Page 19 of The Holiday Gift

He didn’t know the social conventions but he figured simple politeness trumped the rules anyway.

“Would you like to dance?” he finally asked. If Faith would rather hide out in the kitchen than spend time in conversation with him, he probably wasn’t committing some grave faux pas by asking another woman for a simple dance.

Ella’s smile was soft with delight. “I would, actually. Thanks.”

How weird was this night turning out? Chase wondered as he led the woman out to the dance floor with about a dozen other couples. He had come to the party hoping to end up with Faith in his arms. Instead, she was currently busy carrying out a pot of soup while he was dancing with a woman he had only just met.

Ella was a good conversationalist. She asked him about his ranch and Pine Gulch and the surroundings. He told her about Addie and the cruise she was going on with her mother and stepfather over the holidays and his plans to have their own Christmas celebration a few days before the twenty-fifth.

He actually enjoyed himself more than he might have expected, though beneath the enjoyment he was aware of a simmering frustration at Faith.

When the song ended, he spotted Ella’s father on the edge of the dance floor speaking with a ranching couple he knew who lived up near Driggs. He led her there, visited with the group for a moment, then made his excuses and headed straight for the kitchen.

He found Faith plating pieces of apple pie. She was talking to Jenna McRaven but her words seemed to stall when she spotted him.

“Are you going to hide out in here all night?”

Her gaze shifted away from his but not before he saw the shadow of nervousness there. “I’m not hiding out,” she protested. “I was just giving Jen a hand for a minute. Anyway, you’ve been busy dancing with Ella Baker.”

Only because his real date was as slippery as a newborn calf.

“You’ve done more than enough,” Jenna assured her. “I’m grateful for your help but I’m finally caught up in here. Carson’s plane just landed and he’s on his way here to help me with the rest of the night. You really need to go out and enjoy the party.”

Faith opened her mouth to protest but Jenna gave her a stern look. “I’m serious, sweetie. Go out and enjoy all this delicious food I’ve been slaving over for a week. Now hand over the apron and back away slowly and nobody will get hurt.”

“Fine. If you insist.” Faith huffed out a little breath but untied her apron and set it on an empty space on the counter. Chase wasn’t about to let her wriggle away again. He hooked his hand in the crook of her elbow and steered her out into the reception hall and over to the buffet line.

They grabbed their food, which all appeared delicious, then Faith scanned the room. “I see a couple of chairs over by Em and Ashley. Why don’t we go sit with them?”

He enjoyed hanging out with their neighbors but right now he would rather find a secluded corner and have this out. Barring that, he would rather just go home and get the hell out of this suit and tie.

Nothing was working out as he planned and he felt stupid and shortsighted for thinking it might.

“Sure. Sounds good,” he lied.

She led the way and as soon as they were seated, she immediately launched into a long conversation with the other couples.

By the time dinner was over, he was more than ready to throw up his hands and declare the evening a disaster, convinced she was too stubborn to ever consider they could be anything but friends.

Sitting at this table with their neighbors and friends filled him with a deep-seated envy that left him feeling small. They were all long-married yet still obviously enamored with each other, with casual little touches and private smiles that left him feeling more lonely than ever.

The band had begun to move away from strictly playing holiday songs and began a cover of a popular upbeat pop song, adding a bluegrass flair, of course. Ashley Hartford lit up. “Oh! I love this song. Come dance with me, darling.”

Though they had four children and had been married for years, Justin gave her the sort of smoldering look Chase guessed women enjoyed, since the man had made millions on the big screen, before he walked away from it all to come to Pine Gulch.

“Let’s do it,” he said.

“We can’t let them show us up,” Emery declared to her husband. “I know you hate to dance but will you, just this once?”

Nate Cavazos, former army Special Forces and tough as nails, sighed but obediently rose to follow his petite wife out to the dance floor. Their departure left him alone at the table with Faith, along with an awkward silence.

He gestured to the floor. “Do you want to dance?”

Panic flickered in her eyes and his gut ached. She had been his friend for nearly two decades. They had laughed together, cried together, confided secrets to each other.

Why the hell couldn’t she see they were perfect for each other?

“Forget it,” he said. “You’re not enjoying this. Why don’t I just go get Celeste’s fabulous coat and we can take off?”

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