Chapter 24

Faith sat in by the kitchen island, looking depressed while nibbling on her scone. The season of the flus and colds and started and Callum was extremely busy at the clinic. They didn't have much time to see each other, so she was starting to realize of painful it feels to miss someone. She was starting to realize that it is possible to miss someone this much, even when they are so close. Faith sighed. His smell, his touch, his smile, the sound of his... She was craving all of those things, even though they hadn't been apart for that long. Romantic comedies and romance novels left her even more lovesick, and she didn't know what to do with herself anymore.

"Why aren't you and Mr Grant together, Lydia?" Faith asked while sulking in front of her scone.

"Me and Kade? What gave you that idea, young lady? Did you hit your head coming down from the horse?"

"No, I didn't. I'm fine. I think. Forget I said anything."

"What happened, love?"

"I miss Callum," she blurted out, immediately turning red after realizing she said it out loud.

"Oh... Have you told him that, love?" Lydia sat beside her and put one arm around her. "Have you told him that?"

"No..."

"That what are you waiting for?" Lydia grumbled.

"He's busy. I don't want to overstep. I don't want to annoy him." With Ronnie every date was pre planned and scheduled on his calendar. He would let her know when and when he was free and at what time she needed to be ready. Faith would never randomly bother him on a weekday and even though she knew that Callum and Ronnie were two completely different people, she still didn't know how to act or what to do. She was afraid of being perceived as too needy, as too much... She feared doing anything that could push Callum away from her. The thought of messing up what they had terrified her. What if I mess it up like I did with Ronnie? What if there is something wrong with me and I end up running away again?

"You'd never bother Cal, love. I'm sure he feels exactly the same. You should tell him. Go to him."

"You think so?"

Lydia nodded and placed a tender kiss on her head. "I'm sure of it."

"Why isn't love as easy as in books or movies? In the end, it just cuts to they lived happily ever after and that's it."

"I wish I had an answer for that, love. I truly do. But I don't. No one does. It's just the way life is."

"Does it ever get less confusing?"

"It does. With the right person, it does. And open communication."

"How do you know they are the right one?"

"That's the question we all would like the answer to."

Lydia served both of them a cup of warm honey, lemon tea and more scones.

"Kade and I aren't together because I don't think he'll ever love anyone like he loved Elsa. And because I feel like, I would be betraying my best friend if I confessed my feelings for her husband. She helped me in the worst times of my life. Supported me through my divorce and helped me get back on my feet. And even when she was struggling with her cancer, she still tried to take care of us every day. She made sure Kade was okay, that my kids were okay, and that I was okay too. And she made us promise her that we would do our best to be happy and live our lives to the fullest, even though she would no longer be a part of it."

Lydia had this conversation with herself many times over the years, but she had never uttered these words to anyone before. Once she was done speaking, the tears started running down and face and she couldn't stop. Faith wrapped her arms around Lydia and the two of them sat there, alone in the kitchen, in silence while the winter wind had started to whistle outside.

"I'm really sorry. I shouldn't have asked anything. It was really insensitive of me."

"It's not your fault, love. Thank you. It's quite liberating to be honest about it. To finally open up to someone. Thank you, love." Lydia dried her tears and smiled tenderly.

"She made you promise that you would be happy?" Faith asked and Lydia nodded. "Then why aren't you keeping your promise?"

"I see where you're going with this young lady."

"You know I'm right. She would probably like to see the two people that she loved the most be happy, don't you think?"

"Well... We should both go back to work."

"But-"

"I'll think about it, love. And do you want to talk more about what's troubling you?"

"Nah. I'll figure it out on my own."

"You sure?"

Faith nodded. "I am."

Before going back to work, Faith took a stroll through the gardens and sobbed. Her heart broke for Lydia and Kade, two of the people she cherished most in the world, had suffered a great deal and it pained her to see them apart, hiding away what they felt for each other, keeping it all bottled up for years. I want to see Callum...

***

Once work was done for the day, Faith got up from her desk, grabbed her purse, and dashed through the door. She was determined to see Callum and do something nice for him. The clinic was closed, which meant Callum was already at home, so she stopped by the Italian restaurant, grabbed two pizzas, some garlic bread and went straight to his apartment. She took a deep breath before knocking on the door.

The door immediately open and Callum grabbed her tightly, almost squeezing the air out of her lungs. "The pizzas. I'm going to let them fall. And I can't breathe."

"I missed you," he whispered in her ear, still not letting go of her.

"I missed you too." She hid her face in his neck, inhaling his scent and feeling the warmth of his body around hers. "But the pizzas are really going to fall if you don't let go."

Even though he didn't want to, Callum let of Faith, took the boxes from her and set the table.

"Thank you for this." He hugged her from the back, his head placed on top of hers and his arms around her shoulders.

"It was for selfish reasons." She chuckled. "I needed to see you." She leaned her head against his chest.

"Please be this selfish all the time. At any time you want."

"Really?"

"Yes, please." Callum tightened his grip on her and placed a tender kiss on her head. "I'm sorry I haven't had a lot of free time."

"I'm sorry I didn't show up any sooner."

"You can show up at any time. In fact, why don't you move in with me?"

"What?" Butterflies... Dammit. Her heart started racing. Am I dreaming? Am I watching too many romcoms again?

"I want to spend more time with you. I can't be apart from you. Even on the days where we are busier, sleeping next to you would be enough."

"What?" Faith felt like pinching herself. He's too perfect to be real, isn't he?

"Can you think about it? Or maybe I'm rushing things. Or being a bit delusional. You probably don't want to leave your house. Or maybe you want a place of your own... Or..." She had never seen him so flustered, and somehow it made her love him even more.

"Shut up." She smirked, turned around, still in his arms, and kissed him. "Where's my key?"

"What?"

"I need a key, don't I?"

"Of course. I'll get you one. Right now."

"Maybe we can eat the pizzas before they get cold, no?"

"Or maybe we could jump to dessert?" He smirked. One of his typical charming smiles that always took her breath away.

"That... sounds good too," she mumbled while her heart was beating like crazy.

Callum grabbed by the waist and kissed her passionately, pressing his body against hers.