Snow Place Like Home Bonus Chapter

Bonus chapter for Snow Place Like Home—spend a magical day with Finley and Alex in Hollybrook.

NOTE: This bonus chapter contains SPOILERS. If you haven’t read Snow Place Like Home, read at your own risk!

NOTE: This turned out to be a short story. You can either read it on this page or you can download an ePub from BookFunnel.

Chapter One
Finley

“So things with Alex are going well?” Mirna asks moments after I walk through the door after my date with Alex. She and Barb are sitting on the sofa in the living room of our Airbnb in Hollybrook, watching television. A fire crackles in the fireplace, and an artificial Christmas tree twinkles in the corner.

I press my back to the closed front door, a warm feeling flooding my chest. “Yeah.” But the word feels like an understatement. Things with Alex feel like a dream.

“Good,” she says, then pats the arm of the chair next to the sofa. “Tell us about your day.”

This has become a habit over the past few days. I spend a good portion of the day with Alex and Mirna and Barb are waiting when I get home, eager for an update. Partly because Barb is nosy, but mostly because they’re still worried about me. They did come all the way to Hollybrook, Vermont on Christmas Day after I sent them an SOS when things went downhill with Alex and his family, or more specifically his family.

“Well,” I say as I sink into the comfy armchair, “after we all ate lunch together, Alex and I went sledding and had a snowball fight with his brothers and sister. Then we had dinner with his family.”

Barb’s eyebrows shoot up. “Was Grant there?” Her tone is chilly, not that I blame her. Grant is the reason she and Mirna dropped everything to come save me.

“He was,” I say carefully. I was surprised he was civil after I accidentally hit him square in the face with a snowball.

“And has he apologized yet?” Mirna asks, her tone stiff.

“Yes…”

“Why do I hear a ‘but’ in there?” Mirna asks.

“I can tell he still resents me a bit.”

“What on earth for?” Barb demands. “The sore loser got his bed. Alex is the one sleeping on the sofa bed.”

I grimace. “It’s not just about the bed, Barb. His girlfriend broke up with him over it.”

Mirna sniffs with disdain. “And I still say any woman who breaks up because of a bed isn’t worth keeping.”

“Maybe so,” I concede, “but they’ve dated for a couple of years.”

“And they haven’t made up yet?” Barb asks.

“Mallory says Grant has sworn he’s not taking her back this time.”

Barb shakes her head in disbelief. “Then why’s he still mad at you? Sounds like he’s lucky to be rid of her.”

I shrug. “Maybe I’m a convenient scapegoat? He’s not hostile, just not super friendly.”

“Alex shouldn’t have brought you over there,” Mirna says, her forehead creasing with worry lines. “He’s supposed to protect you from that.”

“I wanted to go,” I assure them. “I miss Alex’s family.”

Before tonight, I’d only seen them twice since I left on Christmas Day. The first time was when they took part in Alex’s big production on Christmas night to convince me to give him a chance—they’d shown up in front of our Airbnb with carolers. The second time was the day after. We’d all gone out to lunch, Mirna and Barb included. My grandmothers had been holding quite a grudge, but by the time lunch was over, their stance had softened. It probably helped that Grant hadn’t come. I suspect he was slightly scared of them, which is fair. They were still pretty pissed, and there was a strong likelihood they might have chased him out of the restaurant with salad forks and steak knives.

But I honestly have missed his family. I’d fallen head over heels for them in the short time I’d known them, and it’s safe to say his mother and sister feel the same way. And if I’m still being honest, I was nervous about seeing Grant today, but Alex swore he’d behave and if he crossed a line, their brother Tyler swore he’d physically drag Grant out of the house and keep him out until I left.

“And how did it go?” Mirna prods.

“A little awkward at first, but things smoothed over and then it was great.”

Mirna’s eyes narrow. “Why do I feel like you’re glossing over some unpleasantness?”

Nothing gets by Mirna, but I’m not going to give her more ammunition to shore up her grudge. “It was fine,” I say with a warm smile. “I promise.”

“Did the two brothers get into a skirmish?” Barb asks, her eyes bright with excitement. “Did they rip their shirts off as they wrestled?”

I laugh. “Unfortunately for you, no on all counts. While Grant wasn’t the model of hospitality, he didn’t do anything upsetting either.” I’m not trying to placate them. After the snowball fight, Alex, Mallory, Tyler, and I went to get coffee from St. Nick’s coffee stand—partly to warm up, but also, Mallory said to give Grant time to cool down if he was mad at me. When we got back to the house, Grant gave me a nod, accompanied by a curt hello, then didn’t say another word to me or his family until dinner was finished. After that, he said he had plans to meet friends and took off. I feel guilty that the tension in the room evaporated the moment he walked out the door—it is his house, after all—but things immediately went back to the way they’d been before he came home on Christmas Eve.

“So you feel comfortable here in Hollybrook?” Mirna asks, unusually grave. “You’re good with staying until your flight out with Alex on New Year’s Day?”

“Yeah,” I say, growing concerned. “Why are you asking?”

“Just curious,” she says, her gaze not meeting mine.

