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“It was semi-exciting.” She laughed. “But these tickets are hard to get right now. It was sold out almost as soon as they announced it. A lot of locals are extras in the play, so of course their families want to go. That’s filling up all the seats.”
“So Santa managed to grab a couple of tickets?” he asked. “I thought he was here on some sort of vacation.”
She shrugged and smiled at him. “Santa can make things happen, I guess.”
That smile captured his attention, making it tough to pull his eyes away. He’d miss this face when he left town. He’d miss everything about her. Was it wrong that he was hoping for a snowstorm just bad enough to keep him here a few days longer?
He looked down at the ticket, checking the date. “This is tomorrow night.”
“Yep.” She stared down at the ticket in her hand. “If you have nothing better to do, I guess we’re going to a play.”
He smiled. He could think of nothing he wanted to do more.
19
Charity wasn’t sure whether to be excited or disappointed at the light dusting of snow on the ground on her front lawn when she woke the next morning. But she didn’t have time to think about it. She had too much to do if she wanted to get back in time for her not-date with Nic.
She did take a few minutes at lunch to check the weather forecast in Lexington. It looked like they’d gotten three to five inches—just enough to make the roadways a nightmare. Local news was doing the same thing they did in East Tennessee when it snowed. “If you can stay off the roads, please do,” all the online articles stated.
What little snow Misty Mountain had gotten was mostly melted by the time Charity pulled into her driveway. She’d given herself enough time to feed Gracie, shower, and change into the festive red lace dress she’d worn to a Christmas wedding a couple of years before. It wasn’t that the Misty Mountain Playhouse had a strict dress code or anything, but dressy clothes were certainly okay, and she wanted to look nice for her not-date with her ex.
Her heart pounded frantically as she paced the floor nervously for a full seven minutes. She wore her coat and clutched her phone, waiting for that doorbell to ring. She’d texted her address to Nic, who insisted on picking her up, but the wait was excruciating.
When the doorbell finally rang, Gracie beat her to the door, barking as she always did. That sound signaled company was here.
“Gracie, get back,” Charity said.
Finally, she sighed and scooped her up, wincing at the fur she’d no doubt have on her red dress coat as a result. But at least it allowed her to unlock and open the door without worrying that Nic would have to fend off an overeager spaniel.
Nic’s eyes widened at the sight of her. Or maybe it was the sight of her dog, who was waving all four paws in the air, trying to rush toward Nic but getting no traction.
“Sorry,” she said. “She loves company.”
“It’s okay.” He reached out and let Gracie sniff his hand before petting her. “I guess I should have asked if it was okay to pet her first.”
“Of course.” Charity smiled. Gracie was now sniffing Nic’s hand. “Let me grab my purse.”
She stepped back, stunned at how unprepared she was. She’d thrown her coat on but had totally forgotten her purse was still on the couch.
“Here, I’ll hold her.” Nic had both hands out, and Charity swore Gracie leapt into his hands.
By the time Charity had her purse and was on her way back, Nic was on the floor, kneeling in front of Gracie and petting her with a big smile on his face. He was a dog lover. She remembered that about him.
“Did you ever get a dog?” she asked.
His smile faded a little, and he stood. “I had one with my ex. A beagle. She kept him in the divorce.”
He didn’t say it outright, but something about his tone told her there was a lot more he wasn’t saying. No doubt it wasn’t his choice to let the ex have the dog.
“You’ll have to get another one,” she said.
“We have dogs at the farm.” He stood, and Gracie began running back and forth between the two of them. “And just about every other animal imaginable. Since I spend most of my time there, I get my fill.”
Charity swept down to give Gracie a goodbye pet, refraining from her usual baby talk and promises that she’d be right back. Nic didn’t need to see all that. When she straightened and turned to face him, Gracie grabbed a toy and ran around the living room, tossing it back and forth.
“You look beautiful tonight,” he said.
When was the last time he complimented her appearance? It had been a regular thing when they were dating. Maybe even before. Whenever it had been, it’d stopped abruptly after he went off to school.
