Howie’s eyes widened in surprise as I swung the door open. “What are you doing here?” Apparently, I was wrong about that sixth sense thing.

“I was going to ask you the same question.”

“Nick said Amelia was here by herself, and my mom sent me home with all this food. It’s great food, but there’s no way I can eat any more of it.” He groaned and a container fell from the top of his stack. I dove for it, but it was too late. The lid flew off and a big hunk of pumpkin pie landed on the floor with a splat. “Aw man, that was some good pie, too.” I couldn’t help but giggle.

“I’m sure we won’t miss it,” I said, gesturing to all the assortment of food containers he still held in his arms. “Come on in. I’ll go get something to clean that up with.”

A few minutes later, after we’d cleaned up the mess in the hallway and I’d filled him on what was going on with Amelia and the baby and my reason for being back in town, I started rummaging through a plethora of plastic containers of various shapes and sizes on top of my kitchen counter. “Ooh! Sweet potato casserole!” I grabbed a spoon and shoveled some out onto a plate. “You want some?”

Howie moaned and placed a hand over his stomach. “Like I said before, it’s great food, but I can’t possibly eat any more of it for at least a few days. My mom’s personal goal is to “fatten me up” every time I come home.”

“Suit yourself.” I continued peeking into the containers. “Mmm...green bean casserole.”

“I’m sensing a theme, here.” Howie chuckled.

“I like casseroles, okay? I plan on diving into that custard next.”

“Ahh...the tembleque. I’m surprised we had any of that left.”

“What’s tembleque? Do I sound foolish trying to pronounce that in my southern twang?”

He laughed. “It’s a Puerto Rican Christmas dessert, and nobody sounds more foolish trying to speak Spanish in southern twang than my dad. Remember he’s from Georgia.”

“Oh yeah.” I spooned out a bit of the tembleque and took a bite. “Wow, that’s good!”

“Like I said, I’m surprised we had any left. I’ll make some for you some time.”

I don’t know why that struck me as too personal, but it did. My spoon stopped in mid-air and I clamped my mouth shut as I nodded slowly. “Mmhmm.”

Howie immediately sensed my apprehension and stood up from the kitchen table. “Listen, Em. This doesn’t have to be awkward.”

“What doesn’t have to be awkward?” I asked, like I didn’t know what he was talking about.

“You. Me. Us.” He kept his distance by standing on the other side of the counter. “I have to be completely honest with you. You’re my best friend. Somewhere along the way I fell in love with you. I’m sorry about what happened with Kevin, and I’m sorry about what happened with Joey. I’m sorry that I took advantage of that night to tell you how I felt, but I’m definitely not sorry for doing it. I know you’ve been hurt, and I know you’re afraid of being in another relationship. I’m sure you’re scared of getting involved with me romantically because you don’t want to lose me as a friend, and I know the fact that I remind you of Danny is painful. I get it. I asked you a question in Charleston, and you never answered. I’m pretty that in itself was my answer. It’s okay. No hard feelings.”

“Howie.....” He stared at me intently. “The truth is that I’d never really thought about you in that way.” Here he was saying all these wonderful things, and there I was telling him that I’d never thought about him as anything more than a friend.

He nodded silently. “I need to get going. Tell Amelia I’m sorry I missed her and that I’m glad everything is okay with the baby. I hope she gets some good rest.” He didn’t even say goodbye as he let himself out.

I stood there dumbfounded for a few seconds before running out the door. “Howie!” I yelled down the hallway. He turned around and knit his eyebrows in confusion. “Emily, it’s okay. You don’t have to say anything.”

I gulped as I closed the gap in between us and took in a deep breath. “Yes.”

“Yes?”

“You asked me a question in Charleston, and I never gave you an answer. You wanted to know if I liked kissing you. My answer……is yes.”