Barb rolls her eyes. “Her daughter’s pitching a fit and insists she needs to come home for New Year’s Eve.”

I gasp. “Mirna, you don’t have to stay! The last thing I want to do is get between you and your daughter.”

“Of course you’re not,” Mirna says with a sigh. “And frankly, I loathe her New Year’s parties. I hadn’t planned to go in the first place, but she says I owe her since I left on Christmas Eve.”

“Then you need to go home,” I say, then grimace. “Unless you want to stay for yourself. You and Barb seem to be having fun.” While Alex has been amazing about coming up with activities to do with my grandmothers, when we’ve spent time alone, Barb and Mirna haven’t wasted a minute. They’ve been taking part in multiple Hollybrook activities. Barb was excited to enter the curling contest. She showed up with curlers in her hair and was ticked to find out curling had nothing to do with hair and instead involved sweeping ice with a broom. She grumbled that she hadn’t come on vacation to do housework on ice, no less. They also painted a ceramic Christmas tree with lights. But the biggest excitement so far was when they entered a Leftover Cooking contest yesterday. They won third place with Barb’s secret family recipe—Mystery Pot Pie. One judge said, “We don’t know what’s in it, but we’d eat it again.”

Right now, Mirna gives Barb a long glance, then turns back to me. “We have had fun, but we’re not used to the cold. Our bones are aching.”

“We’re happy to stay if you want us here,” Barb says earnestly. “Mirna’s practically begging for an excuse to tell her daughter to take a hike.”

Tears sting my eyes as I give them a warm smile. “I’m perfectly fine, so feel free to go home whenever you want. You have no idea what it means to me that you came at all.”

“Only if you’re sure…” Mirna says, holding my gaze like she’s a human lie detector and wants to make sure I’m telling the truth.

I reach over and take her hand. “I’m positive. I’ll be fine on my own. I promise.” I shift my gaze to Barb. “I can never repay you both for what you’ve done.”

“The only repayment I need is for you to get busy with that fine specimen of a man and give me all the juicy details,” Barb says with a wink. “I suspect he’s got quite the package.”

I gasp as Mirna shouts, “Barb!”

“What?” Barb asks, looking bewildered. “There’s no harm in a woman being curious.”

“The saying ‘curiosity killed the cat’ came from somewhere, you know,” Mirna says.

Maybelle lets out a loud meow from the staircase, and I can’t hold back a chuckle.

“Not you, Maybelle,” Mirna says. “You’re perfectly safe.”

Barb’s eyes twinkle with mischief. I suspect she only made her innuendo because things were getting too heavy.

Message received.

“Don’t be too disappointed when you don’t get any details,” I say with a laugh. “I don’t kiss and tell.”

“You can keep the kissing part to yourself,” she says. “It’s the package and how it’s used that I’m interested in.”

“She’s not gonna tell you anything, you old fool,” Mirna says, rolling her eyes.

“Maybe not, but it will be a lot more likely to happen if two old women aren’t in the room below her room,” Barb says. “Not that we’d hear anything anyway after we take out our hearing aids.”

“Speak for yourself,” Mirna says, her back stiff. “I don’t use hearing aids. My hearing’s just fine.”

“Then all the more reason for us to get out of here,” Barb says, then turns to me. “Which we’ll be doing first thing tomorrow morning.”

My heart stutters. “So soon?”  

“No reason to drag it out,” Barb says. “Besides, Ira’s been sending me dirty pictures, so I need to get back ASAP.”

“He sent her a photo of his laundry,” Mirna says, shaking her head.”

“It wasn’t just his laundry,” Barb counters. “It was a red wine stain on a white dress shirt. Red. Wine. If that’s not treated right, it’ll be set forever.”

“That’s not why she wants to get back,” Mirna says with a knowing look. “She wants to go back to tell him it’s over.”

Barb’s nose wrinkles in disgust. “I can’t be with a man who thinks I’m gonna do his laundry.”

I grin. “I should think not. You’ve already done your fair share of laundry.”

“True,” she says with a nod, then hoists herself off the sofa. “And since we broke the news and we know you’re fine with it, I’m going to bed. We need to leave the house by eight.”

Mirna gets up too, giving me a worried look. “You’re sure you’ll be okay?” 

“She’ll be fine,” Barb says. “She’ll be more than fine, especially with us two out of the way.”

I stand. “That’s not true. I’ve loved spending this week with you.” I mean every word.

“And we’ve loved it too,” Barb says, surprising me by pulling me into a hug, then backing away just as quickly and disappearing down the hall.

“She’s not one for goodbyes,” Mirna says, hugging me next, then following her to the bedroom.

Mirna’s not one for goodbyes either.

In fact, the next morning, I oversleep and barely catch them as they’re heading out the door.

“Why didn’t you tell me you were leaving?” I demand as they’re carrying their suitcases out the door.

“We figured you’d need all the sleep you can get now that we’re leaving you alone in the house,” Barb says as she walks onto the porch. Mirna’s already ahead of her, headed for their rental car.

