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She nodded, rubbing her nose with the hand she’d placed on his shoulder. Before she could pull back to look into his eyes, her focus shifted toward Brielle and she froze.
Brielle leaned against a doorjamb, her hands holding the frame behind her. Shane was incredibly close to her, his lips curled into a flirtatious smile that was only rivaled by Brielle’s. He pointed up and she tilted her head, then laughed. Mistletoe hung overhead, plain as day.
Without warning, Brielle wrapped a hand firmly around Shane’s neck and pulled him in for a kiss.
Dianna gasped, causing Tristan to pull back. “What?” He turned around, looking for what had startled her, but by then Brielle and Shane had slipped down the hall and disappeared.
A soft giggle bubbled up from Dianna’s chest. “I think I successfully ended Brielle’s insistence on remaining a bachelorette.”
Tristan frowned. “What? How do you know?”
Dianna looped her arm through Tristan’s arm and propelled him toward the back door. “I’m not going to jinx it.”
“Come on, you can tell me.” Tristan grinned. “I can keep a secret.”
She laughed again. “It’s not about secrets. It’s the fact that Brielle has dated so many people here that it’s surprising she hasn’t been out with Shane before now.”
Tristan looked over his shoulder. “Shane? Do you really think those two could make it work?”
Dianna shrugged. “Who knows? But I’m not going to jinx anything, so stop asking.” She rested her head on his shoulder, sidling up next to him. If Dianna could find love when she didn’t think it was possible, and if Brielle could find love unexpectedly, then maybe Christmas magic actually existed.
She snickered to herself. Magic wasn’t real. As much as it was nice to believe in that sort of thing, the fact remained that Christmas magic was only real when people were willing to put forth the effort to make it happen. People might be guided by God to do the right thing, and it might happen a lot more during the month of December, but that’s all it was.
Still, it was a nice thought.
They stepped out into the cold and wandered down the back steps. The trail they walked on would lead them near the barns, paddocks, and corrals, then toward the cabins. Their steps were slow and neither one of them spoke.
The silence should have felt strained, but for once, Dianna hadn’t been more comfortable in the presence of another person. Tristan’s hand tightened around hers and he pressed a kiss to the temple of her head.
“So, we’re really doing this?” Dianna asked.
Tristan slowed and stopped completely. They stood in the middle of the trail, far enough from the country club that people wouldn’t be able to see or hear them. The only light that shined on them was that of the moon overhead. “If that’s what you want.” He placed his palm on her face and brushed her cheek with his thumb. “This isn’t the first time I’ve had these feelings about you. If it were only up to me, I’d pull you into my arms and kiss you senseless. You’d know without a shadow of a doubt how I felt about you and the extent of my interest.”
“Aren’t you worried that your interest in me has more to do with your son than—”
He shook his head vehemently. “Don’t get me wrong, you are amazing with Mathew. I’m constantly in awe of you. But this is so much more than that. I want to see what my life could be like with you in it.”
She blinked, her whole body vibrating with an energy she’d never before experienced—not with high school crushes, not with anyone. “Then why don’t you?” she rasped.
“Why don’t I what?”
“Kiss me.”
17
Tristan
Tristan didn’t move. There was no way he’d heard her right. Dianna had put up so many walls; she wouldn’t just drop them like that, would she? Not only had she told him it probably wouldn’t be smart to start something, but it was also in the way she carried herself. He didn’t know how she did it, but she could keep him at arm’s length without doing or saying anything.
“You… want me to kiss you?”
She stepped closer to him, pulling his suit coat tighter around herself. Dianna tilted her face toward him. “You’ve been telling me that the only thing holding you back from kissing me has been me. Well, I’m not standing in your way anymore.”
He exhaled, his breath coming out in white puffs.
Dianna tilted her head, her eyes narrowing. “Youdowant to kiss me, don’t you?”
“Well, yeah. I just wasn’t expecting—”
