Christmas at Holiday House - RaeAnne Thayne Page 0,59
close, take off that beanie, dip his hands in her hair and kiss her.
He released a heavy breath, catching himself just in time before he could act on the impulse.
“Good luck with everything. The show, I mean.”
“Thank you, but I don’t have much to do with it once the house is ready.”
“Sounds like you’ve done plenty to make Christmas at Holiday House a reality.”
“You know, I feel as invested in the fundraiser as if I organized the whole thing myself from the beginning instead of coming in only a few weeks ago.”
“You should feel invested. You’ve made it possible. The house looks great. Better than I’ve ever seen it. The lights outside as we drove up were beautiful and our giant tree is magnificent, if I do say so myself.”
She smiled. “You’ve got a new career in the works, if you ever get tired of running a hotel.”
“I could say the same, if saving lives ever gets old.”
“How about in the future we both stick to what we’re good at?” she suggested.
He laughed, again fighting the urge to kiss her. He was glad he hadn’t given in when Christopher came back, drying his hands on his shirt.
“I made it,” he announced. “And I sang ‘Jingle Bells’ while I washed my hands.”
“Good for you.” She shifted her smile to her son, and Ethan was aware of that knot in his chest again.
“I should go,” he said. “Have a good night.”
“Thank you.” To his astonishment, Christopher followed up his words by throwing his arms around Ethan’s waist.
He froze for a second before hugging the boy back. “Thank you for going with me.”
“You’re welcome,” Chris said.
When the boy stepped away, Ethan wondered how he should say good-night to Abby. She solved his dilemma by leaning up and kissing him on the cheek. The scent of her, vanilla and cinnamon, stirred his senses.
“Thank you from me, as well. It was a night I know neither of us will ever forget.”
“Nor will I,” he said, his heart pounding far more than it should from a simple kiss on the cheek as he let himself out the door and headed out into the cold.
* * *
Abby watched Ethan go, heat burning deep inside her.
She had been quite certain he wanted to kiss her again. And she had wanted him to, despite knowing Winnie was somewhere in the house and that Christopher likely would come barging in at any moment.
She meant her words to him. She would never forget the evening. He had been so sweet. He had seen her fear of heights and had done everything he could to help her manage it.
The man was an enigma. Brusque one moment, kind the next. Her feelings for him were becoming as tangled as Christmas lights.
He had been so patient with Christopher all night. It was obvious her son adored him for it. Christopher seemed to have found a kindred spirit. Both of them had seemed to relish the adrenaline kick of soaring down the mountain at high speed.
She could fall for him without much effort at all.
Abby frowned. No. She wouldn’t let herself. This was a simple attraction. That’s all. He was the first man to spark that ache inside her since Kevin died.
She had her immediate future mapped out, and none of it included a detour where she fell for a completely inappropriate man and ended up mired in heartache and disappointment.
She had to keep her focus on her ultimate goal. After this fun interval at Holiday House was over and after Christmas had passed, she and Christopher would be starting an exciting new phase of their lives. She couldn’t risk that by falling for Ethan, a man who wasn’t at all available for love.
* * *
“This is a disaster! Why did this have to happen today of all days? What are we going to do?”
Winnie’s wail echoed everything racing through Abby’s mind two days later as she stood on the porch beside the older woman, looking out at the carnage of her yard.
Two trees had been completely uprooted and were lying on their sides in a tangle of broken limbs and Christmas lights.
In addition to knocking over two trees, heavy winds in the night had also knocked down several branches from other trees.
Ethan had said they didn’t have tornados here and she had never heard of any in the wintertime anyway, but the scene looked like the carnage from a small cyclone.
“We have to cancel.” Winnie looked heartbroken. “I don’t see any other choice.”