She could have left things there but she decided to be honest with him. “Everyone seems to think I should be devastated by the breakup of my marriage. Maybe I was upset at first that Troy could walk away so easily, but that was mostly on Lydia’s behalf. Our lives are much easier without him, which is a terrible thing to say. The only reason I would ever dare say that out loud is because the door is closed and Lydia is already asleep.”
He nodded and she had to wonder what he must be thinking at her confession.
“Well, I had a great time, too,” he said.
“I’m not sure I’ve ever enjoyed the Christmas market as much as I did tonight.”
Was that too much of a confession? Had she revealed more than she intended about her growing feelings for him?
“I can honestly say it was the best Christmas market I’ve ever been to.”
She had to smile. “Now I have to suspect you’ve never been to any other Christmas markets.”
“True. But even if I had been to dozens, I would still have enjoyed the Shelter Springs market the most.”
“I’m glad.”
For a moment, they simply stood there, the silence between them stretching, yet somehow full. Then Ryan reached out, brushing a snowflake from her hair with a gentleness that stole her breath. Before she could think, his hand slid to her cheek, cradling her face with his warm hand as if she were something precious.
And then he kissed her again, as she had been dreaming about for days.
The world seemed to vanish, leaving only the snow, the moonlight and the steady strength of his arms as he pulled her closer.
Holly felt herself melt into him, her hands curling against his coat, her heart thudding like a faint echo of the Christmas music they had left behind.
She wanted to stay like this forever, to lean into him and let his warmth surround her.
He was the one who ended the kiss, easing away from her and resting his forehead against hers briefly.
“I told myself I wasn’t going to do that again,” he murmured.
Why not, when it’s so very lovely?She wanted to ask the question but couldn’t seem to form the words. She wasn’t sure she wanted to hear his answer.
“Right. Probably not a good idea.” Her voice sounded hoarse, ragged, and she could only hope he didn’t notice.
He studied her in the moonlight then gently pushed a strand of hair away from her face.
“You’re a beautiful, desirable woman, Holly. I hope the fact that your idiot ex-husband left you for someone barely out of her teens doesn’t ever make you think otherwise.”
She blinked at the intensity of his tone and his words. Before she could manage to gather her thoughts enough to answer, he kissed her softly one more time, then gestured to her car.
“You should go.”
She nodded and slid into the driver’s seat. With hands that trembled from far more than the cold temperatures, she hooked her seat belt then backed out of her parking space and headed for Rose Cottage.
She didn’t need to look in her rearview mirror to know he watched to make sure she was on her way before walking back to his own truck.
THE NEXT DAY,only one more day before Kristine’s wedding, passed in a blur. She would be so relieved when this weekend was over and she could be done with weddings for a while.
Fortunately, both of her ill employees assured her they were feeling better and would be more than happy to cover the store the next day so she could focus on the wedding.
She was finishing up a last-minute order for a birthday floral arrangement when her cell phone rang. After spending all day on the Evergreen & Ivy phone, she didn’t really want to answer a personal call but she sighed when she recognized her former mother-in-law’s name and number.
“Holly. Hello.” Susan sounded exhausted in even that short greeting.
“Hi, Susan. How are you holding up?”
“One more day. We can make it through that, right? In thirty-six hours, this will all be over.”
