have created.
He’d dated over the years, but his one true love was and would always be Lauren Matthews. That first time they made love tucked into the hayloft was the turning point of his life. She was the only woman he’d let into his heart.
Yet, looking at her sitting across that table, he couldn’t believe she hadn’t fallen in love and married someone else—that some handsome and wealthy man hadn’t won her heart. Still, that frail finger had no ring.
This wasn’t the time to broach the subject of what they had been or what they could be. Their past was one of so many things he found impossible to talk about.
Instead, something else caught his eye. A handsome young man with black hair and blue eyes led a blonde out from behind the stables.
“Love blossoms here at the Sunshine Lodge,” he said with a jut of his head.
She glanced over, nodding before taking a sip of lemonade. “They’ve been at it a few months now.” Her face took on a forlorn look, eyes turning away from Max’s. “I’m afraid they’ll be the next to go.” He lifted a brow, and she rolled her eyes. “Not that way, but they’ll want to get married and start their lives.” She hung her head. “Honestly, I don’t know how much longer I’ll be able to keep them on.”
Tuned into the details, he heard an opportunity she hadn’t put in plain words but implied. He was reluctant to bring up her financial crisis, and he told himself it was a strategic decision to avoid any mention of business.
Looking at her, so sweet and beautiful, even in her misery, made his heart ache. He talked himself into using caution and moving forward to offer strength, and in the process, create a union where fate and family had made it impossible before.
He mentally warned himself to drop all thoughts of a relationship with Lauren because his father wouldn’t have it, but just looking at her made his doubts fade, and he reminded himself of the words he’d just told her. We’re no longer the kids we used to be. He wasn’t about to be told who to love, not by his father, or anyone else.
Maybe he could force his father to see the situation differently and help Lauren, especially if he thought it was his idea.
Turning his focus back to her, he asked himself, Would she? Could she? Is it even possible that after all this time, she could still love me?
Piano music drifted into the dining room from the nearby lobby, a delicate trickle of notes, and an instantly familiar harmony. When the old woman’s voice came floating in above it, Max knew the words.
“Silent night, holy night ...”
He rose, taking Lauren’s hand to lead her to the piano where an old woman sat singing. They stood together to watch her performance. Max felt strangely comfortable next to Lauren as if this was how it should have always been. The two of them focused on something other than each other, their families, or themselves. Swaying back and forth to the song, they allowed the music to take them away. When it finished, they clapped, as did a few others standing nearby.
Max extended his hand to the woman, who took it with an appreciative smile. “Thank you,” he said, “that was lovely.”
“Thank you, young man.” Glancing at the piano, she offered a hopeful smile. “Do you play?”
“I know a few songs, but I couldn’t—”
“No, Max,” Lauren said, “please play.” She pressed her hands together as if in prayer. “Please?”
He grimaced. “It’s been a while.” He stretched out his hands and cracked his knuckles before he took a seat on the bench. “This could be painful for everyone within hearing distance.”
Although he stalled, he could hardly resist those green eyes, shimmering from that pretty, pale face. He’d never been able to, and he suspected he never would. He replaced the frail older woman, tapping out a few arpeggios with a bluesy twang.
“Here’s one I wrote myself a few years back.” He pumped out an infectious rhythm, the unmistakable rock-and-roll, boogie-woogie style that was part Little Richard and part Elton John.
“Santa said to Mrs. Clause, let’s get the gifting done. The sleigh is fully loaded, we have to beat the sun. The kids are at home waiting, we can’t let one child down. We always beat the clocks, because Santa Claus rocks!” The piano chords came to a crashing close.
“Santa Claus rocks,” Lauren and the others answered back