Candace couldn’t sleep. She’d been replaying her last words to Luke that were less than forty-eight hours old, but stung like she’d uttered them mere minutes ago, along with everything they’d said in their past couple of weeks, and—because why not?—their relationship since kindergarten.
So, regardless of the fact it was technically Christmas Eve, she’d returned to the only comfort she could count on: Kiss from a Rose.
As she stepped over the threshold, a man’s shadow materialized by the walk-in refrigerator and she screamed. She looked around for the umbrella she and Sophie kept by the back door as adrenaline burned her veins.
“It’s okay, it’s Frank.” The shadow moved toward her and she could see the whites of his familiar eyes.
She took in a couple of breaths to calm herself before she spoke, “What are you doing here?”
“I was checking out an anomaly I found.”
“It doesn’t matter.” She set her purse on the island. “The vote already happened.”
“Honey, it ain’t over until it’s over. And this ain’t over.”
“What?” Candace’s day had been long, but he wasn’t making sense.
“I checked out the tunnels like you asked. You were right. They don’t end where the city thinks they do.”
“Really?” Candace felt a ping of excitement in her chest, but she couldn’t muster a lot of hope. She couldn’t live through more disappointment.
“Yes. And I just inspected my hunch. Did you know you have a basement?”
“No.” She crinkled her nose. None of the businesses on this block had basements.
“You do. If I got a look at The Pub, I’d say they do, too. That pub has been there forever. I think the tunnels connect to them because they served booze even back then. You have two separate tunnels that intersect under your building to The Pub. That second one runs south. Probably goes under the tire place.”
“We can get certified as an historical district?”
“Yep.”
“Holy bananas!” She flung her arms out and hugged Frank like he’d just saved her from falling off a cliff. “This means regardless of what the city council voted, we’ll be saved, right?”
“That would be correct. I’ve called in a favor and have a meeting with the main city inspector first thing after Christmas. I’ll get you the paperwork you need to present to the historical preservation society.”
“You’re the best. I’m so glad I called you.” Her body felt weak. All the pent-up tension and aggression from this entire ordeal was leaving her body. Frank walked her back out to her car. She was going to sleep great tonight—if she could keep Luke off her mind.
In the grand scheme of things, she didn’t want him out of her mind—she only wished they were on better terms. And that she hadn’t fallen in love with him.
• • •
Candace knew Luke would be at The Pub with his entire family celebrating Christmas for what they thought was the last time. She didn’t want to hold on to information and torture the Carrigans by letting them go through the mourning process when it wasn’t necessary. Her family’s annual Christmas Eve party was starting soon, but she detoured downtown first.
Dressed in her crimson Christmas dress that started sleek on the top, ruffled at her hips, and ended above her knees, she walked into the pub in her silver heels with a purpose. She could hear her heartbeat as she swept the room for Luke.
Sleeping last night had been a lost cause. Every time she closed her eyes she either pictured Luke kissing her under big snowflakes or his disappointment after the final vote. The latter was the picture that kept her awake. She couldn’t stand to see him unhappy. A quick phone call would’ve sufficed, but delivering the good news might be the last time she was able to have a conversation with him. They were business neighbors and she had a sinking suspicion that was all they were now. The flirting would end. She would miss him. Hell, she already did. She blinked back a sudden rush of liquid to her eyes and spotted him in the crowd at the same time he noticed her. They met in front of the bar. Even though his family was all in attendance, there was ample room in the pub, and they stood alone.
“Merry Christmas.” She smiled, but her nerves quickly took it away.
“Merry Christmas.”
“I don’t mean to interrupt,” she said.
“I’m glad you’re here. Want a drink?” he asked.
“No.” He’s glad I’m here? “Thank you. I have to get to my parents’ for dinner.” She was having trouble keeping eye contact with him. His green eyes were beautiful and she wanted to stare at them for hours, but right now she was scared of what she might see. “I just wanted to tell you that your pub is safe.”
“What?” His hands moved to his hips.
“Actually all of our businesses are safe. I figured with Christmas and all, you’d want to know now.”
“Ya, thanks. How? Did the council change their minds?”
“Not exactly. A family friend was able to find underground tunnels beneath our places that run to Billy’s, then back into the main part of downtown. Those tunnels are what saved us. Them and the historical society.”
“And your persistence.”
“I know I get caught up in business and winning, but that’s not all there is to me or what I want out of life. Thanks for sticking the fight out with me. I’ll let you get back to your family.” She turned to leave and felt his hand around her wrist.
“Candace. Not so fast.”