“Don’t I get a hug goodbye?” I call after them from the doorway. I’d chase after them but I’m barefoot and there’s a fresh dusting of snow on the ground.

“We gave you a hug last night,” Mirna says as she plops her bag into the trunk. Barb shoves hers in next.

“Okay,” I say with a laugh. “Why are you two in such a hurry? You act like you need to get out of town fast.”

“That’s because that Edna Steeler from the Leftover Contest has threatened to hunt me down and prove I cheated,” Barb says, her upper lip curling. “As if.”

“That and Barb has a very determined male suitor,” Mirna says as she opens the driver’s door. “She says she has more men than she can handle, and she doesn’t have the energy to turn him down.”

“That doesn’t sound like you, Barb,” I call out to her as she waddles to the passenger door.

“Like I said, the cold and these old bones. I need a warmer climate to get busy.”

“Barb,” Mirna says with a frown, but I can see the twinkle in her eyes. “Have a fun week and be safe, Finley.”

“But not too safe!” Barb says then gets into the car and shuts the door.

The car starts to back down the driveway, and I wave goodbye as they back out onto the street and drive away.

I laugh, shaking my head. Leave it to them to make an exit. I’m not sure how I got so lucky to gain Mirna and Barb as my grandmothers, but I’ll never take them for granted.

I head upstairs to get ready for the day, but just as I’m about to get in the shower, a text from Alex pops up on my phone.

Want to get breakfast? Tell Mirna and Barb to come too.[DG1] 

I smile, the now-familiar rush of butterflies taking flight in my stomach. All week, he’s been sure to include them in at least half of our activities, telling them the holidays are for family. He’s loved showing them—and me—his hometown, and I think he’s fallen in love with it again.

Breakfast sounds great. But it’ll just be me and you. I’ll explain when you pick me up.[DG2] 

It’ll be better to tell him in person.

We arrange for him to come over a little before nine, and I hop in the shower, excited about our day.

The doorbell rings at 8:50, and I open the door, butterflies filling my stomach as I take him in.

He’s wearing jeans and a dark blue henley under his black ski parka, but it’s the smile on his face, and the way he looks at me—like he hasn’t seen me in months—that makes my stomach swoop even more.

“Good morning,” he says. “I hope you’re ready for another fun-filled day.”

“I am.” I step back and he walks in, looking around the room. “What have your grandmothers gotten themselves into today? You know Edna Steeler is still pissed Barb took third place in the Leftover Contest and knocked her out of the prize category. I can’t wait to see what else she and Mirna stir up. Maybe she’ll enter the dance contest at the Hollybrook Snowflake Festival tonight.”

“The town is safe from either of them stealing any more prizes,” I say. “They went home this morning.”

Shock covers Alex’s face, and then he blinks. “Why? What happened?”

“Nothing happened,” I say past a lump in my throat. “They gave excuses for leaving, but I think they wanted to give us some privacy.” Then I flush as I realize what I’ve insinuated.

To my surprise, Alex looks stricken. “Did I give them the impression we needed more privacy?”

“What? No! They came up with it on their own.” I shrug. “I think they did want to go back—they complained about the cold—but they didn’t want to go until I told them I was comfortable with them leaving.”

Worry fills his eyes. “And you were?”

“Yeah,” I say, closing the distance between us and resting my hands on his chest. I look up into his rich, brown eyes and smile. “I trust that you’ll make sure I’m okay.”

His hands rest on my hips, and he tugs me a little closer. “I have no doubt that you can take care of yourself—hell, you’ve been doing it for six years—but I’m happy you’re letting me take care of you, even if it’s just while we’re here in Hollybrook.”

My grin spreads. “I like you taking care of me.” The amazing part is I mean it. I’ve been on my own for so long that I’m usually reluctant to give up my independence. But I’ve let Alex take the lead this week, letting him plan most of our days while I go with the flow. “But don’t get too used to making all the decisions.”

He grins back then cups my cheek. “Trust me, I’m not.”

He lowers his face and his lips brush mine. I lift hand and wrap it around the back of his neck, drawing him closer as I deepen the kiss.

He kisses me long enough, that I have a new appreciation for our privacy. It’s nice not to hear Barb catcalling from the kitchen.

When Alex breaks the kiss, he stares down at me, beaming with happiness. “Are you ready for breakfast? It’s a shame Barb’s gonna miss it, because this seems right up her alley.”

“So it’s not just breakfast?”

“Nope.” He drops his hands from my waist, and I feel the loss of his touch, as silly as it seems. “Let’s get you bundled up. We’re walking across the square.”

I put on the red coat Mallory loaned me and wrap up with the scarf she gave me for Christmas as well as knit hat and mittens, then we head out the door.

The sky is a bright blue—not a cloud in sight—but the air is crisp and cold. Alex takes my mittened hand, tucking it into the crook of his arm, and I know it’s to keep my hand warm. All week, he’s been worried that I’m too cold, saying I’m not used to the weather. It’s been nice having someone concerned about me, but it’s gotten to the point I’ve had to tell him I’m capable of knowing if I’m too cold or not. Still, I don’t stop him from cradling my hand. It makes me feel cherished. A feeling I’m not exactly used to.

