He was ecstatic that she’d graduated. She’d loved every single minute of pastry school. And he’d loved every minute of all those long Saturday-night drives after closing the restaurant that he’d driven to be with her, plus the other weekends that she managed to drive back to see him. One positive from all that time on the road: he’d taught her how to drive a stick shift. It was fine with him that she loved his ’vette—as long as she loved him more.

The restaurant was getting quite a reputation with its expanded, farm-fresh menu and carry-out dinner experiences. He guessed he’d learned a few things himself.

But finally, he was thrilled to be bringing Tessa back home so that their life together could finally begin.

And he had a few surprises in store for her.

She woke up when he turned off the highway onto the road that led them into town, yawning and glancing out the window. “We haven’t put our tree up yet, and it’s already December twenty-first,” she said as she rubbed her eyes. The flat Indiana fields were darkening, and farmhouses set off from the highway were dotted with Christmas lights. A fine sprinkling of snow covered the ground to make the holiday scenery even more perfect.

Leo looked over at her and smiled. “It’s not too late to get a tree.”

She smiled back. “It feels great to be almost home,” she said, suppressing another yawn.

He held Tessa’s hand across the seat as she watched the fields and soft hills roll by. “It feels great to have you home for good, sweetheart.” He stole a glance at her. She looked tired and, now that he was thinking about it, a little pale. “You okay?”

“Fantastic, now that I’m with you.”

That about summed it up for Leo, too, who continued to hold her hand as he drove. “I’ve been looking at the empty side of the bed for five months, and it’s been…lonely.”

“I really loved my time in Chicago,” she said, “but whenever I saw something or did something, I was always missing you being there to see or do it with me.”

“Our weekends together were pretty great.” He made a turn. They were close to town now, which made his pulse accelerate a little. “And we had some really good Sunday-morning goodbye sessions.”

She rubbed her hand over his arm. “And now we’re going to have really good hello sessions.”

He grinned. “And every-day sessions.”

“Blossom Glen has been my home forever, but it’s not home without you, Leo. So I feel like we’re starting a brand-new phase of our lives. And that’s why I want to tell you—wait.” She glanced out the window, a puzzled expression on her face. “Why are we headed downtown?”