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She had absolutely no idea what his fascination was with the garage. Then she remembered that Paul had been in the garage when she’d arrived. Now, she wanted to know what they had been doing in the garage.

“I can see that you’re curious,” he said. “Come on.”

She stepped toward him, and he opened the door just far enough for her to enter. She glanced at him. “What are you up to?”

He just sent her a smile, but this time his eyes twinkled. He was definitely up to something.

She stepped inside the garage...and she gasped!

Chapter Twenty-Seven

She couldn’t believe her eyes.

Leah’s mouth gaped. She blinked, but it was still there. She had to be dreaming. This couldn’t be real.

Her gaze moved to Shaun. “You made this?”

He nodded. “Your father helped me. Your brothers also helped. And Tracy fed all of us. So, you might say it was a joint effort.”

She turned back to the parade float. He made her a parade float. Who did something like that?

The float was a replica of the inn. He’d paid attention to all of the details. There was even a turret. Wow! It was stunning.

Her mouth once more gaped as she walked the whole way around it. “I can’t believe you did this.”

“I knew you were worried about entering the parade, and I wanted you to have something nice.” He had a way of understanding things.

“Nice doesn’t even come close to describing it. You even put miniature shingles on the roof.” She continued to take it in. “And the windows light up.”

“I wanted to put little candles in the windows, but I couldn’t find any small enough.

She stepped in front of him and looked deep into his eyes. “Why would you go to all of this trouble?”

He stared right back at her, making the breath catch in her lungs. There was so much emotion in his eyes. “Leah, I started falling for you somewhere between the ice storm when you took in two strangers and when you didn’t complain that one was a dog. I watched the way you care for people. You have a big heart. And I hope you keep the inn because it suits you—you are a people person, and the people that stay at the Kringle B&B will be all the better for it. Most especially me.” He stepped closer to her. “This is a long way of saying that I love you.”

Her heart thudded. She didn’t know until that moment how much she wanted to hear him say those words. It was too good to be true. It couldn’t be real.

She blinked. When she opened her eyes, he was still there. This wasn’t some sort of dream. It was real. He was real.

And then she uttered words that she hadn’t dared let herself think until now. “I love you too. I’ve missed you so much.”

He reached out to her, pulling her to him. Her hands came to land on his chest. And the next thing she knew, his head was lowering to hers. And then his lips touched hers.

Her heart pounded in her chest. This was exactly where she was supposed to be—right here in the arms of the man she loved. This was going to be the best Christmas ever.

When he pulled back, he asked, “Would you like to go dancing?”

“Dancing?” The thought of spending more time in his arms had her smiling. “I’d love to.”

“Then right this way.” He walked over and opened the garage door for her.

She gave the parade float one last look before turning off the light. It was truly special. Then her gaze moved to Shaun. He was even more special.

She took his hand in hers. She loved the feel of his touch. And then to make sure this was all real and she hadn’t dreamed it, she lifted up on her toes and pressed her lips to his. Her heart raced. It was most definitely real.

After Shaun fussed over Mochi, who had missed him dearly, they took her for a short walk. To Mochi’s displeasure, they put her back in Leah’s cottage so they could make it to the reception before it was over.

On the ride to the reception, reality started to set in. She had so many questions—like how were they going to make this relationship work?