His life without those things, withoutthem, seemed suddenly colorless and bleak.
Walking away would be the right thing to do, the smart thing to do.
That didn’t make it any easier.
Chapter Twenty-One
“SO TELL US EVERYTHING. HOW WAS THE WEDDING?”
“More importantly, how was your date?” McKenna Dodd asked while juggling her two-year-old son, Austin.
Holly really did not want to talk about that night, when she had given her heart irretrievably to a certain sexy helicopter pilot.
“It was nice. Kristine made a beautiful bride, as I knew she would. She and Matt are so in love. It’s wonderful to see.”
“And your date?” Amanda asked, giving her a searching look.
“You know it wasn’t really a date, right? He only took me as a favor.”
She could only wish it had been real. Holly felt a bit like Cinderella, given one magical, unforgettable night. Now she had to face the grim reality that no one would be coming around with a glass slipper for her to try on.
“Favor or not, he still seems like a great guy to be your plus-one at a wedding for people he doesn’t even know.”
Oh, he was. And she had been foolish enough to fall for him.
“He’s very kind.”
“And gorgeous,” Hannah offered. “I’m sure Lieutenant Commander Caldwell looked delicious, all dressed up.”
Holly would rather talk about anything else, including the upcoming tax season, than about how gorgeous Ryan had looked at the wedding. She was trying to forget that, with abysmal results.
“Who looked delicious dressed up?” Amanda’s grandmother Birdie asked as she walked past on the arm of Griffin Taylor, Amanda’s brother and their friend Natalie’s husband.
“Holly took a date to Kristine Moore’s wedding on Saturday,” Amanda said. “The brother of Kim Barnes.”
“Oh, he is that lovely man who delivered flowers to me last week. He was a dear. Good for you, Holly. It’s about time you put yourself out there again.”
Holly had absolutely no desire to put herselfout there, whereverout therewas. She had created a disaster out of the single date she had gone on since her divorce, falling head over heels for the man.
“This broccoli salad is delicious,” she said, trying again to steer the conversation away from herself. “Who brought it? I definitely need the recipe.”
As she hoped, she succeeded in changing the subject as Natalie took credit, claiming the secret was the pepitas. Holly did her best to ignore the searching look her sister gave her. Hannah had asked her several times to spill details about the date and didn’t seem content with any of her superficial answers.
The conversation shifted to a new avocado dip recipe McKenna had brought and then on to what people were making for Christmas Eve dinner the next day.
Holly thought she successfully had avoided her sister’s probing—until the party was winding down and she found herself alone with her twin. The two of them sat together watching Lydia play happily with McKenna’s daughters, Hazel and Nora, who always went out of their way to include Lydia.
“Okay, sis. Spill. Was your date utterly horrible? You don’t seem to want to talk about it. Every time I ask, you change the subject. Don’t think I haven’t noticed.”
“That’s ridiculous. I have done nothing of the sort. How was your Christmas concert at the nursing home yesterday? I’m sorry I couldn’t make it.”
“It was fine. You’re doing it again. I have to wonder why.Please tell me our sexy Lieutenant Commander Caldwell wasn’t a total ass to you.”
“No. Not at all. He was w-wonderful.”
To her horror, her voice broke on the word. Afraid that Hannah would see her tumult and insist on digging until she found out the truth, Holly jumped up.
“I think I’ll grab another one of those pinwheel cookies. They were delicious. Would you like one?”
