Page 51 of Love, Lies and Sleigh Rides
“Why not?” She inched a hair closer.
He didn’t need more of an invitation than that.
“Fallon.”
“Yes?” she whispered.
“I really want to kiss you right now.”
She nodded and whispered back, “I want that too.”
His hand caressed her face then cupped her jaw as he leaned into her. A brush of lips, a whisper of her hair grazing his cheek. Kade closed his eyes and—
“A-hem!”
He and Fallon jumped apart.
Beside them, Agnes DeLina grinned apologetically.
“Didn’t mean to interrupt your farewell kiss. I was just trying to catch you, Fallon, before you leave.”
Fallon smoothed her hair, her face ablaze. “Wh-what do you need?”
“The festival committee will meet for breakfast at the auction house tomorrow morning. Eight o’clock sharp.”
“Okay, thanks, Agnes.” She looked up at him, her eyes wide.
He’d avoided Agnes all evening despite her darting glares. And she picked a grand time to come find Fallon. He clenched his jaw.
“Kade, it’s nice to see you.”
That’s far from the truth.He managed to give Agnes a curt nod.
“See you tomorrow,” Agnes said in a light tone as she left them alone in the entryway.
But the spell had been broken. Fallon looked shaken.
“Are you all right?”
Fallon squared her shoulders, looking past him, her mind obviously elsewhere. “Yes. I’m fine. I should go.”
Kade watched her hurry down the stone steps and into the dark night, cursing Agnes’s ill-timed disruption. Still, he couldn’t help but hope that by this time tomorrow there would have been a follow-up to that kiss, along with the promise that this wouldn’t be Fallon’s last weekend in Hendricks.
ChapterNineteen
The next morning, Fallon strolled through the airy, rustic building in the heart of downtown Hendricks that had been transformed into Christmas Tree Central. She was mesmerized and a little overwhelmed by the number of trees and the size of the crowd who’d come to enjoy them before Del Arbuckle awarded them to the highest bidders. Del’s auction house was large, but it was almost too small a venue for the event that had grown since last year.
Her mind a little fuzzy, Fallon blamed it on the busy night at Blueberry Point Lodge and the early hour she’d awakened. She’d drifted out of sleep with a finger on her lips while the morning light had yet to touch the inside of her room at the Flint Hills Motel. Kade had been in her dreams. She couldn’t remember what she’d dreamed, but the pleasant detachment she felt when she opened her eyes was proof. That almost-kiss from last night had been on her mind ever since.
When Kade placed his hands on her cheeks, the sensation had been both sweet and scintillating. Her breath hitched at the first brush of his lips. And then Agnes happened along. Fallon was conflicted about the interruption. Against her better judgment, she’d allowed herself to be swept away by his attentive gestures and flirty comments all evening. And he looked drop-dead handsome dressed in a suit coat and tie. Would getting to know Kade better be so terrible?
She’d told herself all along a relationship with him would not be smart. He was newly retired. His plans were up in the air. What if once he figured out what to do with the rest of his life those plans took him even farther away than Minnesota? Did she have enough fortitude for a long-distance relationship? The possibility was reminiscent of her family’s lifestyle. She’d painstakingly laid down roots ever since she graduated college to help her heal. Thinking about moving, whether it was her own doing or Kade’s, gave her chills.
With her mind still preoccupied, she visited the concession area, ordering a coffee. The array of muffins and scones tempted her, but the committee breakfast still sat in her stomach.
Fallon noticed Kade as soon as she turned around to scan the room. She thought him a figment of her imagination for a second, so deep in thought she’d been about last night. Kade stood just inside the doorway talking with Elaine. It was clear by their expressions and body language something was wrong.
“Hey, Fallon.”
