Page 8 of Let it Snow
Lucy shook her head at him, her expression clearing slightly.“No need to be sorry, I have enough good memories of this place to outweigh the bad.”She pushed grilled mushrooms around her plate before her chest heaved with a sigh.“I’m sorry to be so maudlin.It’s my first year without my mum here with me, and it’s got me a little down.I mean, it’s less than a week to Christmas and I haven’t even decorated the inn yet.”
Max took a chance and reached across the table to give her hand a squeeze.It was small and delicate, her skin soft and warm, yet the feel of it was so powerful, it sent tingles up and down his arm.Getting back on track, Max expressed his sympathy.“I’m sorry to hear about your mum, truly.I haven’t had to deal with that sort of loss yet, but the fact that you’ve been nothing but the absolute best host speaks volumes as to how strong you are and how well you’ve handled it.”
Lucy flipped her hand over so they were palm to palm and squeezed back.The feeling of holding her hand in his was so right he nearly fell backward off his stool.It was as if he was experiencing something new and exciting for the first time while also feeling as if he had been doing it his whole life.“Thank you, Max.”
“You’re welcome,” he said absently, stuck on the fact that he was still holding her hand and had no desire to ever let go.
Lucy withdrew her hand slowly, though the somewhat pained expression on her face spoke to her possibly having as hard a time letting go as he did.She stood and cleared their plates, placing them in the sink before turning and peering over at him.“Do you need to call your family to let them know you’ll be another day?”
Max nodded and stood.“That’s probably a good idea.”He pulled his phone from his pocket, but paused before he clicked it open.“Say, how about I make a few calls, and then I help you decorate the house?”
Lucy’s brow furrowed adorably.“You want to help me decorate for Christmas?”Her expression was dubious, but Max could also see the hopeful glint in her eyes.
Max stepped closer to her and tucked his finger under her chin and raised her gaze to his.“I would love nothing more,” he said before leaning down and pausing for a single moment before placing a kiss on her forehead.He wasn’t sure what possessed him to do such a thing, something so intimate after so short a time, but he couldn’t bear to see her looking sad a moment longer and wanted to offer her comfort in any way he could.When he stepped back, he saw Lucy’s eyes were slightly dazed, but a small smile pulled at the corners of her mouth.The sight of her accepting his affection brought him great relief.“I won’t be but a moment.”
“Alright,” she breathed out, watching as he left the kitchen and walked into the dining room.
Max took a seat at the head of the table and tried to focus on his surroundings, like the squeal of the antique chair he was sitting in, the feel of the rug beneath his shoes, and the imposing nature of the large China cabinet that stood along the golden walls of the room.If he hadn’t had all that to ground him, Max was almost positive the light, bubbly feeling that had taken up residence in his chest after being near Lucy for so long would cause him to float away like an untethered balloon.As long as Lucy was there to bring him back down, he wouldn’t have minded the slightest bit.
CHAPTER SIX
Lucy
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Lucy watched as Maxleft the kitchen, trying desperately not to melt into a puddle of warm goo from the way he’d touched her, his mesmerizing green eyes boring into hers just before he leaned in and kissed her forehead.With trembling fingers, she reached up and touched the spot that still tingled from the brush of his soft lips.If there was any chance of her not romanticizing his being there, it flew out the window and got lost in the blizzard.The sweet kiss along with his listening to her talk about the Inn, being genuinely interested in the history and comforting her when she brought up the loss of her mother, caused Lucy’s heart to race with both excitement and fear.
There was excitement over all the possibilities with the man she could currently hear speaking on the phone in the other room, and fear that if her feelings for him continued to grow the way they seemed to each time he was near her, she would be absolutely crushed when he inevitably had to leave.The reminder that Max’s stay was temporary was like a tack, bursting the bubble of happiness that had grown inside her, deflating her spirits.
Her mother may have been happy with one night of romance because it led to her greatest wish of having a baby come true, but Lucy wanted more than that for herself.She wanted both the husband and the family, and while sleeping with Max would be fun, she also knew her feelings for him were too deep to come back from having only a one-night stand.Logically, it made no sense for her to be falling for a man she’d only just met, but then again, nothing about the past couple of days had made much sense.Rolling her eyes at her ridiculous behavior, Lucy resigned herself to having nothing more than just some friendly company for another day or two and busied herself with cleaning up after breakfast.
After wiping the counters and washing the dishes, Lucy stared out the window at all the falling snow as she dried the frying pans.She was so caught up once again in her thoughts of Max that she didn’t realize he was back in the kitchen until he was next to her, making soft tutting noises.
“You should have left some of the clean-up for me,” he told her, taking the frying pan from her hands and finishing the drying.“You don’t have to wait on me.”
Lucy scoffed and took the pan back from him, making a concerted effort not to smile as his brow furrowed in displeasure.“You are literally my guest, so it doesn’t make sense for you to be cleaning up after breakfast.”
