making good progress on it, but tonight, he messed with my head. What if this is a huge mistake?”
“I doubt it is, but it would help if I knew more. We talked a little in the beginning, but you haven’t told me anything about what you have planned. I’ve been told I have excellent taste and a good sense of the market.”
“I’m sure you do, but I’m not ready to talk about it yet.” Danny was very protective of the story. It made her wonder what he’d gotten himself into.
The thought seemed to put him on edge. She could feel him tense, like a big cat ready to spring at a threat. What the devil was the man writing about?
“I can tell you it’s very personal to me.”
“Okay.”
Danny stopped walking, forcing her to turn, and Jane’s hand slid down to his. “Okay? You’re not going to try and get it out of me? No probing questions.”
She could feel the laugh bubble in her chest. “Do you want me to?”
His eyes focused on hers, and she thought for a second he might tell her what he was writing, and more, why it was so important to him. Instead, Danny shook his head and pulled her arm back through his. “Your opinion matters to me. But no, I’m not ready to tell you yet.”
“That’s fine.” Jane leaned her head on his shoulder as they walked on. It was incredibly comforting to be so close and so at ease with him. It was nice to let her worries slip away.
“You could beg a little, you know,” he said. “It would be good for my ego.”
That tickled her. She knew he was kidding, but she loved the teasing between them.
“I think Lindsey doled out enough hero worship for you today. You’ll be fine without any more from me.”
She could feel his body unwind as they talked. The walk had relaxed her, and she was so grateful for the pretty night. Jane was also grateful for him.
They crossed the street, heading back toward the harbor. On the way they came upon a shop that specialized in blankets and textiles from the UK and Ireland. The small shop was filled with beautiful handmade crafts and home goods. Jane had bought Tracy a throw from there just last week. “I love this store. It reminds me of a shop in Ireland, in Kinsale, that had the most beautiful blankets.”
“I’ve never been,” he said. “To Ireland.”
“No? I took Tara when she was ten. Obviously, it made an impact on her.” The wonderful memories now collided with Jane’s scary reality. “We went to Dublin to see the Book of Kells and the Long Room at Trinity College, and spent some time touring the countryside. My father’s family is from County Galway, near Kinvara, and I swear, it’s God’s country. So gorgeous. But Kinsale, in County Cork, is all charm. That’s where my mother’s people are from. I bought us blankets there at a place called Granny’s Bottom Drawer, to remember the trip. We still use them.” She felt the coziness of the memory wash over her. That trip was one of the best times of her life. “Harbor Knits reminds me of that. Claire, who owns the shop, is Irish, and she has a full stock of textiles—blankets, linens, and yarn. Lots of yarn.”
“You speak of it with such reverence,” he chuckled.
“Yarn is serious, like a religious experience.”
The window of the yarn shop was decorated with lights and a Christmas tree made from knitting needles and crochet hooks, woven together in an intricate pattern. There were baskets of yarn, blankets, stuffed toys, and hand-knitted items on shelves and racks. Christmas ornaments made from balls of yarn hung from a glittering curtain rod suspended from the ceiling. It was creative, festive, and inviting.
Just like her sweet friend, the shop radiated all the love Claire brought to their town.
A light breeze circled around them just as Jane felt a tickle of cold and wetness on her cheek. Then again. And again. She looked up. “Oh,” she sighed, catching her breath. “Snow.”
Just like that, the sky was filled with magic. Angel Harbor didn’t often have a white Christmas, but sometimes the maritime climate cooperated and dusted their waterfront village with what looked like a perfect coating of powdered sugar. It wasn’t that they didn’t get winter, they did. February, and sometimes March, could be especially brutal with huge snowfalls, ice storms, and winds that whipped up the bays, the harbors, and Long