Page 48 of Grinchland
I waved my hand as I reached out to grab his arm. “That’s nothing. We should really get going.” My fingers wrapped around his forearm and I pulled slightly. I didn’t need to go the rounds with him like I had with Abbie. I didn’t need people to start thinking that something was wrong with me when I was perfectly fine. In fact, I’d never felt better.
I could already see Silas latching onto Abbie’s idea of creating a holiday rehab center here in Grinchland, and that would have the exact opposite result of what I was trying to accomplish during our seven-day deal.
I didn’t want Silas to think that Grinchland was having a positive effect on me.
Silas glanced down at my hand and then back up to me. I could see he wanted to press me about it, but I just motioned toward the front door with my head, hoping that would get him to move.
Thankfully, he didn’t push me further. Instead, he just glanced over at the wall and then back to me and then back to the wall. Finally, he turned and followed me out the door.
We were quiet as we walked out to his car that was still running in my driveway. I went to open the door, but he beat me to it, his fingers brushing mine in the process. Jolts of electricity rushed up my arm from the sensation of his skin against mine.
He cleared his throat as he held open the door, and I slipped onto the passenger seat. He did a once-over as if to make sure I was fully inside before he gently shut the door. Once he got in the car, he asked me if the temperature was okay and pulled out of my driveway.
I nodded before I peeked over at him, appreciating his profile. Silas was a handsome man. Even more so now that he wasn’t constantly glowering at me. He must have felt me staring because he glanced over at me before he frowned.
“What?” he asked.
I shrugged as I moved my attention out the window. “Nothing,” I said.
He paused. “Okay.”
“It’s just that you’re much better looking when you’re not glaring at everyone.” The words tumbled from my lips before I could stop them. My cheeks heated as I peeked over at him, wondering if I’d said too much.
“You think I’m good-looking?”
I cleared my throat and shifted in my seat. “I do believe that my exact words were better looking. Not good-looking.”
He glanced over at me and then back to the road. His left wrist was resting on the steering wheel, and his right arm was propped up on the console between us. His body was slightly tipped toward me. He seemed relaxed and unbothered by what I said.
“I heard good-looking,” he said before turning toward me and flashing me a smile.
I rolled my eyes. “We hear what we want to.”
I watched as his expression softened as if a painful memory had suddenly washed over him. He swallowed hard, his Adam’s apple bobbing up and down before his jaw muscles flinched.
“It’s been hard to be happy since Nicole…” His voice drifted off.
I wanted him to keep going. I wanted to know more about him. I was beginning to care about this man. I wanted to help even if there wasn’t much I could do other than listen.
“Was Nicole your wife?” I asked, my voice hushed with reverence for her memory.
He glanced over at me before he slowly began to nod. “She passed away three years ago.” He swallowed. “On Christmas Eve.”
My heart sank and my entire body went numb. No wonder this man hated the holiday. It was a reminder of everything he’d lost.
“I’m so sorry,” I whispered, worried that I’d pushed him to talk about her when he wasn’t ready.
He chuckled. “Thing is, she loved Christmas, and she would have hated that I got it banned.” He grew silent as he was lost in a memory.
I folded my arms across my chest, hoping that he felt my support. I was willing to listen, but I was equally ready to let it all go.
He finally glanced over at me as if he’d suddenly remembered that I was sitting next to him. He held my gaze for a moment before he turned his attention back to the road and merged onto the freeway.
“Nicole would have loved you,” he said as he flipped on his blinker and moved over a lane.
“I would love to have met her. If Isabelle is any indication of how great she was, I bet she was pretty amazing.”
Silas nodded. “She was the best.”