We walk across the square, our heels clicking on the paver stones. It’s early enough most of the tourists aren’t out yet, so the sound echoes around us. “We still haven’t gone ice skating,” I say.

“We will,” he says, walking with purpose. “I thought we could go after breakfast before it gets too busy.”

I’m ridiculously excited at the thought.

When we get to the other side, there’s a line of people standing next to Santa’s Shack, and half the people in the queue are children.

Santa’s Shack is where Santa meets children and takes photos with them. They also have real reindeer in a pen next to the shack. While most Santas go back to the North Pole after Christmas Eve, Hollybrook’s Santa sticks around until New Year’s Day, telling the kids it’s never too early to tell Santa what they want for next year.

Alex says the town doesn’t want to miss the opportunity to make more money off Tom Hensen’s jovial Santa and the twenty dollars they charge for photos.

“Why are we at Santa’s Shack?” I ask, narrowing my eyes in suspicion. “I think I’m a little old to be sitting on Santa’s lap.”

He cocks his head. “Are you though?”

He has a point.

“But don’t worry,” he says. “I have no plans for you to sit on any other man’s lap. Not even Santa’s.” he adds with a mischievous grin. “But we are going to have breakfast with Santa.”

I laugh. “Barb’s definitely going to be sorry she missed this.”

His grin spreads. “I told you so.”

“Shouldn’t Santa be on a beach somewhere, relaxing after his hellish twenty-four hours of nonstop toy delivery?”

He leans into my ear and whispers, “Don’t worry. Tom and his wife Sheila head Hawaii on January second  every year. The whole town sees them off like they’re in a parade.”

“I’m sorry we’re going to miss it,” I say, meaning it.

Apparently, breakfast is at 9:30, but Alex says they let people in at 9:15 to grab their seats. So we stand outside and wait. A cold, northern wind is blowing, so Alex wraps his arms around me and pulls me close. “Body heat,” he says with a sly grin.

“I’m not complaining.” I snuggle closer, feeling slightly ridiculous when there are children nearly two decades younger than me who don’t seem to be fazed by the cold at all.

“You two look cozy,” someone says behind us, and I turn—still in Alex’s arms—to see Mallory standing behind us.

“My Georgia peach is cold,” Alex says then looks down at me. “I hope it’s okay if Mallory joins us.”

“Are you kidding?” I say. “Of course!”  

Mallory glances around. “Where are Barb and Mirna? Is Barb already sitting on Santa’s lap?”

“Sadly, no,” Alex says. “They headed back home this morning.”

“What? No!” Mallory frowns. “I was hoping they’d enter the candy cane sucking contest tomorrow.”

“Me too,” I say. “At least the sad-to-see-them-go part. I’m terrified Barb would win first place in the candy cane contest and get run out of town by women waving pie servers.”

Mallory giggles. “I’d pay good money to see that. Maybe we can convince them to come for Christmas next year.”

“Maybe.” I feel awkward presuming Alex and I will still be together next Christmas.

“Maybe we should make the reservations today so they’ll have a place to stay,” Alex says.

I glance up at him in surprise.

He grins. “Okay, maybe I’m being presumptuous that you won’t have dumped me by then, but I’m a man who makes a plan and presumes it’s gonna work.” His eyes soften. “We’re gonna work, Fin.”

I smile up at him. “Yeah. We are.”

Chapter Two
Alex

Finley has fun at the Santa breakfast, partly because Mallory is with us. Mallory insists on sitting on Santa’s lap and when he asks what she wants for Christmas next year, she leans into his ear and whispers her answer. Poor Tom’s cheeks flush and his brows shoot up his forehead.

“I’m going to tell your mother, young lady,” he declares.

“Somehow I don’t think you will.” Mallory hops off his lap. “Bye, Santa.” Then she blows him a kiss.

Finley and I are standing to the side, and when Mallory joins us, Finley asks, “What in the world did you ask for?”

My sister laughs. “If I tell you then it won’t come true.”

“That’s for birthday wishes,” I say pointedly. “And you’ve scandalized poor Tom.”

“Oh please,” she says, waving in dismissal. “You know he gets tired of hearing about video games and LEGOs.”

“She has a point,” Finley says with a sly grin.

“So now what?” Mallory says. “If you think you’re getting rid of me for the rest of the day, then think again. I’ve let you have Finley all to yourself for several days.”

“You saw her last night,” I counter. “And when we had the snowball fight and got boozy coffee.”

“Yeah, and half of that time was with the Grinch, I mean Grant. So it doesn’t count.”

Finley laughs. “I say we let Mallory hang out with us for a while. She’s right that part of yesterday doesn’t count. So what did you have planned next?”

I lift a brow. “What if I said my plan was to find all the mistletoe in town?”

Finley’s cheeks flush, but Mallory says, “Great! I’ll take photos of you kissing her under all of them. Then I’ll post them on social media and tag Grant and Eloise and thank them for making it possible for you to join our family.”

Finley’s eyes fly wide. “Don’t you dare!”

