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“How was the sleigh ride?”
I glance at Nick. He’s talking with a man about the size of him with a beard just as large. Juliet’s husband?
“It was amazing. I haven’t had the chance to thank you. The Deluxe Adventure?”
“I know right? Aiden and I went on it last year. I thought you two would love it.”
“Are you working your matchmaking magic?” I ask in whispered tones.
Juliet smiles. “Is it working?”
I smile. “It might be.”
“Well, the Christmas market has some mistletoe in stock.”
“That’s where we’re headed next.”
After talking for a few more minutes, Juliet and her husband leave and it’s just us again.
“Ready for the Christmas market?”
Nick stares at me like he’s ready for something else. So am I, but I know if we start kissing now, we’ll never make it.
Maybe that’s not such a bad idea.
Chapter7
Nick
I wasfourteen years old the last time I went to the Whispering Winds Christmas market. My parents dropped me off on the way to a Christmas party so I could meet up with Aiden and a few of my other friends.
It was the last time I saw them before the funeral.
Sometime on their way back, they hit a patch of black ice and spun out into oncoming traffic. The silver lining in it was that it was all over in an instant. Neither of them suffered.
I didn’t find out until the next morning when a cop showed up at Aiden’s house instead of my parents.
It used to be painful to think about Christmas in Whispering Winds. Christmas in general. I avoided it as best I could because I couldn’t bear to feel a sliver of the pain I felt that morning when I realized I’d never see my parents again.
It never really worked. The holiday would come around and the wound I’d tried to heal every new year would be reopened again. Fresh and just as painful.
But for the first time, that’s all changed. The pain is still there but it’s not the same as it used to be. Rather than dwelling on what I lost, I’m thinking about the good times. All the memories that I buried away.
Being with Eva and seeing Christmas through her eyes is unearthing them. I thought it would be painful to celebrate Christmas without my parents, but now that I have Eva, I want to create more memories.
I want a family of my own.
“Do you want to leave? I’ll understand. If I knew, I wouldn’t have made you come.”
I pull Eva into a hug. I told her everything once she asked me when the last time I’d been here. I didn’t want to dump it on her, but I’m tired of burying it. I don’t want any secrets between us. I want her to know everything about me, scars included.
“You haven’t made me do anything. I want to be here with you. I’m tired of running from my past. I want to make new memories.” I brush the hair out of her face. “With you.”
She smiles at me. “I’d like that too.”
And for a brief moment, I think we’re finally going to kiss. I lean in for it but then her smile fades.
“I’m supposed to leave after Christmas. What then?”
