Page 59 of Architect's Christmas Nanny

The whole library went silent for a moment, and she felt a little bit like she was standing naked in a snowstorm of other people’s opinions. It wasn’t just the kids and their parents staring at her now, but the librarian at the counter, the people on computers on the far wall, and a gaggle of women who had been looking at mysteries on an end cap.

But suddenly, the only thing that mattered was being honest about her emotions. So she stood tall, letting her words hang in the air as long as they needed to.

“I love you,” Brad said suddenly, and a little too loudly.

Suddenly all the little kids were giggling.

“Ooooooooo-oooooooo,” a bunch of them began cooing in delight.

One little girl made exuberant kissy noises, before being shushed by her mother.

“But they’re in love,” the little girl whispered back loudly in protest.

“I love you too,” Jillian said, smiling.

She watched the wild intensity of his expression melt into wonder and fierce love. Then she remembered the person whose opinion mattered most to her, and she tore her eyes from Brad’s.

“Josie,” she murmured, horrified that what was happening might make Josie feel unhappy or left out somehow.

But the nine-year-old was smiling radiantly up at her.

“Is this okay with you?” Jillian asked softly.

Josie wrapped her arms around Jillian’s waist and hugged her so tightly in answer that she almost couldn’t breathe.

She closed her eyes and embraced Josie, hardly able to believe that her feelings were out in the open now and that everything was going to be okay.

When she opened them again, Brad had come forward.

His eyes held a question and she nodded, love filling her heart to overflowing as his strong arms embraced them both.

20

BRAD

On the night before Christmas, Brad held out his hand to help Jillian into the carriage.

She smiled up at him, and placed her hand in his, sending a tingle of happiness through his chest.

The afternoon sun shone brightly, though it was still cold enough for their breath to plume in the air. But they were bundled up, and there were blankets in the carriage.

Brad had pulled a huge favor from the Cassidy boys to be able to take Jillian on a horse-drawn carriage ride through their snowy tree farm on Christmas Eve. And they couldn’t spend too much time here with the radio announcing that a massive ice storm was on its way.

But after the two of them had finally expressed their feelings at the library, he knew he had to hit a home run on their first date.

The Village Green was the nicest restaurant in town, but Jillian had insisted that she didn’t want anything fancy. So when they were finished with their ride throughthe trees, he was taking her home to cook her an amazing dinner—the best compromise he could think of to get good food in her belly without making her feel like it was too fancy.

He knew just what he was going to cook, too—French onion soup as an appetizer, then steaks and salad—a tribute to the many meals they had shared when he was traveling.

“This is… incredible,” Jillian breathed, looking around as he pulled a blanket over their laps, and took up the reins. “Thank you for bringing me here.”

He smiled, trying to see it all through her eyes. He’d been coming to the Cassidy family’s tourist farm since he was a toddler. But for Jillian, the beautiful trees, holiday lights, and decorations were all new.

“We’ll come again during the day,” he told her. “Then you can see the shops and the nursery, and we can feed the animals.”

“We’ll bring Josie,” she said immediately, then pressed her lips together like maybe she shouldn’t have said that.

But the fact that she loved his daughter was part of the reason he loved her.

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