Christmas in Angel Harbor - Jeannie Moon Page 0,70

it was going to be a glorious crash when it all went down.

He’d obviously regrouped, much more resilient than she was. “Come on. Since you don’t have to work tomorrow, we can put on the lights too.”

“That’s not necessary,” she said quietly.

“It’s no problem. It will be fun.” He seemed intent on getting her to have a good time, which should be endearing, but Jane was too exhausted.

Why didn’t he listen? There must have been something in the male genetic makeup that made them selectively deaf.

“You don’t have to do this, Danny. I’m not your project.” Jane got out of the car, and closed the door. Keys in her hand, she started toward the back door, but she froze when she heard him close the driver’s side door.

“Janie, come on.” He didn’t sound angry. In fact, he sounded annoyingly rational. Jane looked up at a sky that was crystal clear and a deep midnight blue. Now that the storm had blown out to sea, the stars twinkled and blinked, and Jane would wish on every one of them if she could.

She’d wish for answers. And wisdom. Lots and lots of wisdom.

The excuse that a relationship with him was out of the question was wearing a little thin because it was patently untrue. It was time for Jane to admit that she didn’t just want him, she needed him.

But that ran contrary to the person she’d always been. She didn’t ask for help. Ever. Jane was the helper. If she’d learned anything about herself, it was that feeling dependent on anyone made her uncomfortable. She’d been let down before, and it was just safer to keep her trust circle very small. She had her people and they should be enough.

Standing with her at the bottom of the stoop, he rested his hands on her shoulders with gentle patience.

“Talk to me.” He seemed honestly confused, and why wouldn’t he be? He’d done everything right. He was kind and helpful. He listened. He kissed like a dream. He wasn’t staying, but that didn’t stop her heart from going all in. She’d tried, hadn’t she?

Staring into his ocean blue eyes, Jane drowned in the knowledge that it was already too late. That genie was out of the bottle. For good.

“I’m sorry. I’m just not used to someone else taking charge of my life.”

“Taking charge? I thought I was being a friend.” His eyes narrowed, not buying her excuse. “Why don’t you tell me why you really sniped at me just now? And for the record, I don’t consider you a project.”

He wanted a confession? Yeah. That was the perfect way to feel festive. His eyes were locked on hers, intense and unwavering as he waited for her to answer.

“Let’s go inside,” he suggested.

“Okay. Did you grab the soup?”

He held up a small brown paper handle bag. “Right here.”

They’d picked up two bowls of chowder at a local pub that had a particularly good late-night menu. Jane didn’t have much of an appetite after snapping Danny’s head off, and ruminating about everything that could go wrong wasn’t helping, but she wasn’t going to admit to any of that either.

There wasn’t much they could talk about if she kept pulling things off the table.

The house was quiet. Her mother was upstairs in bed, and Tara was staying at a friend’s house. The only one there to meet them was Chloe, and her girl conveyed to her that she definitely was not happy about being on her own today. That was until she saw Danny, and her pooch’s mood picked right up.

It seemed her dog was as gone over him as she was.

They settled in without speaking. He took her coat and hung it in the mudroom and then let the dog out while she put the soup in mugs and gave each one a shot in the microwave. She found some crusty rolls in the bread box, and poured them both a glass of wine.

He gave an occasional glance outside, watching for the dog quietly, and there was something so sweet about it. He was ridiculously handsome, rugged and rumpled; he looked like he belonged in this house, in this town. But he also had a refinement, a sensitivity that you generally only found in a man who was secure with who he was. Rough patches and all, Danny knew himself, and that was, without a doubt, the most attractive thing about him.

By the time Danny let the dog in, Jane had them set up at