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“I’m finished with my homework,” Abby told Robin. “Now can I color with Noelle?”
When she heard this, Noelle tried to jump headfirst out of Nick’s arms, and he caught her just in time. “Whoa, easy, tiger.” He pointed toward the dining room. “How about I take the girls in the dining room to color so you two can chat?”
“Thanks, babe,” Holly said warmly. As soon as they were gone, she turned to Robin with misty eyes. “He’s such a great dad.”
“He really is.”
“And I’m so happy we’re having another little one.” She paused to gaze down at her belly briefly. “When I first met him, I never would have thought he’d be as open and hands-on with kids. He seemed so grumpy back then, remember?”
Robin grinned. “He wasn’t always like that. He was only grumpy when you met him because this time of year reminded him of being left at the altar.”
“And he wasn’t excited about having another movie star in his midst, which he wasn’t shy about telling me.”
“Right, but then you were so irresistible, he got back to his old warm and fuzzy self again. It’s nice.”
Holly put a hand on her hip. “I’m not sure if I buy that he was ever warm and fuzzy.”
“Okay, no. He wasn’t. But still.” The two women laughed at that, then Robin shook her head. “Do you think Jack Frost will warm up like Nick once he starts that family of his?”
“He told you about that?”
Robin rolled her eyes and finished chewing the bite of cracker and cheese she’d just taken. “Yep. Right after he told me you hijacked his real estate appointment.”
Holly hung her head. “Was he mad? I haven’t heard from him yet.”
“Not mad. Just annoyed. He thought the houses were too big, so maybe now she’ll show him a happy medium between those and a bachelor pad.”
“Is it going to be hard for you?”
“What?”
“Watching him look for love in Snow Hill when you’re right here, pining after him?”
Robin shot her friend a glare. “I am not.”
“You totally are. And if you didn’t have such a good reason for not wanting to get involved with him, I’d probably try to knock some sense into you about it.”
Robin stared down at the plate of cheese and crackers, grateful she hadn’t needed to whine about how hard it was to be around Jack when all she wanted to do whenever she saw him was pretend there was no reason she couldn’t kiss his face off. “Well, you’re a good friend for not doing that. I wish I could get past how I feel about dating another cop, but I just… can’t.”
When she met Holly’s eyes again, she saw the question she wasn’t voicing out loud.
Can’t or won’t?
But since Robin didn’t want to answer that, she decided Holly was also a good friend for not asking.
CHAPTER5
Jack
On the walkbetween the third house of the afternoon and the final house Carolyn was taking him to see, Jack made small talk with her about the town while also texting Tommy.
He’d sent his friend a photo of the last house, saying it wasn’t quite right, to which Tommy had replied with a photo of the trench he’d once slept in when he was in the Army.
As a veteran himself, Jack knew exactly what Tommy was trying to tell him. Stop being so picky. To Tommy, any of the houses in the idyllic Christmas town he was currently strolling through would be better than some of the dirt holes they’d slept in while in the service.
As valid as that was, it wasn’t the life Jack lived anymore. He had been out of the Marine Corps for years now and had lived in some really cool places in the time since. Not only had his tastes elevated, but his budget matched, thanks to some great investments and having been employed by a movie star. He didn’t need a mansion, but he also didn’t want to settle for something that didn’t hold all the creature comforts he’d envisioned for his future home.
“Here it is,” Carolyn said with a grand sweep of her arm. She led him to a small one-story home boasting a wide front porch with a white wooden railing. “You’ll be two doors down from the inn, so I’m sure you can imagine why I said I was saving the best for last.”
