Page 27 of Hard Candy Christmas

“Ready?”

It was on the tip of my tongue to ask about it when Belinda waltzed in, and I turned to look at her. She was dressed in a pair of deep green leggings, a red sweater, and a white jacket with fur along the hood draped over her arm. She looked like a Christmas angel, and I needed to watch myself.

“Uh, yeah. You look cute.” I hold out my hand for her, grinning as she takes it.

“Thanks. You said warm. What’s on the list for this evening?”

“Well, there’s something going on in Clement Bay that I’d like to take you to. Westover doesn’t have it, and it’s pretty new in Clement Bay.”

Her brows wrinkled in confusion, and it was an adorable look on her. Okay, where are these thoughts coming from? I mean, sure, she’s beautiful and I’ve told her plenty of times, but looking at things that were cute or anything was far from my norm.

“I’m clueless.” She climbed into the truck and looked at the thermos and the blanket. “Please tell me we’re not going to some bonfire or something. That smell will never come off of me.”

“No, it’s not a bonfire. Can you just sit back and enjoy the ride for what it’s worth?”

“No, never could have.” She did have a point there, sadly. “Has Clement Bay grown? I haven’t been there since I’ve gotten back.”

“Not really. But they did dedicate a certain part of town to light viewing. All the houses around the bay go all out every year for Christmas Eve and I thought a sleigh ride through the housing and looking at the lights would be nice.”

Her eyes opened wide and her mouth fell open.

“We’re seeing Christmas lights?”

“Yes ma’am.” It was nice to see that her love of the displays was still something she loved. “I thought it wasn’t too horribly cold tonight so it wouldn’t be bad.”

“And it’s on a sleigh ride?”

“Hence the warmer clothes. It’s the only way to view the lights.”

“Chase, that’s the sweetest thing anyone has done for me. Thank you. Oh, can you drive faster because I’m not sure I can wait to see it?”

I checked the time on the dashboard and laughed.

“The sleigh rides are reserved on time, B. Even if I got there early, we couldn’t go.”

She pouted for a moment, but let her gaze linger outside, enjoying the music playing and the whiteness on the ground.

“Are you comfortable?” I checked again as I settled the heavy blanket on our laps. The good thing about these rides, the sleighs did have foot heaters, so we wouldn’t be too cold.

“I’m good, thank you.” She uncapped the thermos and handed me it to take a sip of the hot chocolate then took one for herself. “Oh, the adult kind.”

“Only way to make it.”

I glanced at her as she fiddled with the cap, her lip stuck between her teeth, her eyes dancing with the flickering lights of the first house.

“What is it, B?”

“I ran into Tori the other day. I hadn’t seen you for a couple of days and wasn’t sure where things stood with us, so I didn’t tell you.”

“I’m sorry. I was a little confused and I didn’t know where to take things.”

“I get it. Chase, it’s me you’re talking to. Ten years is a long time to go without seeing someone, but there are things within us that don’t change. And I still know you pretty well. You’re still pretty much an easy book for me to read.”

“I’m not sure that’s a good thing.” I cleared my throat and looked at the next house. “What did Tori say?”

“That you were on a rough path. That she had wanted to marry you, even with the stupid dare, but soon realized how wrong it was.” She stopped and I knew the rest because it’s the same thing Tori and I discussed shortly after our divorce. I’m glad she had no ill will towards me when she could have.

“It’s true.”

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