Mallory just laughs.

I study my sister for a long moment. “I wouldn’t put it past Mal, but she won’t, because she doesn’t want to deal with Mom’s wrath.”

Mallory props a hand on her hip. “I’ll just post it on TikTok. She won’t see it there.”

“You know Grant will tell her.”

“The big baby needs to get over himself,” she grumbles. “So what was your Plan B?”

“Ice skating.” Which had been Plan A from the start, but I never pass up an opportunity to rile my sister.

Mallory squeals and an excited gleam fills Finley’s eyes.

We head over to the rink. Mallory’s giving Finley advice while we walk. I can tell Finley’s nervous, although she doesn’t outwardly look it. The way she’s clinging to my hand and walking pretty close to me is a pretty good clue. But there’s something else, like we’re in tune. I’ve never had this with anyone else, and I revel in it.

Mallory and I both have our own skates, but we don’t have them with us so we get rentals. We put on our skates, and I make sure Finley’s aren’t too tight and that her ankles are supported, then I reach out a hand to her and smile.

She looks up at me with a mixture of excitement and anxiety in her eyes.

“I won’t let you fall.”

“He won’t,” Mallory says. “When he taught me, he never let me fall.”

“I’m a lot bigger than you were,” Finley counters, but she takes my hand and lets me pull her to her feet.

“How would you know?” Mal asks.

Finley looks over at her. “I saw the photo of when he taught you, remember?”

Now that Finley’s standing, I let her have a moment to get used to balancing on the blades.

“How’re you doing?” I ask, still holding her hand.

She grabs my other hand. “Have I told you I’m not naturally athletic?”

“Does that mean you’re not going to go out on the ice and perform a double toe loop?” I tease.

“Maybe a double foot fall.”

I shake my head. “Nope. No falling.”

“Famous last words.”

“You’ll do great,” Mallory says, hovering.

“Give her a moment, Mal. Why don’t you take a lap and show her how it’s done.”

Mallory sticks out her tongue at me, before she hops over to the opening to the rink and glides across the ice. Then she heads to the center and does a spin.

“Show-off,” Finley calls out to her.

Mallory comes to a halt and laughs. “Gotta give you inspiration,” she calls back.

“Ignore her,” I say. “Ready?”

Finley’s gaze tracks my sister for a moment, then she gives a slight nod. “Okay. Let’s do it.”

I walk out onto the ice and help her step into the rink. We’re facing each other, and I’m holding both her hands while we stand in place. “It’s not like walking. It’s a controlled slide.”

“Without doing the splits,” Mallory says as she skates past us, then turns around and skates backward so she can watch.

“Did I also mention I’ve never been able to do the splits?” Finley says, watching my sister.

“Ignore her. You’re not going to do the splits. Just let me pull you for a bit so you can get used to gliding on the ice.” I start to slowly skate backward and tug her with me. Her ankles wobble and her legs start to spread. Her eyes widen but she flexes her thighs and her legs move closer together.

“You’re a natural,” I say, trying not to think about her thighs, but Finley’s a beautiful woman and I’m dying to know every part of her.

“Don’t lie to me,” she says, staring down at her feet.

“Never,” I say. “We promised honesty, right?”

Her gaze flicks up to mine, her cheeks pink from the wind. Her eyes are bright, but it’s the shock in them that catches me off guard.

“Why is that so surprising?” I ask.

“I thought that was just for what we told your family about me.”

“True, but it’s a pretty good overall policy, don’t you think?”

Her face softens. “Yeah.”

“You’re about to run into a wall,” Mallory points behind me as she laps us again.

I glance backward, and sure enough, I’m about to skate into the wall surrounding the rink.

I turn and pull Finley with me, but I make the turn too sharp and her body’s going one way while her feet go another.

She lets out a little yelp, but I release one of her hands and swing around to wrap an arm around her back, keeping her upright.

“That was a close one,” I say. “My only excuse is that I was so mesmerized by you I wasn’t paying attention to my surroundings.”

“And here you were just saying you promised honesty,” she says.

With my free hand, I lift her chin to look up at me. “Never, ever doubt I’m in awe of your beauty, Finley O’Brien.”

She smiles and she’s so damn beautiful, I realize I’ve stopped as I lean down to kiss her.

Her mittened hand lifts to my cheek and she kisses me back. It’s a tender kiss, and I realize I’ve never been tender with my previous girlfriends. But Finley feels like a treasure that needs protecting. I know that’s not true, she’s taken care of herself for the past six years. Maybe that’s why I love taking care of her now. Life has treated her like crap, so I want to make up for all the shit that’s been thrown at her.

“There are children present!” a woman says next to us, sounding scandalized.

I lift my head, worried that Finley will be embarrassed, but she’s smiling at me. My stomach flips and I know it’s too soon to be in love with her, but I doubt it will take long. What you see is what you get with Finley, and I was already falling for the Finley I knew from the coffee shop. Everything else I learn about her only pushes me further over the cliff.

I glance around to see how many children we’ve traumatized with our fairly chaste kiss, but the only kids I see are a couple of middle-school-aged boys playing tag while one of the rink workers yells at them to slow down.

