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“I lived in the city, just as Ana does now,” he said. “It’s highly overrated, and I think your sister Ana knows it. Nothing compares to life in this town.”
Yeah, if there was anyone to ask about the glamour of living in New York, it was him. In fact, he’d traded in that so-called glamorous life for small-town living. He’d deliberately sought this place out. But he could never understand what it was like to grow up in a small town and come back to visit after leaving.
“This goes deeper than that,” she said. “It goes back to our teenage years when Charity and Ana were the ones everybody talked about. They were the pretty ones. I was the ugly duckling sister.”
There was no stopping his jaw from dropping at those words. “You were never an ugly duckling.” He shook his head. “You can’t ever make me believe that. You’re probably the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.”
The words spilled from his mouth before he could stop them. If he was trying to keep this from progressing beyond friendship, saying she was probably the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen wasn’t the way to go. Even if he meant every word of it.
“How about a movie?” he blurted, mostly to put an end to this conversation. Maybe she’d forget the compliment if enough time passed. “It doesn’t even have to be Christmas-themed, although we could watchPolar Express. You said you’ve never seen that.”
She smiled. “How aboutMiracle on Thirty-Fourth Street? I haven’t seen that one in years.”
“The original or the remake?”
“Original, of course.” She made a face. “That’s the only way to go. And find it in black and white.” She pushed herself to her feet and swooped down to snatch up her plate. “I’ll toss these dishes in the dishwasher and go change into the PJs you and J.J. got me for Christmas. Thank you, by the way.” She looked down at him with a gentle smile. “That meant a lot.”
“I’m just glad I was able to get you some gifts in time,” he said. “I know your parents had stuff for you to open, but I don’t know. It would have felt weird opening gifts in front of you.”
“I didn’t get you anything,” she said. “But next Christmas, I’ll make it up to both of you.”
He opened his mouth to argue with that, but nothing came out. Next Christmas, she wouldn’t be here. She’d be in town, and they could stay friends, but chances were, they wouldn’t exchange Christmas gifts.
Maybe he should just let it rest for now. He’d deal with severing ties when the time came. By then, maybe he’d be ready to handle it. Right now, he certainly wasn’t.
12
The Japanese restaurant was still covered in Christmas decorations. That didn’t surprise Faith one bit.
They’d just spent four hours at the still-decorated outlet mall, following J.J. from store to store. Her dad had to step away multiple times to take work-related phone calls. If J.J. minded, she didn’t show it, though. She seemed so caught up in buying new clothes for school with her Christmas money that she barely noticed whether her dad was hot on her heels or not.
“You sit with Miss Faith,” J.J. said to her dad when he moved to slide into the booth next to her. “I want to be able to see you both when I talk to you.”
Holden and Faith exchanged a look as she fought to hold back a smile. Holden could have insisted on sitting on the other side, but instead, he shrugged and scooted in next to Faith.
“You didn’t want to sit at the hibachi grill,” Holden commented to J.J. as they opened their menus.
J.J. wrinkled her nose and shook her head. “That’s for kids.”
The hibachi experience was hardly limited to kids, but Faith was glad they weren’t sitting over there anyway. She preferred the cozy booth with Holden and J.J. to sitting side by side around a large grill with strangers.
“Dad, can I get the filet?” J.J. asked.
“Of course,” he said. “I might get that too.”
J.J. really was a dream child. Despite all she’d been through,anddespite her father’s wealth, she was a well-adjusted, well-mannered kid. She couldn’t imagine a better child to have for her first-time nanny job.
But just as she’d gotten comfortable, Faith was brought back to reality. Brianna Jewell and Matt North appeared seemingly from out of nowhere, following the hostess to the booth directly across from them. Even though they were having dinner in a restaurant on the outskirts of town, it made sense they’d run into Misty Mountain residents. The outlet mall attracted a lot of locals, especially in the days surrounding Christmas.
“Faith Ardmore!” Brianna called out, a big smile on her face. “I heard you were back in town. Get out here and give me a hug. Sorry.”
Brianna flashed an apologetic look at Holden, who had to scoot out of the booth to let Faith exit. Only once she was in her old friend’s embrace did Faith realize this wasn’t a bad thing. Brianna wasn’t here to judge her or gather gossip. She was genuinely happy to see her.
“I heard Trevor Hargis followed your sister all the way to the Virgin Islands,” Brianna said, clasping her hands to her chest. “It’s so romantic.”
Faith’s eyes widened as her gaze scooted from Brianna to Matt. She was just now registering that the two of them might be a couple, but this was even bigger news.
“My sister and Trevor are in the Virgin Islands together?” Faith asked.
