Page 31 of Love in the Details

The door opened, and Kassidy slipped out, wrapping her coat around her. She said nothing, only taking a place close to him and staring out at the landscape.

"You don't have to tell me I should be over her. I am." He used his hand to emphasize the fact.

Kassidy shrugged. "I'm not one to judge. It's not like my relationships are book-worthy."

Silence settled around them again, but comfortable, like she didn't expect him to say anything. There were so many sides to Kassidy McBride that he never ceased to be amazed. She wasn't bullying him into talking, which he'd thought she would do from her outburst the day he'd interviewed her.

"I was going to propose the night of the gala, five years ago. She was kissing someone else."

"You can't blame yourself for that. It was probably a good thing she did it. Better to break things off then than to go through a messy divorce. A friend of mine had that happen last year. She's a shell of the person she was before because of it." Her slight smile warmed a section of his chest, even though it was probably below freezing out there and he wasn't wearing a coat.

"To be honest, I've never thought of it like that. I've just always thought I wasn't good enough. Most people see me and think my life is perfect, but that feeling of inadequacy to run a billion-dollar corporation only compounded when it trickled to my personal life."

Kassidy reached out and touched his upper arm, an expression of understanding instead of pity boosting his spirits somewhat.

"You'll be fine. Just take it one day at a time. That's what I'm trying to do."

He grinned. "Is it working?"

She burst out laughing. "Not really, but I can pretend."

Their breath puffed out in big white clouds, the moon casting enough light that the snow appeared to be shimmering.

“How’s the planning going?”

He watched as she breathed out a sigh. “Going…well. I think with all the stuff upstairs from past years, you saved me at least two days’ worth of shopping online. I’ll probably still have to go to Jackson or Idaho Falls to do a bulk run of anything I’m missing, but now I won’t have to rent a moving trailer to bring it all here.” She laughed, and from the scrunch around her eyes, it was the kind that becomes giddy and uncontrollable, usually from being overly tired.

It was fun seeing her like this, not so frustrated or desperate with her life. Then again, he’d had plenty of moments of that throughout the past few weeks.

“Glad I, or my grandmother, that is, could help.” He jutted his thumb in the direction of the house. “We probably better get in there. She’ll be calling out here soon enough.”

Kassidy gave him a quick smile before stepping in front of him and into the house. The fact that she’d come out there to comfort him meant a lot. Maybe he was just used to people taking more than they gave, but if this was a usual thing with her, he could get used to it.

Chapter 18

What else could she add to the front yard?

There was less than a week left before the gala on Christmas Eve next Thursday, and she was fairly confident about how everything would go inside. She’d been working to hang the large garland over the mantel and had needed a quick break, stepping outside to try and get some inspiration for what the guests would see first.

The front courtyard looked so bare from where she was. A few trees grew in front of the house but not enough to block the view of the beauty of the mansion.

“What’s wrong?” Dustin asked, his tie loosened around his neck as he walked down the steps toward her. Kassidy was several feet into the snow, trying to see what angles would work for what. “I could see you out here pacing when I pulled up. You must be in the zone because you didn’t even hear my horn.”

The fact that he was watching her caused her chest to constrict in the way she’d always done when she had crushes in high school.

“I just need some more pieces out here, something to draw the eye.”

“You could always decorate the large pine tree over there to the left.” He pointed in that direction, and she could see the other side of the valley from that side. It could be like some kind of tribute up high in the dark night sky.

“What do you think about doing carriage or sleigh rides around the property?” she asked, walking out of the snow and stomping her boots on the driveway. The land was over ten acres up on the top and another twenty on the ridge below it. She didn’t want to worry about anything down there, but a sleigh ride could be fun and something different for that year.

“Trying to go out with a bang on this, right?” He grinned at her, knowing she didn’t like it when he talked about selling the property.

“Just trying to add a little flair of fun for the attendees. We saved a lot on the ornaments, and there’s got to be a couple of sleighs we can use from around the valley. My family has plenty of horses to pull them.”

“I like it. On one condition: that you’ll save me a ride with you around the grounds.”

She shook her head and laughed. “You drive a hard bargain, but I think I can consent to that.”

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