Page 48 of Love, Lies and Sleigh Rides
She shook her head. “But not now. You’ve changed, right? And they didn’t turn their backs on you when you were at your worst, did they?”
“No, they didn’t. I never worried about that.” Kade went back to his napkin, unrolling it then tearing little bits from the corner. “I take it that wasn’t the case with your family.”
“Not at all.”
He swept the napkin pieces into a pile. “Sorry to hear that.”
“Oh, I’m long over it. I’ve assembled my own family.”
Kade nodded thoughtfully. “I like that.”
She laughed self-consciously and shrugged. “You make your own breaks.”
Her loose tongue might have been a ripple effect of the sublime moment sitting in downtown Hendricks earlier or the splendor of the inn and the party atmosphere. The Behars' hospitality this month warmed her to the notion of family and holidays. She had June, but June had her own family. The close-knit Behars were the type of family she had wished for when she was young.
Across the room, a dainty bell rang. Darcy stood on the raised platform where the quartet had been playing.
“The buffet is ready,” she announced. “But first we’d like to take a minute to recognize the work and dedication of the organizers and the sponsors for the Holly Days Tree Auction. Agnes?”
Fallon sensed Kade stiffen next to her when Agnes appeared next to Darcy.
Agnes cleared her throat. “First, thank you all on behalf of the North Shore Family Network, the recipient of this year’s tree auction proceeds. We had a record number of tree sponsors thanks to the efforts of Fallon Gale and Endeavor Publicity in Minneapolis. Fallon, how many sponsors did we end up with?”
“Fifty-seven sponsors for sixty-one trees!” Her voice cracked on the last word, but the applause drowned her out.
“Nice work,” Kade whispered as he leaned into her.
She caught the warmth of his breath on her cheek and the scent of mint that followed. Fallon swallowed.
“Will you be around tomorrow?” he asked.
“By default, yes. I was recruited by Agnes to hand out trophies to the parade winners.”
He grinned. “Good. You haven’t experienced Christmas until you’ve seen the Holly Days parade.”
“Are you trying to cure me of my aversion for the holidays?”
“I might be.” His dark eyes sparked. There was no mistaking Kade’s intentions.
But she couldn’t help but play along. “I’ll have to be careful not to let my guard down then.”
“That sounds like my kind of challenge,” he whispered back.
Fallon looked away while her heart galloped like a wild horse. This might be harder than she bargained for, keeping Kade corralled for the rest of the weekend, especially since she felt more drawn to him than ever.
ChapterEighteen
Kade gave himself a mental pat on the back for getting through dinner without dunking his tie in the cranberry-apple chutney of his pork tenderloin. The only near-catastrophe happened when he got up from the table to get Fallon a refill of her drink. He thought the tablecloth was his napkin, so he casually wadded up the corner and tried to lay it next to his plate. No one noticed but Fallon. She gave him a demure smile while her shoulders shook for a second with stifled laughter.
After dishes were cleared, the waitstaff entered the dining room with yule log cakes, one for each table.
“The former pastry chef here made these,” whispered Elaine. His parents had joined them at their table for dinner. “Now she works at the tea room in town and also caters the most adorable picnics.”
“Osage Tea Room, right?” Fallon said. “I popped in there last week for lunch.”
“She won a big award last fall during the Taste of Hendricks festival,” Elaine said. “Mila is amazing.”
Kade studied the dessert in the center of their table a little closer. It did indeed look like a log smothered with thick chocolate frosting and dusted with cocoa powder. “Anything with chocolate is amazing.”
