Page 41 of A Second Chance Christmas Kiss

Charles was different now. Older. More mature. Stronger. I could feel the powerful way he held the bike, and even through the leather jacket he wore, I could feel his muscles. Attraction sizzled through me. I couldn’t help but marvel at how I’d gotten here on a motorcycle with him.

I wasn’t sure where we were going until I spotted the lighthouse in the distance. So many feelings pulsed through me. That lighthouse symbolized a lot more than a beacon for sailors who were looking to come to port; it was where Charles and I had spent our first date. Where we’d shared our first kiss. It had been “our” place, if I had to pick one.

Charles got to the parking lot next to the area where tourists parked to go to the lighthouse. He slowed, then stopped, putting his feet down.

I let go of him, feeling suddenly awkward being so close to him. He put the kickstand down and leaned it to the right; then we both got off. As we pulled our helmets off, I had to marvel again at the beauty of this man. His smile was glorious. Truly, it made him look young again. His dark hair was styled in an “ever the businessman” type of cut, and it was longer on top and flopped a bit, since the helmet had messed it up. He brushed it out of his face, and my heart raced when his ocean-blue eyes caught mine.

His eyebrows lowered. “You’re cold?”

I hadn’t even realized I was hugging myself.

Immediately, Charles took his jacket off and put it around me. I was touched by his thoughtfulness. He’d always been a gentleman. Maybe it was stupid, but the gesture made me tear up a little, and I turned toward the trail. “Are we going where I think we’re going?”

Charles lightly took my hand. “If you’re up for it.”

I stared at our hands. “Sure.”

He began walking, tugging on my hand, and I followed, grateful I’d worn shoes I could walk in.

“I really can’t believe you showed up and bought me tonight. I was very worried about who I’d be with on this date.”

“Hold up. Is this really a date?”

He paused and grinned at me, squeezing my hand. “You tell me. Do you want to not call this a date, and we can plan another one?”

The moonlight was bright enough that I could see him staring at my lips. Another round of adrenaline shot through me, scattering my brain. “Nope. This is a date, I guess.” I started walking down a rockier part of the path.

Charles turned on his phone flashlight to light our path. We walked for a few minutes in comfortable silence. It was nice to have someone I could be quiet with but not unsure about. Finally, we got off the rocky part and onto the sandy path to the lighthouse, which wasn’t very far away.

Charles turned off his phone light and walked faster. “I haven’t been here in a long time.”

His happiness was contagious, and I found myself caught up in the night. “Me neither.”

We got to the lighthouse, and I noticed it hadn’t been kept in great condition.

“What happened here?” Charles asked, echoing my thoughts. He pushed in the door, and it creaked open. There was trash everywhere, and it looked like someone had graffitied the hallway that led up to the little rooms.

“Oh no,” I said as we walked up the winding stairs. The second level was just as trashed as the first.

“I’m going to do something about this next week,” Charles vowed, tugging my hand and taking me up the next set of stairs.

“This place needs to have some security or be made into a historic site or something.”

The third level didn’t seem to have as much trash. The light streamed in, and there were still parts of the old lighthouse intact in the center. Charles moved to the window that overlooked the ocean. With the moonlight cutting across the water and the stillness of it all, it was gorgeous.

“Wow,” I said a tad breathlessly.

Charles turned and grinned at me. “It’s beautiful, isn’t it?”

I was suspicious of his comment. “It seems like I’m unsure what you’re talking about, Mr. King.”

Charles kept his face close to mine. Since I was about five-nine and he was six-one, with his head bent just the right way, we were close enough to kiss. “Well,” he breathed. “I guess it’s okay to tell you something you knew a long time ago, since it still stands now. I’ve always thought you were beautiful. I was struck by that beauty a couple days ago when I walked inside that doll shop. In fact, you’re more beautiful now than ever before.”

I just stared at him, stunned and speechless.

“You don’t believe me?”

I hesitated.

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