Page 26 of The Princess Home for Christmas

“Let’s avoid the down town Main Street area.”

“Agreed.”

Dahlia thought for a minute, looking out her window. “How about Trolley Town?”

“Yes! Perfect idea.”

He changed lanes and headed toward an exit to go north. Trolley Town sat on the edge, climbing up the side of the far mountains of Torren. Named for the singular mode of transportation in the town, everyone who cared to visit, parked their cars in the lot outside and took trolleys in. To visit some of the stores, carved into the side of the incline, a trolley even went up the mountain face. If you wanted to go all the way to the last trolley stop, you could exit onto a ledge and have a perfect view of all of Torren out to your front.

They parked. Dahlia immediately reached for his hand and he wanted to hug it to him. He was so relieved they were on better footing.

She skipped a little, her blonde hair under the hat shaking as though it belonged to her. “I haven’t been here in years. And never, incognito,” she whispered.

“I forget what’s here. Let’s go explore.”

Almost immediately upon entry into the town center, an ice skating rink caught Dahlia’s eye. She picked up her pace. “It’s still here. You know we’re doing this first.”

“You’re the boss.” Thomas hadn’t skated in years either but how hard could it be?

Naturally, Dahlia was an expert on the ice. She dipped and turned and placed her skates gracefully one in front of the other. Then she would speed off, lap him and then rejoin him, skating in circles around him.

“So, let me guess, you enjoy skating?” Thomas enjoyed the glow of pink on her cheeks and the happy sparkle in her eyes. For a moment he forgot all the troubles, Theresa, the children, and the problems with the press and just enjoyed Dahlia.

“Come on. Let’s see if you can skate backwards.”

She flipped him around and held onto his arms, pushing him backwards. He tried to wiggle his skates like he saw her doing, but he had no control. They started to spread out to his sides, his stance growing wider.

“What are you doing? Keep your feet together.”

“I’m trying.” They spread even wider. He tried to scoot them in, awkwardly jerking, then one of his skates caught an edge and Dahlia tried to hold him up but he tripped backwards and fell on his backside.

She came to a skid stop in front of him. Her eyes twinkled. “Are you alright?”

“Yes.” He got up on his knees and then tried to step up onto his skates, but they went flying out in all directions. She pulled up on one of his arms, and he tried to get his feet beneath him, but they started kicking and flailing, and he worried he would hurt Dahlia.

But she dug in and held onto his middle. He gripped her shoulders and at last steadied his feet. His heart pounded. Once he realized he was balanced and not going to fall, he softened his clenching grip onto Dahlia and smiled sheepishly into her face. “Sorry about that.”

“Glad I could help.” Her face had gained a particular intensity, and she inched closer to him. “Even though I just saved you, I feel so safe here.” Her large eyes searched his own.

He wrapped his hands around her back. “I’m happy to hear that. When you aren’t in my arms, I spend way too much time wishing you were. It’s a feeling I can’t shake.”

A captivating pink rose up on her cheeks. “Well, then, looks like I’ll have to stay.”

“An excellent idea. If only I could skate backwards.”

“Ah, but I can.”

So they turned and she moved backward, looking only into his face. And he tried to return her enticing and distracting gaze, but found he was the steering mechanism of their dance and had to pay attention. The magic of holding her, feeling her near, warmed his whole body. When they made it around the rink, he directed them off the ice. “Whew. We’ll have to practice that.”

“I hope we will.”

They unlaced their skates and returned them to the rental table. As he watched Dahlia walk in front of him, Thomas realized he spent most of his time with her, holding back. He knew his emotions were far more engaged than hers, knew she needed time to ease into the idea of him as an adult. And he now knew what a risk he played to all she cared for with her effort to help refugees. But sometimes he just wanted to swoop her up, declare his love, kiss her senseless and convince her to marry him, tomorrow.

His phone buzzed in his pocket. At least it wasn’t dinging. Theresa. She remained a problem. Perhaps he should get Dahlia’s advice.

They made their way slowly down the quaint streets. All shops were decorated. All people smiling. The air smelled of cinnamon nuts and evergreen. She breathed it in and held her hands out wide, “I could stay right here forever.”

He pulled her up against him and wrapped an arm across her shoulders. “That, is a fantastic idea.”

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