. “Why come back after all this time?”
Ethan stepped closer, his expression softening. “Because I couldn’t stay away anymore. And because I needed to see if there was still something worth fighting for.”
Emily’s breath hitched, her mind a whirlwind of conflicting emotions. Part of her wanted to believe him, to give in to the hope his words ignited. But another part, the part that had learned to guard her heart, wasn’t so sure.
“I don’t know if I can do this,” she admitted, her voice trembling.
“You don’t have to decide right now,” he said gently. “Just… think about it. Please.”
Before she could respond, Ethan turned and walked out the door, leaving Emily standing in the middle of her workshop, her heart heavier than ever.
- Writer