“Let’s continue our lesson,” I say.

“The one where you make sure I don’t fall,” she says with a grin.

“That’s the one.”

We make a pass around the outer edges of the rink. By the time we reach our starting point, Finley’s moving her feet. Two more passes and I don’t have to hold on to her as tightly.

“Look at you!” Mallory says, skating backward in front of us. “Another pass and you’ll be zooming around.”

“I don’t know about that,” Finley says, a look of concentration on her face. “I’m just now skating without holding on to Alex.”

“We can always get you one of those walkers,” Mal says.

“Bite your tongue,” I say in mock outrage. “You didn’t need one and neither does Finley.”

Her legs are making a jerking motion, but she’s staying upright and starting to move a little faster. “I’m doing just fine on my own.”

“That you are,” I say. “It must be because you have an amazing teacher.”

Mallory laughs. “He’s so humble.”

“Too humble to agree,” I say with a grin.

We make two more laps around the rink and Finley is gaining confidence. Her legs are moving more smoothly, and she doesn’t seem as tense. We’re starting another pass when more boys enter the rink, friends of the two already here. They all start speed-skating getting too close to Finley. I reach out to make sure she doesn’t fall, but she bats my hand away.

“I’ve got it.”

“You sure do,” I say with a grin, eyeing her up and down.

“Why do I think we’re talking about two different things?” she asks with a raised brow.

“More like I agree with you and more.”

Several of the boys are approaching behind her, and I keep an eye on them. They’re being careless, and I start to call out to them to cool it. Before I get the words out, a tall, lanky kid skates too close to his shorter buddy. The lanky kid’s blade clips the skate of the shorter kid next to him. The shorter kid trips forward, taking out the boy in front of him. Both boys fall to the ice, careening directly toward Finley.

I jerk her forward, but she’s startled by the quick movement and starts to fall forward. I quickly whip in front of her, hoping to keep her upright, but my blade hooks on a nick in the ice and I fall backward, taking Finley with me.

I land on my butt then my back, and Finley lands on top of me, her body flush with mine.

“Oh my word, Alex!” she exclaims breathlessly, worry on her face. “Are you okay?”

“Alex!” Mallory calls out as she skates toward us.

“I’m fine,” I say.

Understatement.

Finley’s lying flush on top of me. Sure, she’s wearing a coat, scarf, and hat, but I’ve been thinking about her in this position, only with a lot less clothing, and my body’s reacting to the thought.

“Alex,” Finley says, worry lines crinkling her face. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

“He looks fine to me,” Tyler says from above us. I glance upward and to see my brother leaning over the waist-high fence. “Maybe a little too fine.”

“Have you no shame?” the older woman shouts at us.

Finley starts to scramble off me, but her skate blades are caught on one another and she’s struggling to get up.

Tyler hops over the fence, taking a moment to get his balance then walks over to Finley with sneakered feet. He squats next to her to untangle her skates.

“I could have done that,” Mallory says.

“And yet you weren’t,” Tyler says sarcastically, then stands when he has them separated.

Finley scoots backward, and Tyler offers her a hand to help her up. When she gets to her feet, Mallory dotes on her. “Are you okay? Are you hurt?”

“I’m fine,” she says. “Alex took the brunt of the fall.”

“I’ll live,” I say, as I sit up. I’m sure I’ll feel the aftermath tomorrow, but for now, I seem fine.

Tyler reaches a hand to me and helps me stand. “Seriously, that was a nasty fall,” he says quietly. “You sure you’re okay?”

“Yeah. My ass is sore, but it’s mostly my pride that’s wounded. I promised Finley I wouldn’t let her fall.”

“You broke her fall,” Tyler says insistently. “I saw the whole thing. Those kids are a menace.”

Even as he says the words, two employees hurry over to the group of boys and kick them out of the rink. They come over to us next to make sure we’re okay, apologizing profusely for the accident. After Finley and I both assure them multiple times we’re okay, they head back to make sure the boys are leaving the area.

Finley turns to me, almost falling again. I reach out and grab her elbow to hold her upright. I feel terrible. “I’m sorry. I promised I wouldn’t let you fall and I did.”

“Why are you apologizing?” she asks in outraged disbelief. “Those boys made us fall. And it could have been a lot worse if you hadn’t thrown yourself in front of me to catch me.” She gives me a cocky grin. “I think that makes you a hero.”

“Stopppp,” Mallory says in a long drawl. “You’re gonna make his ego even bigger.”

Tyler snorts in agreement.

“You can’t be on the ice if you don’t have skates,” the older woman says, pointing at Tyler’s feet.

Tyler gives her a dry look, but she’s already skated past us.

“Who does she think she is?” Mallory asks, shaking her head. “The ice police?”

“I think I’ve had enough skating for now,” Finley says. “Alex, what do you have planned next?”

“Well, since Barb and Mirna are gone, I thought we could go back to the cottage and watch a movie. I don’t want you to get tired out before the festival tonight.” I shoot Mallory a dry look.

