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Even though she grumbled at my victory.
“Another round?” Rosemary asked, grinning widely and Tenley slumped forward in her chair. My eyes glanced out the window, the sun having set a long time ago. It was late, and very dark out. I had a ranch to run in the morning, especially since I needed to make sure our horse drawn wagon and Santa sleigh were ready for the rides tomorrow at the festival.
But it was Tenley’s downturned lips that ultimately swayed me away from staying any longer. “I should probably get going,” I stated, calmly placing my cards down on the table. Tenley sighed in relief, and I bit back a chuckle. She offered to walk me to the door and quietly followed me from the dining room after I politely said my goodbyes.
While I was tugging my boots on, she finally broke the silence that had spanned between us. “I’m sorry about tonight,” she mumbled.
“Redo tomorrow?” I asked without hesitation, standing up straight. I oddly felt a little relieved that our date had been interrupted. Her eyes lit up, and she smiled widely.
“Yes, please!”
“I don’t think I could get another reservation this time of year at Jack’s though.”
“That’s okay.” Her voice fell, shoulders sagging in a bit of disappointment. But my heart was soaring in excitement. I was a lucky man, getting a second chance at a first date without much argument. And you best believe I would be pulling out all the stops in the romantic gesture department. Time to ask Pearl what kind of sappy things girls liked to do at Christmas time.
“With what Rosemary said earlier, you know that my entire family attends opening night of the Christmas Festival. Which leaves the ranch completely empty,” I hinted, and her eyes shot up to mine. “They’ll head to town around four-thirty to set up, so I can leave with them, driving my own vehicle, but just ‘accidentally’ turn this way on the road instead of following them to the town square.”
She giggled. “I guess it’s totally believable that you would get lost in town.”
“Ouch.” I placed a hand over my heart.
“Too soon?”
I chuckled. She had me there. Normally I didn’t attend the festival, or anything really. But I was trying; for Tenley’s sake, I was trying, though it didn’t seem that hard. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“All alone?” She reached forward, snatching my hand before I turned away.
Lifting a brow, I winked. “Nobody will interrupt us.”
She shuddered, breathless. Nobody to bother us, since it’ll be at my own little home, my own personal, private escape from life.
“We aren’t going to go ice skating again?” Tenley cautiously asked, and I stepped toward her, pulling her into my arms.
“No, just sledding,” I teased, my eyes flickering down to her lips. She was so small and soft in my embrace; I loved it.
She lightly slapped my side.
“Too soon?” I teased, and she giggled against my chest. “See you tomorrow, darling,” I added with a whisper, and she squeezed me tighter. Tipping my head down, I leaned toward her, feeling her chest rising against my stomach. She tipped back, her eyes watching me as I closed the gap between her mouth and mine.
Someone cleared their throat, loudly, from the dining room, and Tenley immediately shot away from me. I tugged my hat low on my head and glanced toward her family. Every single one of them was watching us. Staring directly at the two of us, and I internally groaned. If I were to kiss her right now, it would be quite awkward, especially since we’d only kissed once before. So I knew, this meant no kiss goodnight.
Which shouldn’t have annoyed me as much as it did, but it really did. It annoyed me more than I wanted to admit. Taking a deep breath, I clasped my hands behind my back and quickly bent down, pecking her cheek.
She blushed, the tips of her ears turning rosy red as her grandma audibly sighed. Then I quickly disappeared out of her house. Tomorrow was the first date she deserved. The redo that she deserved. I would go all out, and I for sure would get to flirt with her and kiss her.
Please let me kiss her. Man, I really wanted to kiss her again.
Chapter 4
Isped away from my family, ignoring the buzzing of my phone, from call after call. Their taillights faded in the distance, headed to the festival while I zoomed closer to my date. The sun was beginning to set behind the mountains, bright oranges and pinks draped the valley. Blanketing my world in indescribable beauty. Before Tenley, I’d long since become accustomed to the beauty that I lived in, but she changed that.
She reminded me that it was okay to pause and admire things, and as I drove down this quiet road closer to her house, I took a moment to myself. Soaking in the contrast between the snowcapped mountains and the bright painting of the setting sun. I sighed. Excited.
Oh man, was I excited. I had everything planned from baking cookies to Christmas tree decorating, with candlelight and tons of cute, sappy things along the way. Pearl helped offer ideas, and yes, she’d even showed me this app that had these ‘boards’ or something where you could pin things for idea inspiration. Things that included Christmas activities.
So in the cupholders of my truck sat peppermint hot chocolate for Tenley. A warm, fuzzy blanket waited for her, folded in the passenger seat, and I had a playlist ready to go with cute, Christmas love songs. I also had accepted that on this one drive, she could put her feet up on my dash.
Only this one time, and she would have to remove her boots first, but it would be fine because it would be special.
