Page 70 of Wrapped in You

"I saw you from the Ferris wheel," Sophie confessed. "I didn't know what to think."

Derek's eyes were slits. "What do you think now?"

Sophie raised her shoulders. Here behind the massive Christmas tree, they were hidden from the rest of Willow Creek's residents, from the stage, from her parents, and even from Cindy, if she was still somewhere on the Ferris wheel.

For a moment, Sophie considered what she might say.I think I'm falling in love with you. I think we could have a future together.

But instead, she said, "I think you're grieving. I think you're still entrenched in your grief."

She thought,Too entrenched for whatever is brewing between us, maybe. But she didn't say it. Instead, she said, "And I want you to know that's okay. I don't want to rush you out of your grief. It's a necessary human emotion." She swallowed. "You love her. You'll always love her. I don't want to get in the way of that."

Derek's eyes glinted with Christmas lights and tears. "But I don't want to live in grief anymore." He sighed. "I haven't said that since it happened. I've clung to my grief as a shield. As protection."

Sophie adjusted her hands in his and stepped closer to him. Her heart swelled.

"In that cabin, I've had so much time to think and stew and dream alone. And for the first time in three years, I realized I want to step away from my broken heart and rebuild," he said. "Maybe it isn't so strange that I met the person who changedmy mind here in Willow Creek. You're the opposite of everything Hollywood stands for. You're kind and loyal and funny; you make people feel comfortable in their own skin; you celebrate everything silly and lame—including Christmas."

Sophie raised her eyebrows. "Christmas is not lame! How many times do we have to go through this?"

But Derek was smiling. He was teasing her.

"You just make everything better, Soph. That's all I'm trying to say," he said.

Sophie couldn't help but match his smile. She closed her eyes, listening to Randy's band sing "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas," but a rocked-out version that made her shoes vibrate.

"I only have two months left in Willow Creek," Derek said. "And I want to spend as much of that time with you. If you want that too."

Sophie's knees nearly gave out. "What if you change your mind?" She hated how small her voice was.

People changed their minds all the time. They kissed you and ran. They asked you to marry them and moved out a year later.

Derek shook his head. "I won't. I can promise you that." He winced. "But I won't rely on you to get me out of my grief. That isn't your job. I've called my therapist back in LA, and we're going to have bi-weekly video chats." He squeezed her hands. "I'm going to deal with this head-on."

Sophie wasn't sure what to think.

This was a broken man. A man who'd lost everything.

But because of her, he wanted to rebuild himself. He wanted to try again. He wanted to believe in the magic of the world again.

What could she do but open her heart to him?

Chapter Twenty-Four

That night as the Christmas Festival lights dimmed over downtown Willow Creek, weary parents carried exhausted children on their shoulders and in their arms; food and wine stalls clamped their doors shut; grills were turned off; the Ferris wheel stopped its spinning; and the pony handler led the tired animals into their temporary barn near the elementary school, where, the handler had explained, they would sleep peacefully and warmly, resting up for their rides for children tomorrow and the next day.

Sophie and Derek watched from her front window as the festival setup darkened to black. It was nearly eleven at night, and they were wrapped in blankets, their hands wrapped around steaming mugs of hot cocoa. From Sophie's Bluetooth speaker came soft Christmas songs. Derek had requested them. He was "leaning in," he'd said.

Sophie hadn't been able to imagine Derek going back to his cabin by himself tonight. She'd invited him over without thinking about it at first. But now that he was here, it felt right.

Already, they'd talked for more than two hours. They'd wandered through the festival, eating pizza, drinking mulled wine, and playing carnival games. Derek had won her a stuffedladybug that she proudly displayed on the fireplace mantel. Not once had they chatted about anything serious, not since they'd hidden themselves away behind the Christmas tree. Instead, they'd traded memories from childhood, told one another silly and nonessential secrets, and even joined a fewSilver Bellscrew members for final drinks, laughing with them about how "frozen" their feet were.

Now, they sat in silence. But it was a comfortable silence. It was a silence that didn't demand anything from either of them.

The Christmas tree they'd picked out together glinted with light in the corner. More than anything, that tree made Sophie half believe this was her house with Derek. That they both belonged there together.

Just then, Derek sipped his hot cocoa and got foam on his mustache. Sophie laughed with surprise, and Derek pretended not to understand what she was talking about.

"Why are you laughing at me, Soph?" He feigned anger and furrowed his brow as Sophie laughed harder and harder. "What could possibly be wrong?"

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