“A movie sounds great,” she says, grinning ear to ear. “What do you say we pick up lunch and a few snacks first?”

“In case it wasn’t clear, you weren’t invited.”

“Hogwash,” Mallory says in defiance. “I told you I’m spending the day with my new best friend.” She gives me a flippant look. “You’re welcome to join us if you want, Alex.”

I glance over at Tyler, and he holds up his hands. “Don’t look at me. I was on my way somewhere when I saw you guys. I won’t be crashing your party.”

Mallory gives him her full attention. “Where are you going?”

“None of your business. Focus on interfering with Alex’s plans.”

Mallory waves him off. “Please. He’ll get her all to himself when they go back home. He’s lucky I’m letting him hang around this afternoon.”

I can’t help laughing. Leave it to my sister to take charge.

Chapter Three
Finley

After we spend the entire afternoon with Mallory at the cottage Barb and Mirna rented, watching two Hallmark Christmas movies, she heads home to get ready for the festival. I expect Alex to leave with her, but he stays behind.

“You don’t need to get ready?” I ask after she heads out the front door.

“No, I’ll be warm enough, but you should be sure to put the leggings my sister gave you on under your jeans so you don’t get cold. It’s supposed to be close to zero tonight.”

I shiver at the thought.

“We don’t have to go,” he says, worry filling his eyes. “We could just stay in if you don’t want to be out in the cold tonight.”

“No,” I protest. “I want to go. And if I get too cold, I’ll tell you.”

He studies my face then says. “Okay.”

“But I do want to get ready though.”

He looks me up and down. “Fin, you look fine the way you are. Scratch that—you look great.” There’s a hungry look in his eyes that makes my stomach flip.

I laugh then give him a quick kiss. “I love that you think so, but I have something I want to wear.”

“Just as long as you’re warm enough,” he says with a worried look.

“If I’m not, I’ll have you to keep me warm,” I tease.

His hungry look is back, but I leave him downstairs and head up to my room. Maybelle’s been trapped up here and isn’t happy about it. She lets me know with an angry meow.

“I know. I’m sorry. But we’re going home in a few days, and you’ll have your apartment back.” But the thought of going home makes me sad, not only because I love Hollybrook and Alex’s family, but because we’re still not sure how this is going to work. I work four to five nights a week, until ten or eleven. But I have weekends off. Does Alex work on the weekends? Isn’t that something I should know?

Instead of shutting the bedroom door, I leave it open. I’ve been keeping Maybelle in the bedroom, because I don’t want her to roam the house while I’m gone, but since Alex is downstairs, I leave the door open for her to go if she wants.

I curl my hair and reapply my makeup, then get dressed in a lined pair of black leggings and a black wool turtleneck that Mallory loaned me and swears will keep me warm. I put on a pair of my own brown boots with chunky heels, then grab the lined, brown suede coat that Mallory loaned me and head downstairs.

Alex is sitting on the sofa watching a movie and Maybelle is perched on the arm of the sofa, giving him a death stare.

“Have you two become friends yet?” I ask with a laugh.

Alex turns to look at me, and his eyes widen slightly. He gets to his feet, continuing to stare.

“Do I look all right?” I ask, suddenly self-conscious.

He takes a step toward me then stops. “All right doesn’t even cover it. Finley, you’re gorgeous.”

My face flushes. “Thanks.”

He closes the distance between us and places a hand on my hip, leaving inches between us. Hunger fills his eyes. “Finley…”

I smile up at him. “Don’t we have a festival to go to?”

His fingers press into my hip. “We do but let me take a moment to enjoy having you all to myself.”

I can’t help laughing. “Don’t take too long. I’m getting hungry.”

He places his other hand on my hip and softly presses his lips to mine, giving me a gentle kiss. “I’m going to be the envy of every man there tonight.”

I laugh again. “Pleasse. You’re gonna make me full of myself.”

He lifts a hand to my face, cradling my jaw as he swipes a finger across my cheek.“I highly doubt that could happen.”

“Besides,” I say, flushing under the intensity of his gaze, “you’re not bad yourself, Mr. King.”

A grin spreads across his face. “Now you’re going to make me full of myself.”

I reach up on my tiptoes and give him a quick peck on the lips. “You already were full of yourself.”

Surprise fills his eyes, then he laughs. “Where have you been all my life, Finley O’Brien?”

“Making you lattes for the past year and a half.”

His face sobers. “And I was a fool not to really see you. I plan to make up for a lot of lost time.”

I take a step back. “Then start by taking me to the festival.”

Maybelle’s not happy about going back to the bedroom, but soon we walk out the front door and cross the square. It’s now full of tables and chairs that must have been set up in the afternoon. A stage is at the far end of the square, and a band is playing. Lights have been strung over an area that appears to be a dance area.

We wander around and take in the food vendors that have set up, settling on meat pies and mulled wine. We grab two seats at a long table, sitting next to a family with small children. The kids are excited that Santa is set to make an appearance, which astonishes them since he’s already supposed to be at the North Pole.

