“We could do that. I owe you, after all your help today. The least I could do is buy you something to eat at the food court.”
That hadn’t been his intention when he made the suggestion but they could wrangle over details later. “Why don’t I come back here around closing time? That way we can walk over to the market from here.”
“Probably easier than trying to find a closer parking space,” she agreed. “It should work, especially if Lydia takes a nap back in the break room.”
“She usually does,” Audrey said. “We do some yoga, put on quiet music and both close our eyes. She usually falls asleep and I do my homework.”
Holly’s affectionate smile at Audrey left a funny ache in his throat that he did his best to ignore.
“I’ll come by a little before you close at six, unless you need me to make more deliveries this afternoon.”
“You have done more than enough. I don’t have any more deliveries today.”
“Okay. I’ll get out of your hair, then. I’ll see you all in a few hours.”
And in the meantime, he would do his best to remind himself of all the reasons he didn’t belong here in this small town.
Chapter Fourteen
HOLLY WAS TOO BUSY THE REST OF THE AFTERNOON TO DWELLmuch on the prospect of spending the upcoming evening with Ryan. That’s what she told herself, anyway. At random moments when the thought of him crowded into her brain—along with sparkly anticipation—she tried to quickly push it away.
She had to do something about this growing fascination she was developing for the man. She knew better than this. Any entanglement with Ryan was doomed to end with a broken heart.
She had one job right now: giving Lydia the absolute best life she could. That left no room in her life for a tall, gorgeous naval helicopter pilot who lived a thousand miles away.
Not that he wanted a relationship with her anyway. Why would he be interested in a divorced, perpetually stressed single mom trying to juggle a business, a home and a child?
Still, as the clock ticked down, she was aware that the anticipation seemed to be building inside her like the crackle of a firework before it explodes.
She was tying up her usual end-of-day routine when the door opened. Expecting Ryan, she looked up and was startled to see her mother and her sister come in, stamping off boots and shaking off snow.
She had been so busy, she hadn’t noticed the winter storm forecasters had been predicting had arrived in full force.
“Oh wow. Looks like you just hiked through a blizzard. I didn’t even realize it was snowing.”
“It started as we left the market,” Hannah said. “It’s a fast-moving storm, though. I don’t think we’re supposed to get more than a few inches.”
“Did you find anything good at the market? We’re heading over as soon as the store closes.”
“Oh, I wish we had known.” Her mother’s face dropped. “We would have coordinated with you so we could go together.”
Hannah frowned. “Sorry. I thought you said you probably weren’t going to make it to the market until Monday.”
“My plans changed unexpectedly,” she answered. Even as she spoke, the chimes on the door rang out again and Ryan walked in, snow dusting his dark hair.
He stopped when he spotted the other women. She could feel her face heat and hoped her too-observant mother and sister didn’t notice.
“Am I too early? I thought you were closing the store at six.”
“I am closing right now.”
She moved to the door and flipped the sign.
“You two are going to the market together?” Hannah asked.
“With Audrey and Lydia,” Holly said quickly. “Audrey has a friend performing tonight and I owe Ryan dinner for helping me with deliveries today when I was in a bind.”
Her mother studied him with interest. “I don’t think we’ve met.”
