A Seagrove Christmas (South Carolina Sunsets #6) - Rachel Hanna Page 0,35
looked around at her new hometown. Never had she thought this place would have grown on her so quickly, but it did. The people were friendly and they accepted her for who she was. The scenery was beautiful. And, best of all, her family was there.
She loved how the town had decorated the square for the holidays. They had wrapped each of the quaint light posts in garland and lights. On the light poles, they had also attached lit up candy canes with silver and red tinsel attached.
In the center of the square, where the grassy area was, there was a nativity scene, temporary ice-skating rink and of course the Christmas tree that would be lit later that night.
Sometimes she looked around Seagrove and thought about how it was like a town out of some past era that didn’t exist anywhere else anymore. It often reminded her of her own childhood when things were simpler and she could go to the corner drugstore and get a soda.
Maybe that was why she had fallen in love with the town because it reminded her so much of her younger years. Maybe simple was exactly what she wanted in her life, and that was why traveling to some remote place with Nick wasn’t appealing.
“Are you lost?”
She turned to see Nick leaning against one of the light posts. It reminded her of how he looked back in high school when he would lean against the wall outside of her math class waiting to walk her to science. He’d been so handsome then, with a thick mane of dark brown hair and broad shoulders. Somehow, he was even more handsome now. A long life and plenty of earned wisdom had served him well.
“Are you accusing me of having dementia?”
He chuckled. “No. Just trying to sound funny. I can see I didn’t hit the mark.”
She kept walking, albeit at a slower pace since she was hoping he would try to keep up. He fell in step behind her, eventually meeting her stride. She continued staring straight ahead, but having no particular place she was going. Her intention was just to walk round and round the square.
“Are you not speaking to me?”
“I never said that.”
“But it seems that way.”
“Look, I’m not the one who decided he wants to gallivant around the world. I’m perfectly happy right where I am, so it seems we are at cross purposes here.”
“Susie, I don’t want to bash the wonderful business you’ve built for yourself. That’s not what I meant to do at all. You should know better than anybody that I sometimes stick my foot in my mouth.”
She chuckled under her breath. “Yes, I do remember that about you.”
“And if I remember correctly, you do that your fair share too.”
“I won’t admit to that.”
“It’s just that I’ve dreamed my entire life that we would find our way back to each other, and I want to give you the world.”
She stopped and looked at him. “I don’t want the world. What if I want you and my business and my kids?”
“That just seems like such a letdown.”
“Excuse me? A letdown?” she said, putting her hand on her hip.
“See? I just stuck my foot in my mouth again. I meant a letdown for you.”
“Why would it be a letdown for me?”
“I know that you’ve been a wife and mother for most of your life. And now you have all of this freedom, and I feel like I need to show you the world that you haven’t seen yet. Take you places. Have adventures with you we didn’t get to have when we were younger.”
“But what if everything I want is here, including you? What if I don’t want to do all that traveling? Are you going to be okay living the simple life right here in Seagrove?”
“Susie,” he said, putting his hands on her upper arms. “I have the rest of my life planned out. And the only thing written on that list is to be near you. So, if this is where you want to be, then this is where I’ll be. But I still want to go fishing in Montana at some point.”
She couldn’t help but laugh out loud. “How about this? Twice a year, we plan some amazing trip, and I leave my bakery in the hands of my capable assistant, Darcy.”
Nick grinned. “I do believe that sounds like the perfect plan. So, I guess I better look for a house for me right here in Seagrove. Looks like I’ll