Charley hung her apron in her closet, her fingers still shaking. What had that been about? Why had Alexander come all this way? To talk about Christmas? She was confused, and shaken up. It had been difficult, seeing him again. She had no idea why he’d come to the diner, and it was odd for him to talk about missing Christmas.

She went into the kitchen and pulled out a frozen dinner. Yeah, she lived a glamorous life. Just as she punched in the time on the microwave, a knock came at her door. The first thought that entered her head was that maybe Alexander had come. But she shoved it aside. He had said coming was a mistake. He’d left. It couldn’t be him.

She opened the door and her heart stuttered. It was Alex. And he looked amazing, as always. She couldn’t begin to hope as to what this meant. “Hello,” she said tentatively.

Before she could invite him in, he took a step toward her, wrapped his arms around her and pressed his lips to hers. Kissing Alexander had always been amazing, but this kiss was sudden, impulsive, and heated. He kissed her with a hunger she hadn’t experienced before. Her senses came alive. She gripped his collar and pulled him closer, unable to stop herself from getting wrapped up in the kiss.

When he finally pulled away, she gulped in a breath of air. He stared at her, his brown eyes intense. “I’m not good with words. I thought this would be a better way to say what I came here to say.”

She couldn’t speak. He had muddled her brain and made it impossible to think.

“I love you,” he said. “I think I fell in love with you that first day, when you showed up in those ridiculous socks. You showed me I was living an empty life. You helped me see I was drowning in my own self-pity. And since you’ve been gone, I haven’t been the same.”

Her vision blurred as her eyes filled with tears. Alexander loved her? And suddenly she knew. She loved him too. She loved the way his lips twitched when he didn’t want to smile but couldn’t hold it in any longer. She loved that he would save a tiny kitten from the cold. And how he put his trust in her.

He exhaled. “Please, say something.”

She threw her arms around him and giggled. “Don’t stress. This time away from you has been terrible. I think somewhere in there I fell in love with you too.”

He smiled and pulled her into another embrace. “The age difference doesn’t bother you too much to consider being with me?”

“I spent a couple of hours when I got home looking up famous couples with age differences. Turns out eight years isn’t such a big deal as I originally thought.” She grinned at him.

“I’m glad. Because I wasn’t going to leave here without you.” He pressed his lips to hers once more.

Milly meowed behind her and Alexander chuckled and pulled back. “I think someone else wants to say hello.”

He reached down and picked up the kitten. She licked his nose, and he laughed. “Yeah, I missed you too.”

Charley couldn’t help but laugh.

Alexander sobered and turned back to her. “I do have one concern, though.”

Her nerves shot through her. “What?”

“You stopped wearing your fun socks. Do you no longer like them?”

She grinned and pulled up the slacks the diner makes her wear to work. Bright pink and purple flowers showed.

He chuckled and kissed the top of her head. “I should have known.”