Just as we finish eating, the music stops and bells clang in the distance, growing closer, quickly accompanied by clomping on the paver stones. Children begin to squeal and I turn to see four reindeer harnessed to a sleigh. Santa is sitting in the seat with an older woman with stark white hair next to him, and the sleigh is sliding across the square. Santa calls out “Ho! Ho! Ho!” and he and his wife wave to the crowd.

When the children next to us stand on their seats to get a better look, I get to my feet so I can too.

Seconds later, Alex stands behind me and wraps his arms around me. “You’re loving every minute of this.”

I glance over my shoulder at him. “I am.” Funny how a week ago, it might have embarrassed me to let him see me so excited over something so trivial, but my excitement seems to feed his happiness. Besides, this is who I am, and I’m not changing for anyone else. Not even Alex. This is me. Take me as I am or not.

The sleigh comes to a stop and Santa gives a short speech about how he loves Hollybrook and spends the week after Christmas here because the town has so much Christmas spirit. Then he and Mrs. Claus drive across the square and around the corner.

“Is that the sleigh we rode in?” I whisper up at him as the band starts to play again.

He grins. “Believe it or not, Hollybrook has ten sleighs, give or take a few. Or at least they did several years ago. So no, we had a different sleigh.” His eyes twinkle. “And if you’d been paying attention, you would know that. Santa’s sleigh had red stripes painted on the side. Ours had snowflakes.”

I turn around to face him, his arms still around me. “I was busy paying attention to other things.”

His face radiates with happiness. “Dance with me, Finley.”

How can I say no?

We pick up our trash and throw it away, then join the other dozen or so couples on the dance floor. For the next two hours, we dance fast dances, and slow dances. We see his family and spend some time talking to them. Mallory and I dance while Alex talks to his mother, and then we get an assortment of desserts to try as well as bottles of water and more mulled wine.

There’s another slow song, and Alex steals me from a conversation with his sister and several of her friends to take me out to the dance floor.

We sway to the music, and my heart is so full it feels like it’s about to burst.

“Are you having fun?” Alex asks, studying my face.

“This is the best night I’ve had in…I don’t know when. It’s perfect.”

“A night at Hollybrook’s Winter Festival is perfect?”

“How can it not be? I have you, your family, and this—” I gesture to the square. “Alex, it’s like every dream I ever had come true.”

A softness fills his eyes that I don’t know how to interpret.

“You Finley O’Brien are perfect.”

I give him a lopsided grin. “I’m glad you think so now. Just hold on to that thought when you find out how cold my feet are in the winter.”

“I’m made of hearty stock,” he says. “It’ll take more than cold feet to run me off.”

We sway to the song, staring at each other for several long seconds and I can’t help wondering if this is all a dream.

“This feels too good to be true,” I confess.

“I know,” he says. “I feel the same way, but at the risk of scaring you off…” He takes a breath. “I’m falling in love with you, Finley.”

My heart squeezes then a rush of joy fills my head. “I’m falling in love with you too.”

He stops dancing and leans down to kiss me. It’s nothing scandalous, but it  probably lasts longer than appropriate, especially given that his family’s here and possibly watching.

When he lifts his head, I make a decision. “It’s been a long day. Would you be okay if I asked you to take me back home.”

A shadow washes over his face, but he instantly says, “Of course. We’ve been pretty busy today.”

We find his family to tell them Alex is taking me home and Valerie insists I come over the next day so I can help her make homemade pasta and a bread recipe from her new cookbook. I glance up at Alex to see if we have plans, and he says, “Only if I can bake too.”

Valerie blinks then enthusiastically says, “Of course. The more the merrier.”

I give everyone hugs goodnight, then I take Alex’s hand and we walk across the square to the little cottage with the snowman in the yard that Alex made for me on Christmas Day. Two more are next to it—snowmen we’d made together on two separate days.

We climb the steps to the front door and I pull the keys out of my coat pocket to unlock it. But before I can insert the key, Alex takes them from me and does it instead. He tests the doorknob to make sure the door opens, then closes it and pulls me against his chest.

“Thank you for a perfect day, Finley,” he says softly before he kisses me. It’s a restrained kiss, and when he starts to pull away, I grab his coat and pull him back, showing him how much I’ve enjoyed his company.

When we break apart, he starts to take a step back, but I hold firm.

“Where do you think you’re going?” I ask playfully.

He gives me a stunned look. “Home.”

I stretch up and kiss him again. “Stay.” I whisper against his lips.

He wraps an arm around my back and pulls me closer as his other hand threads through my hair, and he deepens the kiss with an urgency that steals my breath.

“Are you sure?” he asks, breathless.

I stare up at him. “I’ve never been more sure of anyone in my life.”

“Don’t you mean anything?” he prods.

“No,” I say, holding his gaze. “I don’t know how we’re going to make this work, but I believe we’ll find a way. I believe in you, Alex.”

“I won’t let you down, Fin,” he says earnestly. “I swear.”

“Then take me inside, Alex,” I say. “And stay the night.”

So he opens the door and does just that.

Be sure to watch for my emails so you can get updates on Finley and Alex throughout the year until Tyler’s story next October!