Page 89 of Christmas in Paradise

“I’ll get her up after I shower.” I tear my gaze away from his chest to see the confusion in his eyes.

“Why?”

“So we can get to the florist by seven.” I’m a little surprised he’s forgotten that was the plan all along.

Seb shakes his head, then stretches toward the mantle and picks up his keys. “Don’t wake sleeping babies. That’s the rule, right?” He dangles the keys in front of me. “You go get the mistletoe; I’ll stay here with her.”

“Really?”

“Of course.”

I glance at Charly, peacefully sleeping. “Okay. Thanks.”

I take the keys from him, then carry my clothes into the bathroom, very aware of the mistletoe hanging in the doorway and Seb’s proximity.

And I can’t resist.

I turn around, stretch on tip-toe, and kiss Seb’s cheek. “Thanks again. For everything.”

He grins softly, his eyes dancing, both tempting me toreallytake advantage of the moment and go for his lips instead.

But this time I do resist, backing slowly into the bathroom and shutting the door behind me.

Thirty minutes later, I emerge, ready to go. Seb is at the window seat, peeking through the curtains with Uncle Rad on his lap.

“It’s still snowing out there. Looks like we got at least a foot last night.” He lets the curtains fall closed and turns. “Roads should be plowed but be careful.”

I smile and grab my coat and the keys. “I will.”

This isn’t my first snowstorm. I’m from Kansas. But it’s sweet that he’s worried.

Then I go outside.

And Seb wasn’t lying. The walkway that was dusted with snow when we arrived last night is completely covered. There’s an old guy shoveling it, but he’s barely made it past the porch steps. Which means I make my way down what I think is the sidewalk, taking big steps through deep, weirdly powdery snow.

I lift my knees high to get my foot above the snow, but with every step forward, snow falls down the top of my boot. By the time I make it to the truck, I’ve got an inch of snow around the top of my boots, and at least that much inside them.

I climb into Seb’s truck and slam the door shut, shivering already. “Dorothy, we arenotin Kansas anymore,” I mutter as I start the engine.

The florist is on the other side of town, and it takes me half an hour to get there over the unplowed and traffic-filled main road. It takes another half an hour to inspect the mistletoe to make sure it’s all fresh and then more time to load it into Seb’s covered truck bed.

In the meantime, the snow doesn’t stop. It’s noticeably deeper as I make my way back to Mistletoe Inn.

On the way, I pass a big flashing road sign at the turnoff that leads to the canyon road connecting Florence and Paradise. I slow and read the warning that the road is icy and unplowed.

“Oh no.” It’s not closed, but I wonder how dangerous it is.

More dangerous than staying another night with Seb in a small, mistletoe covered hotel room?

Obviously, the road is more dangerous.Obviously.We could be putting our lives at risk if we try to navigate it right now.

But my heart is definitely at risk the more time I spend with Seb.

He’s being so good with Charly that I really think I’d be okay with all of us getting to know each other better and spending more time together. We could move slow and take our time learning if we could be a family.

But it’s November twenty-fifth. My work in Paradise will be over in exactly one month. Then I go back to Kansas and either find an event-planning business to work for there or hope Carson has enough business to keep me working remotely, part-time.

The only way I can afford to stay in Paradise is if I have full-time work. Gia has been very generous taking care of Charly for these past few weeks for very little money, but if I stay, I’d have to find after-preschool care for Charly. Gia has always been a temporary solution.

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