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“Are we leaving now?” Emme asked.
“That’s the plan,” Chace replied.
The faces of all three girls fell. “But we wanted to get ice cream.”
Holly looked at the trio apologetically. “Maybe next time. Tonight, we need to get home in time for your mom’s call.”
That was all the reminder the twins needed. They thanked Trey and Sophie for letting them join them in the front row for the tree lighting, and everyone said their goodbyes before heading in the direction of their vehicles.
As the girls scampered a few feet ahead, Chace leaned toward Holly and whispered, “We probably have time for ice cream.”
She rolled her eyes toward him. “Is that your subtle way of telling meyouwant some ice cream?”
“Maybe.” When he grinned, Holly tried to ignore the heat racing up her spine at the gesture.
“There’s a carton in the freezer back at Lyss’s.”
“But is it peppermint?”
Every year they attended the festival together, she and Chace always had a bowl of peppermint ice cream from Scoops. “No. But we have candy canes you can break up and add to the vanilla bean ice cream.”
“It won’t be the same,” he grumbled half-heartedly, a mischievous glint shining in his dark eyes.
“You’ll get over it,” Holly assured him.
The twins beat them to the truck by several lengths, hopping inside once Chace used the key fob to unlock the vehicle. But before they reached the gleaming black Ford F-250, Chace surprised the hell out of Holly by circling her wrist with his fingers and lightly tugging her to a stop behind the tailgate before she peeled off toward the passenger side.
Her breath caught in her throat a millisecond before her stomach plummeted to her toes from his touch. But when he urged her to face him and stepped into her personal space, Holly’s heart nearly pounded right out of her chest.
After eight damn years, why did this man still have such a profound effect on her? It wasn’t fair. He’d made his choice, and she hadn’t made the cut. For that, she should hate him. Or it should have been enough for her to have gotten over him.
Moved on.
Stopped comparing every freaking man she met to him.
Jaw clenched, Holly looked up at him. “What?” she prompted, half afraid of what he was about to say.
Or what he might do.
Chace didn’t release her wrist. In fact, she thought he might even have tightened his hold. “I just wanted to thank you.”
Huh?She narrowed her gaze. “For what?”
“For today.” He tucked his chin but kept his eyes on hers. “For not allowing our past to get in the way of doing what’s best for Emme and Wren while Lyss is with Sean.”
“This isn’t about us, Chace. It’s about my best friend. Your sister and her husband. But most importantly, our goddaughters.”
“I know,” he agreed. “But it could have been incredibly awkward.”
Wasn’t that the truth? Much like now when Chace still held onto her wrist, and she had done nothing to free herself from his grasp. What message did that send? To him as well as herself.
Holly decided to ignore those thoughts completely. Instead, she responded to his comment. “Then it’s a good thing I’ve learned to adapt.”
“But that’s just it, Holly. I don’t want this to be awkward. Especially when we have no idea how long this arrangement might last.”
“Under the circumstances? I’m not sure we have a choice.”
Locking with hers, his beautiful brown eyes darkened even more. “We always have a choice, Holly.”
