Christmas at Fireside Cabins - Jenny Hale Page 0,79
can’t believe I lost another bet.” He blew on his hands to warm them up. “Well,” he said, “I hope you’ve got time tonight. You’re gonna hear quite a story…”
“I can’t wait,” she said honestly.
Lila drove off with Theo, and she couldn’t get back to the cabin fast enough.
Twenty-Four
“What do you have to eat at your place?” Theo asked from the passenger seat of Eleanor’s car. “I never had lunch, and it’s nearly five o’clock.”
“I don’t have a whole lot,” she replied.
“We could grab some dinner and take it back to the house.”
“Oh, yes,” Lila said, making the turn back toward Pinewood Market. It had a kitchen where they prepared the most delicious-looking meals, and Lila had wanted to try one ever since that first day she’d stopped in with the girls. “We can grab a bottle of wine too, since it’s a date,” she teased.
Theo raised his eyebrows, but couldn’t hide the fact that he enjoyed her banter.
Lila pulled the car to a stop in the lot outside Pinewood Market. The display windows were all aglitter with white lights and tinsel, and “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” was playing over the speaker outside. “Do you know what you did that you’ll never live down?” she asked with a devilish grin, as they got out of the car and walked toward the store.
He faced her. “There are so many things,” he said. “I’m afraid to ask.”
“You admitted that you love Christmas,” she stated dramatically. “You are in sooo much trouble now.”
“Oh no.”
She grabbed his hands and lifted his arms, spinning underneath them as if they were dancing in the snow. To her surprise, he gently grabbed her waist and began to sway, taking her hand, pushing her outward, and twirling her back in with perfectly smooth movements. Then he let her go and opened the door.
Flabbergasted, Lila followed him in. “You know how to ballroom dance?” she asked, shuffling up beside him as he made his way to the back of the store. He plucked a menu from the holder on the counter and held it out so she could read it with him.
“My mom made me take lessons as a teenager, before she decided to run off after another lead singer and never come back.”
“Oh,” she said, her pleasure fading. “I’m sorry.”
“I’m not,” he said matter-of-factly. “She was a disaster—confusing for a young guy. It took me a long time, and a lot of therapy, to learn that it was her and not me that caused her to leave. But she did give me the ability to dance with you on the front porch of the local market… if that’s a good thing,” he joked, handing Lila the menu. “I think I’ll get the salmon and creamed spinach soup. What about you?”
“The filet with asparagus sounds really good.”
“Excellent.” He turned to the woman behind the counter, who was clearly trying to figure out his story while she put in their orders.
“So, white or red wine?” he asked, pulling a bottle out of the fridge next to the counter.
“Both,” she said with a grin.
He eyed her.
“You said it’ll be a long story. We’re going to need two bottles.”
Theo raised an eyebrow and grabbed a bottle of Sangiovese, setting it on the counter. Then he got out a bottle of Chardonnay. “Both of these too, please,” he told the woman, handing her his credit card.
After leaving the market, they made the short drive along the meandering road to the cabin and carried the steaming containers inside. Lila bustled into the kitchen and dished up their dinners while Theo made a fire.
He dropped the last log on the blaze, which crackled and spat, and then dragged a finger along Charlotte’s stocking, which was still hanging from the mantle along with the others. “Are your friends coming back?” he asked, on his way into the kitchen to join Lila.
“No,” Lila said, trying not to let it get her down. “Charlotte’s in LA, and Edie’s tied up with some big project at work. Piper probably could, but it wouldn’t be the same without all of us.”
“You’re close with them,” he stated, picking up their plates and carrying them to the table.
“Yes. They’re my best friends. I don’t have anyone else. My parents are both gone, and they’re like my family.”
He nodded, thinking. “I gave them a hard time, but they seem like good people.” He pulled out Lila’s chair.