He had no idea what that future might look like for them.All the reasons why this shouldn’t work still held. He still had military commitments and was still stationed hundreds of miles away. Her business here in Shelter Springs was thriving and he couldn’t take her away from that or from her support network of family and close friends.
They could figure all of that out. He was suddenly confident they would find a way. The important thing was that they could now figure it out together.
He kissed her again, until they were both breathing hard and she was trembling in his arms. He wanted more, so much more, though he knew this wasn’t the moment.
“I have to go,” she murmured against his mouth. “My family is expecting me. We’re going to stay up all night and play games.”
He cocked an eyebrow, heat arcing through him. “We could stay here all night and play games, just the two of us.”
She swallowed hard and he saw an answering hunger in her eyes that humbled him.
“I have a feeling your games would be far more fun than Apples to Apples,” she said, her voice husky.
“You can count on it.”
She turned adorably pink and he had no choice but to kiss her again.
A long moment later, he set her away from him. “I won’t take you away from your family on Christmas Eve, Holly.”
“You could always join us.”
While that idea definitely appealed, he thought they both needed a little time to come to terms with these feelings growing between them. It would be tough to hide those feelings at a party with her parents and siblings and he suspected Holly wasn’t ready to explain them yet to her family.
And then there was his own family, waiting for him to spend what was left of Christmas Eve with them.
“I’m sure my dad and Diane have gone home by now but Audrey and Kim will be wondering where I am.”
“I suppose you’re right.” She didn’t bother to hide her disappointment and he had to kiss her again.
“How about we make a deal?”
She smiled. “Another one?”
“The first one worked out great for me. Agreeing to go to that wedding with you might have been the single best decision of my life.”
She smiled, looking radiant and bubbling over with happiness.
“Unless you have other plans, let’s spend New Year’s Eve together. You, me and Lydia.”
“I don’t have plans. I would love that.”
Her smile was so bright it outshone the twinkling lights of the Christmas tree behind her, and Ryan felt the warmth of it sink into every corner of his being. In that moment, he knew. This was what he’d been searching for, even when he didn’t know he was looking.
A family, a home, a future that promised more joy than he had ever dared to imagine.
He pulled her into his arms one last time and pressed a kiss to her forehead. “Then it’s a date,” he murmured. “The first of many.”
Holly tilted her face to his, her eyes shining with a happiness that matched his own. “Merry Christmas, Ryan.”
“Merry Christmas,” he said, filled with anticipation for all the holidays to come.
Epilogue
HOLLY CARRIED A BOWL OF SALAD TO THE DINING TABLE OFDoug and Diane’s house by the lake. Looking around their warmly lit home, she was filled with a mixture of gratitude and sheer happiness.
A year ago, she could never have imagined this scene.
Lydia was sitting on the floor by the tree while Audrey read to her from a Christmas book and Lydia pointed out the words she could read herself.
