Page 25 of Promise Me This Christmas
“After that chocolate and wine tasting at the end, I think I’m happy walking,” Larkin said.She cocked a questioning brow at Carson.
“Me too.”
So, they layered up in their outdoor gear and thanked their hosts.As they stepped out into the cold, Larkin zipped her coat as high as it would go, then wrapped her scarf close to her face.“Brr.It has gotten chilly.”
“Want to change your mind and grab a ride?”Carson asked.
“No.”If she was honest with herself, she didn’t just want some fresh air and exercise.She wanted a few moments alone with him.
“Good.”
When Carson took her hand, it felt like the most natural thing in the world.She leaned closer to him as they started along the sidewalk toward home.As the Kettles drove past, she spotted a man in the back seat.Gibson must have accepted their offer of a ride.They’d sure seen another side to the man tonight.“I wonder if Gibson will be a bit more pleasant at breakfast tomorrow?”
“Let’s hope he doesn’t find another dead mouse.”
“Carson!”She tried not to laugh.“Your sister would be devastated if he did.”
“Look up.Can you see Orion’s Belt?”
She stopped to look, and there in the starry sky was the familiar pattern.It had always been their touchstone as kids.The one constellation—besides the Big and Small Dippers—that they could always recognize.
“It’s nice that some things never change, huh?”
She knew what he meant.Being back in Montana was reminding her of other touchstones in her life.Her grandmother and her cozy little bungalow, the beauty of Paradise Valley, and even Carson himself.
Being with him felt so natural and familiar on the one hand, and yet exciting and new on the other.She’d been so guarded in her relationships for so long, she didn’t know what to make of any of these feelings.
“Thanks for being a good sport about the chocolate workshop.It really wasn’t your thing, was it?”
“Hey.I got to be with you.And I’m bringing home a box of chocolates.”He raised the bag that Sage had given them to carry their treats.
“Win-win.”
“Exactly.”
They walked by a house with a big picture window and no curtains.It’s a Wonderful Lifewas playing on a big-screen TV.As they passed the next house, they could hear an unknown pianist playing “Christmas Time Is Here.”Before Larkin knew it, they were standing in front of Bramble House.Awash in golden lights, with cedar garland covering the porch railings and a ball of mistletoe over the front door, it couldn’t have looked more welcoming.
But she wasn’t in a hurry to go inside.And it seemed Carson wasn’t either.
“I’ve got a nice bottle of Orphan Girl cream brandy at my place.”He nodded at the stairs leading to the suite over the garage.“Interested in a nightcap?”
She was tempted.But also nervous.She’d made it a policy to never go to a man’s house, ever.Until she knew a man really well, all her dates were in public places.The few times she’d been intimate with a man over the past few years had always been at her place, where she’d made sure to keep her phone within easy reach.
But this was Carson.
“Okay,” she said.
He smiled and she felt a delicious shiver of anticipation, and only the slightest tinge of fear.One drink couldn’t hurt.Larkin wondered how many women had thought that, only to be proved wrong.
*
It had beena long day, and as Amy made her way up the stairs to the third floor, she could feel her left leg aching.She’d injured it in the car accident that had killed her mother, and while she’d learned to live with her slight limp, the pain was always a reminder when she was overdoing things.
Chet, following behind her, noticed.“Your leg is bothering you, isn’t it?Take a soak in a hot bath.Maybe this summer we should finally install that hot tub in the backyard.”
It had been on their wish list of home improvements since they were married, and Amy had been saving for it in a separate account.“After Christmas we should have enough money.Assuming this week doesn’t do us in.”
“Aw, babe, it hasn’t been that bad.”
