Page 48 of The Runaway Bride of Blitzen Bay (Blitzen Bay)

“I guess we’re leaving. Bye, Sam. I’m looking forward to our date,” I say, leaning down to kiss his cheek.

He beams up at me. “It will be the best night I’ve had in years.”

As we walk out of the bar, I look up at Nash. “I love Sam so much.”

He laughs. “You form attachments pretty quickly.”

“He’s just the sweetest old man.”

“Yeah, he’s a good guy. I think he’s been pretty lonely since his wife died. This dinner will be good for him.”

I stop in my tracks. He looks back at me as my eyes start to water.

“His wife died?”

He grabs my hand again and tries to pull me to his truck. “Yeah, it’s been a few years. He’s fine. Everyone’s fine. There’s no reason to cry.”

I pull back on his hand and stare at him—scrunching up my face to try to stop the tears that are forming.

He takes a deep breath. “Are you trying to hold back your tears?”

I nod my head quickly causing a few tears to escape and roll down my cheeks.

“Will you feel better if you cry?”

“So much,” I say, my voice squeaky.

He opens his arms and nods down at his chest. “C’mon then. The chest is available for crying, too.”

I fall into him as the tears start rolling down. He pulls me to him and pats my back. When all the tears have left me, I take a deep breath.

“Are you done?” he says, pushing me back and leaning down to look directly into my eyes.

“For now.”

After he opens the truck door, he puts his hands under my arms and lifts me to the seat. He drops his hands to my legs and smiles.

“Are you always this emotional?” he says gently.

“Only when my life’s falling apart—”

“Your life’s not falling apart,” he says as his body rests against my knees. “It’s just beginning.”

I stop breathing for a second. He backs away and closes my door—his eyes stay locked with mine until he walks around the front of the truck.

As he gets in, I’m rooting through his glove compartment. “Do you have any Kleenex?”

“Uh, I don’t think I do.” He looks at me trying to wipe the tears off my cheeks with my oversized mittens. “Here, let me help.”

He takes his gloves off and starts rubbing his fingers gently over my face. I lean closer to him. When he’s done, he lets his hands linger for a second. I’m staring at him. I can’t move. Why do I want him to kiss me so badly?

“Elle, are you okay? Is there something else you need to cry about?” His eyes light up as he smiles.

My brain snaps back into focus. “Not at the moment but I’m sure there will be soon. You’re going to need to stock Kleenex if we’re going to be hanging out.”

“Noted. How long are you staying here?”

“Umm, I’m not sure. Steve’s supposed to come back up here in a couple of days so we can talk again.”

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