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But mostly Reece.

When she’d gotten home from their date the other night, her father was fast asleep. The next morning, however, he asked her a bunch of questions: How did the resort look? What did they eat? Was Reece a gentleman? Did she want to see him again?

That last one had her sighing dreamily. “I do,” she told him. “He’s just…amazing, Dad. I don’t think we ran out of things to talk about all night. We ate tableside s’mores and walked around the resort to see all the decorations, and…I like him so much already that it scares me a little.”

“Well, you two always were like two peas in a pod, even when you were kids. I guess it makes sense that you’d still have a connection all these years later.”

“Maybe.”

“So I’m guessing you’re going to go out with him again.”

She nodded. “We’re planning on watching the parade together and then going to the park, and we even got a couple of tickets to the Lakeview Harbor Festival of Lights! Have you even seen it? Is it as wonderful as it sounds?”

Martin had laughed softly. “I went last year and it’s a beautiful show. You’re really going to enjoy it.”

“That’s what Reece said.”

“Are you going to see him tonight?”

Walking over to the coffee bar—which her father had named The Corner Café—she poured herself a cup before answering. When she faced him, she gave him a small smile.

“I want to. But I also want to spend time with you. That’s why I’m here. We’ve lost so much time over the years, and I feel guilty for wanting to go out with Reece.”

Walking over, he hugged her. “Oh, sweetie, don’t feel guilty. We can spend our days together here at the bookstore, and then you and Reece can go out and do your thing at night. You’re young, and the two of you are enjoying getting reacquainted. There’s nothing wrong with that.”

“But this weekend…?”

“To be honest, I’m going to be very busy here at the shop. I tend to spend the entire parade day here because…” He shrugged. “It’s tradition, and I love having people come in to buy Christmas gifts and admire the decorations, and we’re going to have arts-and-crafts tables set up along with story time with Mrs. Claus. By the time we close for the night, I’m going to be beat. So don’t feel bad.”

“Okay, what about Sunday?”

He looked a little bashful for a moment. “Um…” Pausing, he rubbed the back of his neck. “Sunday, I have plans with Mrs. Claus.”

“Dad!” she said with a laugh. “You have a girlfriend?”

“It’s not a big deal, and I hope it doesn’t upset you. We tend to take Sundays for ourselves. She makes us brunch, sometimes we go out for a drive, sometimes we go to the movies…it’s nice.”

“That sounds very sweet.”

“What I’m trying to say is don’t feel bad about spending the weekend with Reece.”

“Okay, but…”

“And, uh…I might not be home Sunday night, so…”

Putting her coffee down on the counter, Alesha put her hands over her ears. “Oh my God, Dad! I did not need to know that!” Still, she was laughing, and then Martin laughed, and they agreed to never discuss that part again.

“So? Big plans tonight?” he asked.

“Um…yes. We’ve got dinner plans tonight at a new place that just opened in town. Reece said one of the owners of the resort is a chef and it’s his restaurant.”

“That would be Connor Winslowe. I know I’ve said it before, but they all did a great job on the resort. I know you had dinner there the other night, but you should see about staying there.”

Even though he wasn’t saying it directly, there was a definite implication there that she and Reece should stay there together, and it felt weird that they were sharing these things with each other. Even though she was an adult, it still felt awkward to be talking about spending the night with people.

Honestly, she wasn’t sure if she should mention the room offer to Reece, but just thinking about it gave her a bit of a thrill. It was too bad it wasn’t for the entire weekend because she would love to have all that time alone—tonight and tomorrow night—with only the parade and the Festival of Lights breaking up their time. She felt her cheeks heat and nearly groaned when she caught her father watching her.

“You’ve got it bad, sweet pea,” her father said with amusement before going to help a customer. “And it looks good on you.”