Christmas in Angel Harbor - Jeannie Moon Page 0,44

own thoughts. While she gathered her things, including the pastry box on her lap, Danny came around and opened the door. He took the box from her with one hand then extended the other to help her out, allowing her to relish the warmth of his touch. It was such a gentlemanly thing to do, and she so appreciated all the little courtesies.

She rarely dated, and if she did, Jane found the men lacking in so many ways. Not showing up on time, being attached to their devices, canceling at the last minute, or just general rudeness, seemed to be the order of the day. There was an abundance of self-importance, and a serious lack of gentility. Age wasn’t a factor either, as some people had suggested. Since she only dated men close to her own age, she often wondered if maybe she was too picky, that she had unrealistic expectations, but it had become more and more apparent that Jane was just a loser magnet. There was no other explanation.

The way Danny behaved, like being with her was more important to him than anything else, was a change she could get used to very quickly.

As they walked down the driveway toward the side door, he looked at the large double window when he heard Chloe’s bark of alarm. Her long nose had pushed aside the sheer curtains and she was smiling in anticipation.

“She knows we’re here,” he said. “That’s a happy dog.”

“I swear, she hears my car a block away.” The dog was going to go crazy when they walked in, and Jane hoped Danny was ready for all sixty-five pounds of wiggling fur that was going to hurtle in his direction. The dog absolutely loved him, and Jane was beginning to understand why.

He stopped suddenly and fixed his eyes on the end of the driveway. “Now that is a garage. It’s huge!”

Ah, testosterone. Her garage was the envy of almost every man in Angel Harbor. It was, as he declared, huge. “That it is. My dad built it after I left for college. It might have only slightly less square footage than my house.”

The bottom of the garage had three bays and was extra deep so there was plenty of room for a workbench and tool storage. Shingled in the same blue gray as the house, there was a little covered stoop on the side, which led to a set of stairs. The building had a full second story, which already had heat and plumbing roughed in. She hadn’t yet done anything with it, but often thought it would be a good office, guest suite, or even a space for Tara if she wanted a little more distance when she was at home during school breaks.

Writers needed space, didn’t they? Jane thought.

“It’s twice the size of my sister’s cottage, and that’s more than comfortable. How did I not notice it when we went to dinner the other night?”

“If you didn’t have the cottage at your sister’s, I’d suggest getting a place in town so you could, you know…” She hesitated. “Ah, visit more. I know a good realtor.”

“Hmm. Something to think about. But I wouldn’t be able to make trouble with the kids as easily if I wasn’t right there.”

Jane laughed. “Noted.”

He stood back while she unlocked the door, and they both braced for Chloe’s greeting.

Dan set the pastries down on the washing machine just inside the back door and went down on one knee. The dog’s entire back end flew from side to side, not because Jane was home after a long day, but because Chloe’s new best friend had come for a visit.

Jane admired her dog’s taste in humans. It was, indeed, exceptional.

Chapter Nine

“I don’t know how you can say Die Hard is a Christmas movie.” Jane took the plate from in front of him and walked to the sink. The man had eaten his weight in baked goods and was still picking at one of the macarons that was left in the box.

“Sorry. I’m not budging on this,” he said before licking a bit of chocolate cream off his index finger.

“It’s set at Christmas, but it’s NOT in the genre.” This was a ridiculous argument. Why was it even a thing?

“You’re a holiday movie snob,” he teased. “It’s a Christmas movie. There are Christmas carols is in it. Christmas lights.”

“Are you serious?”

Danny laughed. “Christmas is mentioned in the script eighteen times!”

Jane shook her head. Now he was just messing with her. “Eighteen times? I’m sorry.