Page 3 of Through the Snow Globe
“Right.” Diana’s face stretched into a yawn.
“We can drink champagne to celebrate your new promotion and add the lights and tinsel. Who knows, maybe I’ll even add a little tinsel to you.”
Diana peeked out from behind her arm just in time to see him waggle his eyebrows. “Promotion?” She sat up now and looked at him with wide eyes. “Today’s the interview,” she remembered out loud. She’d tossed and turned so much in the night—her mind rehashing her argument with Linus and rehearsing today’s meeting with Mr. Powell—that she was completely out of sorts.
“Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten. That promotion is all you’ve talked about for weeks.” What he didn’t say was it was also her excuse to avoid setting a date and planning their wedding. She was grateful he didn’t bring that up this morning. It would only make things tense between them again and today promised to be life-changing. A promotion at work would improve their financial situation. They might even be able to afford to leave this apartment and move into a house of their own.
She stood and hurried into her closet. The interview wasn’t until this afternoon. First, she had a busy morning of home health patients to see. Grabbing a pair of scrubs with a sparkly snowflake print, she quickly started stripping down to change.
“I’m sorry for calling you an Elsa last night.” Linus stood in the closet’s doorway, watching her.
“Addy was the one who called me an Elsa. You just confirmed it.”
“I only meant that you’re beautiful like her.”
“That’s not what you meant, and you know it.” Diana rolled her eyes playfully as she looked at him. Even though he’d likely already brushed his hair, it was disheveled on one side.
He cast a sheepish grin. “Well, youarebeautiful. More so than any ice queen. Forgive me?”
She also needed to apologize. He was right. She had been avoiding the subject of marriage. Pulling her scrub pants up to her waist, she stepped toward him. “We’ll set the date tonight,” she promised. “While we celebrate with champagne and create the most festive tree that Snow Haven has ever seen.”
Linus leaned in and kissed her. “I like the sound of that.”
“Me too.” And she did, even if she was terrified of being part of a family. She didn’t know the first thing about having relatives who actually cared and wanted to spend time with her. What if she was horrible at it? What if Linus realized his mistake in choosing her and left? Or worse, if he stayed and it ruined his life?
“Tonight, then?” He pulled back. “I’ve got to get to the toy store. I have a meeting with a distributor this morning. Love you forever,” he called behind him on his way out.
Diana’s brain stuttered on that last word.Forever is a myth. All we’ve got is this moment.Had Linus’s grandfather been right about that? Well, if so, she intended to knock this day out of the park. “Love you too!” she called after him. “See you tonight!”
After he was gone, she hurried into the bathroom and washed her face. The front door squeaked as it opened down the hall. Diana turned off the faucet and peeked out, seeing Linus standing back in the doorway.
“My truck is out of gas,” he said with a long face.
“You let it get so low that you can’t make it to the station?”
“So low that it won’t even start.” He released a heavy sigh, his good mood visibly deflating.
Diana shrugged. “It’s going to take me a few minutes to get ready, but I can drive you if you want to wait.”
Linus shook his head. “No, I’ll take the bicycle. It’ll be fine. I’ve got to go. I don’t want to be late.”
All the reason she should drive him. He would only argue, though. Linus always rode his bike to work when the weather was nice, which wasn’t exactly the case for today. The toy store was only a mile down the road and he enjoyed the exercise.
“Love you!” he called as he rolled his bicycle out of their apartment into the December morning. He didn’t wait to hear her reply before the door was closed and he was gone.
Her stomach suddenly felt unsettled as she stood there. She guessed it was the argument they’d had last night. Even though everything seemed fine this morning, last night’s feud felt bigger than their usual quarrels about him leaving dirty laundry on the floor or her not screwing the cap on the toothpaste. Had Linus really said he regretted proposing? Had she allowed the whole marriage thing to freak her out so much that it was driving a wedge between them?
She stared after the door for another second, some part of her wanting to run out the front door and wrap her arms around Linus. There was no time for that, though. They both had a busy day ahead. Today she was going to get the promotion she deserved and tonight she and Linus would begin planning the rest of their lives together. Whatever issues she had with family and commitment, she’d just have to get over them between now and then.
Linus’s grandfather was mistaken. Forever wasn’t a myth. It was hers for the taking.
Chapter 2
“Come on, Maria. It’s cold out here,” Diana mumbled under her breath as she stood outside her patient’s door. She pressed the bell a third time.
It wasn’t like Maria not to answer immediately. The old woman lived alone, though. Maybe she was in the bathroom. Or perhaps she’d gone off to stay with relatives and had forgotten to cancel her physical therapy appointment.
Diana wasn’t even sure if Maria had family in Snow Haven, North Carolina. When Diana was working with Maria, she kept things professional. They focused on Maria’s exercises so that the older woman could recover some of the strength and endurance she’d lost during last month’s stroke.
