Page 10 of Sweet Christmas Wish
“Ah. Well, you should know that there’s more.”
“More?”
By way of answer, Derek gently disengaged from the embrace, keeping hold of her hand, and led her toward the kitchen. Inside, he’d laid out a tablecloth and candles on the table, which held a gorgeous spread of food. A charcuterie board held bread, cheese, and grapes, and a pot roast with baby golden potatoes sat steaming on a platter. Derek had also set out a red wine in a bucket of ice, waiting to be poured out. Lacy gasped at the sight, taking it all in. She had never, in all of her dating life, been taken care of the way Derek regularly pampered her.
“Oh my goodness,” she breathed. “This looks incredible!”
Derek stuffed his hands into his pockets and shrugged, but he looked pleased too. “I thought after a long day of traveling you’d like to come home to a home-cooked meal and get a chance to relax a little.”
“Well, if this is what you use the key I gave you for, then I made the right decision entrusting it to you,” she teased. “Seriously, this is amazing. Thank you so much.”
She raised up on her tiptoes, placing a soft kiss on his cheek. He turned his head, capturing her lips with his and kissed her gently, snaking his hands around her waist and pulling her close. They stood like that for a time until he broke away from the kiss long enough to rest his forehead against hers.
“The food will get cold,” he whispered.
Lacy lazily opened her eyes, still warm from the kisses. “We can’t have that,” she murmured back.
Derek stepped away from her, pulling out her chair and settling her into it before taking his own seat. “Wine?”
“Always.” Lacy held up her wine glass.
“It should pair beautifully with the roast, as well as the brie,” Derek said in a mock-posh voice, making her laugh. He poured her a glass of wine with a flourish, bowing.
“You were a waiter in a past life,” Lacy teased.
“Alas, in this life I’m but a lowly dogsledder.”
“The best dogsledder.”
And it was true, Lacy reflected. Derek ran Winter Run Racing in town, giving dogsledding lessons and hosting racing events that people from all over came to attend. When she had first met him, she had thought the profession a joke, but she had since realized the error of her ways. What Derek did was an art form, and he was so good to his teams that it made her heart ache a little.
“You know,” Derek said, after swallowing a bite of the roast and potatoes on his plate, “it would be nice if we lived in a place where we got to see each other every day. Where something like this,” he gestured to the beautifully laid table between them, “could be an everyday thing.”
Lacy’s heart fluttered. Was he asking her if they should move in together? Her heart beat a little faster at the thought, warming her all the way to her toes.
“That would be amazing,” she agreed. “I didn’t even think I would get to see you tonight, but coming home to you was just what I needed.”
“It’s something to think about,” he replied. “I don’t need an answer right away. Just think about it, okay?”
Lacy nodded. “I will,” she promised.
“Oh, did you hear about the North Pole Festival the library is putting on for the kids?”
Lacy shook her head, taking a sip of wine. “No. Tell me about it.”
Derek launched into an explanation of the shindig the local library would be hosting for the children in the area, including arts and crafts, plenty of hot chocolate and cookies, a scenic train ride, Christmas book readings, and, of course, dogsled racing.
“The kids are going to love that!” Lacy exclaimed. “Especially the dogsled racing.”
“That’s always a hit with the kiddos,” Derek admitted with a grin. “How could it not be? It’s only the best sport on earth.”
“Hey, you don’t have to convince me—I’ve long since become converted.”
Derek leaned across the table to kiss her, his eyes soft. “It means a lot to me how supportive you are of my work.”
“Of course. It’s your life’s calling.”
“There was once a time you didn’t see it that way.”
