Sweet Christmas Kisses (81 page)

He stuck the key in the lock, but before entering, he knocked once to alert Harper that he was coming in. She was standing in the bathroom in front of the vanity, looking in the mirror while she put on lipstick. She’d changed into faded jeans that hugged her in all the right places and a pale blue sweater, almost the same color as her eyes. She looked as gorgeous as ever.

She turned and smiled at him—the lipstick tube in her hand poised in midair. “I was just going to come find you.”

“You still want to go on the sleigh ride, right?”

“Absolutely.”

He was glad to find her in a much better mood. Obviously, this little bit of time alone had helped her. It would be nice if she’d been able to put Jeffrey in the past, but he feared that might be too much to ask, at least right now. If he could make sure she had a good time during this trip, it might help to heal her heart and show her all men weren’t total jerks—with him having been the biggest one. Harper needed to see him for who he was now, not the stupid boy he’d been in the past. And spending time with her in this joyous atmosphere might just do that.

He smiled back at her. “Let’s get some food first, though. On my way here, I passed the buffet that’s set up in the great room. It looks fantastic.”

Harper finished putting on her lipstick, then set the tube down on the vanity. “Good. I’m starved. I guess I worked up an appetite ice skating.”

Cole chuckled. “I had no idea you could still skate like that.”

“Actually, I didn’t either. It wasn’t until I was on the ice that it all came back to me.”

“It was fun. We should do that again sometime.” When she arched her brow at him, he realized he might have sounded like he was asking her out on a date. “I meant before we go home, of course,” he quickly added.

“Yeah, maybe…if we have time. Our schedule seems pretty full.”

His face heated at her brushoff, and he turned away so she wouldn’t see that she’d hurt him. “Ready?”

“Yep. I just have to grab my stuff.” She walked past him into the bedroom to grab her down jacket that was on the bed, along with a hat and scarf.

He followed her into the room and gathered up his outerwear too, then, with their arms full, they left the suite and walked to the great room in an uncomfortable silence.

Luckily, it was a short walk, and upon seeing rows of silver serving dishes set up at the buffet station, he said, hoping to break the ice that had formed between them, “This is quite a setup.”

Harper took a deep breath and smiled. “It smells great.”

They found a corner table by the floor-to-ceiling windows, which provided a spectacular view of the sunset that had the sky ablaze with shades of purple and pink and cast a beautiful glow over the snowcapped mountains.

After depositing their belongings, they headed over to the buffet station that began with a huge baked ham, freshly sliced, and a roast beef cooked to perfection. They overloaded their plates with a wide variety of foods, then went back to the table and eagerly began to eat.

“I feel like I need to apologize for earlier…when we ran into Jeffrey,” Harper said between bites.

Cole set his fork down and looked at her. “You don’t need to do that. You have every right to tell Jeffrey off. The reason I stopped you was because of the way that woman, what was her name, Sabrina, was giving you the evil eye. She’s twice your size, and I thought for a moment she might hit you. Did you see her clenching her fist?”

Harper put a hand over her mouth, trying to suppress a giggle. “No. My focus was on Jeffrey. I’m glad you had my back, though. Thanks.”

The way her eyes sparkled as she smiled at him set his heart beating faster. “It was my pleasure. Any time I can help you out, you know I’ll do it.”

“Just the fact that you’re here with me means a lot. You changed your plans for Christmas…”

He shifted his gaze away from her and onto his dinner plate, hoping she didn’t see how touched he was by her words. “Well, it’s not like I was doing anything exciting. Don’t get me wrong. I love my family, and Ashley makes a great pot roast, but the chance to spend the holiday at Green Mountain was a no-brainer.” He really wanted to elaborate on that and say
with you
, but he couldn’t do that. Even if Harper was beginning to develop feelings for him, which he doubted, he wasn’t going to run the risk of being a rebound. It was obvious she wasn’t over Jeffrey yet. What she needed was a friend, not a guy coming on to her.

Cole shifted the conversation onto a safer subject—work. Harper was a very good artist. She was known throughout the state and was beginning to develop a name for herself elsewhere too. “Are you working on anything special?”