At first glance, he looked mad. She braced herself. Then his face softened and she felt a pull so strong she couldn’t take it anymore. She knew he didn’t feel the same way. But she wasn’t going to be some sniveling, lovesick woman begging him to love her back. Nope. She would tell him how she felt, lay her feelings on the line, and then move on with her life. She knew with his family around, this wasn’t the best time to discuss feelings. But, really, her timing only made the one-sided discussion they were about to have all the better—she could escape and go back to seeing him only now and then. She wouldn’t drink at his bar or go to The Steakhouse anymore. Casper was a decent-sized town; she could avoid him for years. Maybe. Probably. If she lived at Kiss from a Rose and never had to go outside.
“Everything okay?” he asked, his eyebrows scrunching together.
“Yes. Well, no. Actually, yes.” She jutted her chin.
“That wasn’t meant to be a confusing question.” He let her wrist go.
“I’m not confused.” She shook her head and locked onto his eyes. “I’m just in love with you. I had to tell you so I can get over it.”
“What?” His brows rose and his head cocked to the side. “You’re what?”
“It’s not a big deal. I wasn’t sure what else to do, so I told you.”
“You’re here to tell me that you’re in love with me, and that you’ll be getting over it soon?”
“Yes.”
“That doesn’t sound like love. Sounds like a cold. Why do you think you’re in love with me?”
She thought she saw him start to smile, but he didn’t. Was he really going to make her explain it? Was that part of the healing process? She took a deep breath. She was calm. She wasn’t fidgety. She wasn’t even all that nervous. Telling him why she loved him seemed like the perfect way to put the past behind her and start a new year with nothing hanging over her head.
“Because you understand me. You really seem to get me.” She stood straighter and clasped her hands in front of her. “I can trust you, even if you think you can’t trust me. I know for certain you’d never do anything to hurt me. I know we have our tiffs and whatnot, but they’re almost … I don’t know, they’re different. You look at me like no one has ever looked at me before.”
“Still doesn’t sound like love.” He swayed his head back and forth.
“I love how you think you can hide your emotions, but you can’t with me,” she said. “I always know. Well, usually. I understand you. I like who you are. I think you are amazing and …” She suddenly found it harder to catch her breath with him only inches away. He’d moved closer somehow. “The best part of my day is when I get to see you. I swear I feel a flutter in my chest. It’s dumb, I know.” She chuckled and tried to look away, but she couldn’t. “Talking to you is so easy and showing you who I am is easy, too. You’re the only person I’ve ever felt this way around.”
Confessing her feelings should have been scary, but it wasn’t. She felt good. She’d probably overanalyze this moment later and want to unsay every word in favor of self-preservation, but right now she felt like the weight of the world had been lifted off of her shoulders.
“Then why do you want to get over me?” he asked.
“Because I know you don’t feel the same and we will be business neighbors for a long time. I wanted to deal with these feelings so I don’t dread coming to work every day.”
“You’re wrong.”
“About?” Her eyebrows knitted together. I think I know my own feelings.
“You can’t read me as well as you think.” He moved his hand from his side and stuck a finger out at her. The twinkle in his green eyes she’d seen when they’d danced in the snow and caroled in the wind returned.
“Why do you say that?”
Luke turned and walked across the bar to the jukebox, pressed a couple of buttons, and returned. He held out his hand to her, like he had the only other time they’d danced together. She placed her palm in his and he pulled it to his heart. The music to Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Christmas Time Again” started and she smiled. He kissed her and pulled her closer. Her free hand automatically slid around his waist. She felt him clench her lower back, leaving no space between them.
“Because if you could,” he whispered into her ear, his breath sending chills down her back, “you’d know that I am completely in love with you. I have been for a long time.”
Holy smokes, he loves me? She’d never been so happy to be wrong before in her life.
“How long?” She moved her head back to look up into his eyes.
“Elementary school long.”
“Oh.”
She didn’t know what to do with the unexpected information. He loved her, too? She grinned. Could she really see herself being with one person and trusting him for the rest of her life with her heart? She looked deep into his eyes. Yes.
“You are a real person with highs and lows in life, like me, and I want to be with you for every step. I want to be an active part of your everyday life for the rest of mine. There is no one else on the face of this planet I enjoy more. Hell, I love to make food for you, dance with you, and argue with you.” He grinned. “I really love arguing with you. Because I know, at the end of it, we’ll be together and that bond is stronger than anything life can throw at us. You’re the love of my life.”
She swayed into him and brought her lips up to meet his.
“I love you.” She barely moved her mouth away from his.
She’d never forget the sparkle in his eye and the softness to his touch. Merry Christmas to me. Together they’d create a bright, feisty future.