“Awesome tree, isn’t it?” Alex asked.
“You shouldn’t have. You know how I feel about…this,” she snapped.
It struck him how beautiful she was when she was angry. But then her shoulders slumped and moisture brimmed in her eyes, effectively dousing the fire he’d seen before. Anger he could handle, but not tears.
Remorse filled him and he stepped forward to wrap his arms around her. “I’m sorry. We only wanted to bring you a piece of Christmas. I didn’t intend to push you so hard or upset you.”
Claire buried her face in his coat and nodded.
She’d taken several big steps to move on with her life, he thought, but until she worked through her aversion for this winter holiday her past would always have an unrelenting grip on her. Perhaps he wouldn’t care about that state of affairs if he was only interested in an occasional evening with her. The fact was, he wanted to enjoy every season of the year with her, including Christmas.