She grinned. “Dr. Anderson hired me to do a portrait of her two miniature schnauzers. They’re like sons to her.”

He couldn’t help but burst out laughing. “Hmmm, sounds like someone I know.”

Harper ignored his jab and went on to say, “I’m almost through with it. I plan on putting the finishing touches on it when I get back home.”

Still amused by the subjects of her portrait, he said, “I have her real son, Jason, in my gym class. He’s a good kid, excellent athlete too.”

She leaned toward him, resting her elbows on the table and focused her gaze on his face. “Ashley told me the kids at school are crazy about you. She said last year you were voted Most Loved Teacher by the students.”

He looked back at her over the rim of his water glass before taking a sip and could see that the title impressed her. A little embarrassed by it, though, he responded, “It’s not hard to get them to like you when you’re teaching them to play baseball and basketball. Quite different from learning algebra.”

“Oh, I don’t know about that. I hated my gym teacher. I wound up getting a pass out of the class, claiming my allergy to grass was worsened by outdoor activities.”

Cole chuckled. “Clever girl.”

“It wasn’t totally untrue. I did sneeze a lot.”

They kept the conversation light through the rest of dinner, so when the horse-drawn sleigh pulled up outside the window, Cole was ready for a wonderful evening.

Harper pushed back her chair, then slipped on her down jacket that was draped over the back of it, wrapped a white knit scarf around her neck, and put the matching hat on her head. She watched as Cole bundled up too.

By the time they got outside, a line of people had formed next to the sleigh. She scanned it for Jeffrey and Sabrina and spotted them at the front of the line. Cole must have seen them too, because he draped his arm across her shoulders, apparently ready to play boyfriend again. She went along with it, leaning into him so that she rested against his chest.

When people started climbing onto the sleigh, part of her hoped it would fill before it was their turn to board. That way they could take the second sleigh that had just pulled up and avoid any contact with Jeffrey. However, another part of her hoped they’d make it onto the first one so that she’d have a reason to snuggle with Cole. Looked like that wish was about to come true, because the driver waved them forward and pointed to a seat in the back.

Cole helped her up, then slipped his arm around her waist after they sat down. Jeffrey was looking at them, but she pretended not to notice as she moved even closer to Cole.

A few minutes later, the driver took his seat, and they were off at a trot. Cole kept his arm around her, and she settled in against him, comfortable and warm. Not a cloud marred the sky. She looked up at the hundreds of twinkling stars, trying to find the big dipper.

“Pick a star and make a wish. If you’re lucky, some Christmas magic will help make it come true.” His voice was like velvet and full of emotion.

She glanced sideways at him. “I love that. Where’d you hear that?”

His smile lit his face and softened his chiseled features. “My grandma used to say that every Christmas Eve. Just before midnight, she’d take us all outside. We’d look up at the stars and make a wish, then we’d go back in and open one gift, hoping it was what we’d wished for.”

A warm glow flowed through her. “Even though I don’t have any gifts to open, I think I’ll still make a wish and hope that it’ll come true. But I have to wait for midnight, though.”

“Midnight is key,” he said, holding her tighter.

Someone up front in the carriage started to sing “Jingle Bells,” and soon everyone joined in. The sleigh wove through the sleepy little mountain village, slowing when it came to the center of town. The trees outside the shops were all strung with tiny white lights, and as they drove by, shop owners and patrons all came out to wave at the sleigh and wish them all a merry Christmas.

The driver pulled back on the reins, bringing the horses to a stop at the town green, where inside a large gazebo—also decorated with lights—a choir sang carols. Cole helped her out of the sleigh, and they made their way through the crowd to a spot at the center of the green. When the choir began to sing “White Christmas,” everyone joined in. Cole’s deep, rich baritone blended well with the others.

They sang five more songs, after which the mayor joined the choir in the gazebo. “I’d like to thank you all for joining us here tonight for this Christmas celebration,” he said. “I hope you’ll stop over to Miller’s Pub for a cup of cheer.”

“Care for a hot chocolate?” Cole asked.

“I’d love one,” she answered, rubbing her hands together to keep them warm.

“I didn’t know you were cold.” He took her hands between his own. “I would have kept you warm.”

