Page 89 of All I Want For Christmas

“Here. Take them with you.”

She eyed them with suspicion. “Why?”

“So you’ve got them in case you need them.”

“I don’t.”

“They’ll be a sort of security blanket.” He jingled them. “If I need to leave, I’ve got the boat.”

She looked at the keys. Then, with a sigh, took them. “If I leave, I lose.”

“You lose my endorsement,” he said with a nod. Because if he said anything else she wouldn’t believe him anyway. “But the city council is still meeting next Thursday. You’ll still have a chance to convince them your project is a good idea.”

“They won’t agree with me if you’re against it.”

He lifted a shoulder. “It’ll be harder for you. But you’re up for it.”

She tipped her head, studying him. “I could probably make a case for the fact that you’re protesting only because you’re really just a hermit and don’t want to share your space with anyone else.”

He gave her a grin. “Now you’re starting to figure it out.”

“You really like being alone that much?”

He resisted reaching for her. If he did, he’d do a hell of a lot more than hold her hand. As if was, he wasn’t going to be able to forget how soft her skin was. “It completely depends on the people I’m with. I definitely don’t mind my own company.”

She took a breath. “It is crazy quiet down here.”

He nodded.

“I mean, I’ve been to some places that are really quiet. Especially at night. And I like it. But this…” She looked around. “This is a different kind of quiet.”

He nodded. “It is. Small towns are quiet when the people get quiet. This is the kind of quiet that happens because there justaren’tpeople.”

She nodded. “This is a nice quiet.”

“You can maybe see why I don’t really want a human touch here.”

She pressed her lips together, studying him in the dim light. “Maybe,” she finally said.

“I’ll take maybe. For now.”

“I do like knowing that there’s someone nearby. Or someone coming by at some point.”

“I’m right here if you need anything, Savannah.” His voice was huskier than he’d intended. “I would never leave you all alone.”

It was too dark to really tell, but he felt like he’d startled her.

She nodded. “My anxiety definitely feels better.”

Some of the tightness that had banded around his chest loosened. “I’m glad.”

“Are there other people out here, and I just don’t know it?”

He hesitated. “I’m not sure what you want to hear.”

Finally, she smiled. “Just knowing that there is a person next door and that it’s actually someone I know, has helped a lot. It doesn’t really matter if there are other people.”

“Good. Because there aren’t.”

---