Page 72 of Snowed In on Valentine's Day

“I thought you didn’t dance.”

“I don’t. Ever.”

He whirled me around then, and I laughed. “You could’ve fooled me. You’ve been hiding these mad dance skills all this time! I should be mad at you.”

“But you’re not. Happy birthday, Hazel,” he said, pulling me closer. “I do believe I’m even looking forward to Valentine’s Day next year. That’ll be a first.” And then he smiled. That smile … it caused me to miss a step, only narrowly avoiding stomping on his feet.

As I righted myself, a couple caught my eye off to the side. I squinted, unable to believe what I was seeing.

“What is it?” Peter asked with a frown when I gasped.

I closed my mouth and then opened it again. “It’s Roxy. Dancing. With Jeff.”

His eyebrows rose. “I thought they didn’t get along.”

“They don’t. And that’s putting it mildly. But they look …”

Peter changed directions so he could covertly see what I’d been describing. “Cozy. Flirting, maybe.”

“Yes! She’s gazing up at him like … and is that an actual grin on his face? I didn’t know he was capable of that.” I shook my head in disbelief.

“Love can change a man,” Peter said softly, leaning in close.

I smiled at him. “Yes, but … surely not Jeff. They are the farthest thing from in love. Maybe they’re just celebrating the fact that my new counseling center is finally open, so they won’t have to meet regularly anymore.”

After a silent moment, he started steering me farther from Roxy and Jeff and closer to the seating area. I looked up at him in question, and his lips were pressed together as though he was uncomfortable. And then he smiled, but not at me.

I turned to see who he was gracing with his smile and—

Peter held my arm as I nearly tripped on my heels upon seeing the familiar faces.

The two people who’d watched me take my first breath.

My jaw was surely on the floor as I stared at them and then glanced at Peter with wide eyes. Soon we were in front of them, and I leaped into Dad’s arms and then pulled Mom in for the group hug.

“Honey, it’s so nice to see you. Happy birthday!” my mother said, her eyes shimmering with tears.

“Mom, Dad—how are youhere?” I asked as I stepped back but just a bit. I grabbed Peter’s hand and pulled him closer. “Peter, didyouarrange this?”

“He did,” Dad said. “He called a few weeks ago.”

My eyes widened even further. “You called my parents? But why?”

“To ask for your hand in marriage, of course,” he said, as though that were such a normal thing to say. “And to invite them to visit for your thirtieth birthday.”

Tears were pooling in my eyes as well as I smiled and threw my arms around Peter. “I can’t believe you did this. And …” I turned to my parents with a more serious expression. “And you came.”

“Of course we came, honey,” my mother said, pulling me closer. “We love you.”

Dad nodded. “We want to visit more often. This is your home now. You even run a business now. I couldn’t be more proud.”

Mom stepped back. “In the past, honey, we figured it was easier for you to visit us, since you had such a busy schedule. But now that you’re settling down, that’s all changing.”

I smiled through more tears. I always thought … well, I thought I wasn’t important to them. Not worth coming back to the States to visit. And all this time … they’d hesitated only because of my busy schedule?

Peter knew me so well. “They were thrilled to be invited, Hazel.”

I nodded, unable to believe what I was hearing, full of emotion that was hard to contain.

---