Harper felt her face flush. “I only just started to feel it a few minutes ago.”

They hurried over to Miller’s, but when they got there, the place was already packed, and all the tables were taken.

“Come on. There’s a spot over at the bar.” Cole headed over to it, and Harper followed close behind.

“There’s only one stool,” she remarked.

“That’s okay. I don’t mind standing.” Cole made it to the stool a second before a red-faced man grabbed it. “Sorry, buddy. This is for my girlfriend.” He put his hand on the seat, waiting for Harper to slide onto it.

“You’re really good at playing a part,” she joked.

“I’ve had some practice at it. I had the lead in one of our high school plays. Don’t you remember?”

“Now that you mention it, I do. You made a very believable Romeo.”

He seemed pleased with that. “Well, thank you. I’m glad you thought so.”

When the bartender came over, Cole ordered them each a hot chocolate. A moment later, two mugs overflowing with whipped cream were set in front of them. Harper reached across the bar for the spoons the bartender had thoughtfully come back with, and spotted Jeffrey, alone, at a table to her left. She looked around for Sabrina and saw her at the jukebox.

Harper glanced back at Jeffrey and found his gaze still locked on her. He pointed to a hallway located in the back of the bar where the restrooms were. She contemplated ignoring him but thought better of it. Knowing him as well as she did, that would only make him come over to her, and that could wind up ruining the rest of the night with Cole.

She handed Cole a spoon, set one down next to her mug, then slid off the stool. “Keep my seat warm. I’ll be right back. I need to use the ladies’ room.”

Cole nodded and took her place at the bar. She hated not telling him the truth, but he’d think she was insane if he knew she was meeting Jeffrey, and she was beginning to wonder that herself. But it was too late now. If she went back to her seat without appearing to go to the restroom, that would seem odd.

She skirted around a couple, then quickly walked down the hallway and found Jeffrey already there, leaning up against a vending machine. “What do you want?” she asked abruptly.

“Cole’s not really your boyfriend, is he?”

“That’s why you wanted me to come back here, to ask me that? Are you kidding?” She turned to walk away, but he caught her by the arm, spinning her into him. He smelled of whiskey.

“You didn’t answer my question.” His tone was threatening.

Harper tried to wrench her arm free, but he held her in a steely grip. Instead of being intimidated, though, her temper flared. “It’s none of your business. Besides, why should you care? You’ve got a girlfriend. And what would she think if she knew you were back here with me? Now let go, before I make a scene.”

He loosened his hold enough that she could yank her arm away. She spun on her heel and hurried back to the bar. As she walked, she realized her hands were shaking. She’d never been afraid of Jeffrey before, but the way he’d acted and the tightness with which he’d held her, to say nothing of the angry glint in his eyes, made her think he’d had way too much to drink, or this was a side to him she just hadn’t seen before. Either way, after that episode, she was going to stay far away from him.

She clasped her hands together to stop their trembling and pasted on a phony smile as she approached Cole.

He got off the stool and waited for her to be seated, then asked, “Is everything okay?”

She glanced up at him, studying his face. He couldn’t have seen her with Jeffrey, could he? “Yeah, fine. Why?”

“Because you’re so pale.”

Relief washed through her, and she quickly searched for an answer. “Oh, um… My stomach’s a little upset.” That wasn’t a lie. The confrontation with Jeffrey had left her queasy.

Cole’s forehead wrinkled with worry. “Do you want to leave?”

“It’s not that bad. I’ll be fine.” She offered him a smile for reassurance.

Seemingly satisfied she was all right, he took a drink of his hot chocolate, then said, “I’m really glad we decided to do this tonight. I’m enjoying it.”

She wondered what specifically he was enjoying—being with her or the sleigh ride and all the festivities—but she wasn’t about to ask. Instead, she nodded. “Me too. It’s certainly helped get me in the Christmas spirit.”

“I’m glad, because I have to admit I was beginning to worry about you with all your fretting over Jeffrey. Hopefully, you’ve been able to put him in the past.”

Oh, she’d done that and more. After that incident with him, she never wanted to speak to or think about Jeffrey again. From here on out, she was going to have a good time, and with Cole at her side, that shouldn’t be hard to do.