Page 55 of The Christmas Reunion

Edith took his proffered hand, and the two of them started to walk away. Rudolph stopped a few feet from the dance floor, casting a glance at Valerie over his shoulder, and she waved him on encouragingly. Happiness flared within her as he and Edith stepped out onto the dance floor.

“How did you know what to say to convince him?” Valerie asked, unable to keep the astonishment from leaking into her voice as she turned and looked at Noah. “I felt like suggesting he ask her to dance was a long shot at best, but you actually got him to do it!”

He shrugged one shoulder while Clark shook his head in amazement.

“Rudolph said something to me just before the wedding,” Noah explained. “Something that made me think he might be willing to step out of his comfort zone, to face his fear and take a leap.”

Emotion bubbled up in Valerie again as she thought of the man who had become like a father to her over the course of the last year, and how much she had wanted him to find love. She had no way of knowing what would happen between him and Edith, but she had a good feeling about it, based on the smile they were sharing as they spun slowly on the dance floor.

“Thank you,” she murmured with gratitude. “Thank you.”

Noah tried to wave off her thanks, but she wasn’t hearing any of it. However, before she could get too far into her protestations, the DJ they’d hired for the event came over the speakers and announced that it was time for the bride and groom’s first dance.

She looked at Clark, grinning at the man she loved as he pulled her toward the center of the dance floor.

* * *

An hour later, Mindy stepped into the kitchen at St. Nick’s Place, stopping for a moment to fan herself and cool down. The party was in full swing, and she’d been running around doing a few tasks for Lacy to make sure that her friend had a chance to enjoy the party as well. She peered through the doorway of the kitchen into the main room, spotting Noah exactly where she’d left him after checking in on him twenty minutes ago.

She sighed, shaking her head at herself. She was avoiding him. She knew it. And she had a feeling that he did too.

When she’d witnessed him stepping in for Rudolph, getting the old man to come out of his shell and ask Edith to dance, she had realized something that had made her heart sink.

Her job with Noah was done. His tour was over. After the Christmas party, there was really nothing else that she could show him in Snowy Pine Ridge that would top this. And their three weeks would be up in just a couple days anyway.

With all the thoughts she’d had throughout the day, all the pining for things to be different, it was only now truly hitting her that he was going to leave soon. And she wasn’t sure she could face it.

She grabbed one of the trays of treats from the oven, then took them out to the snacks table, beginning to unload the appetizers onto platters. A moment later, she felt someone walk up next to her, and a whiff of familiar cologne let her know exactly who it was.

She turned to look at Noah, holding the pan from the oven tightly as she did so. He was watching her, his green eyes confused and slightly hurt.

“Why are you avoiding me?” he asked, his dark brow knitted together.

Mindy’s heartbeat sped up and she winced internally at being so easy to read. She let out a shaky laugh that rang false even to her own ears, hustling toward the snack table to unload the remainder of the pan as Noah followed after her.

“I’m not avoiding you,” she protested, careful not to look at him so he couldn’t readthe lie that she was certain would be written plainly across her face.

“Mindy,” Noah said, his tone barely concealing his exasperation. “You’re clearly ignoring me. And you have been since right after everything with Rudolph and Edith. Something is going on, and I want to know what it is. We’ve been so honest with each other up to now. Please, don’t hide something from me. Tell me what’s going on with you.”

She finished loading the mini cinnamon rolls onto a platter and then turned to face him, her heart thumping a wild beat in her ears as she saw the open vulnerability written across his features. With a sinking feeling, she realized she couldn’t do this anymore.

She couldn’t continue to lie to him, couldn’t continue to avoid him. And she also couldn’t continue to lie to herself and pretend that everything was okay and wasn’t heading for swift and certain disaster. She sighed as she turned and walked back toward the kitchen with Noah trailing in her wake.

The massive kitchen was attached to the main room of the lodge, and through the open doorway, they could see the party continuing on without them.

Mindy placedthe pan she’d been holding in the sink and began spraying it off, hoping to keep her hands busy while she did what she needed to do.

“My job is done,” she said, surprised when her voice came out sounding more steady than she had thought it would. “There’s nothing left for me to show you around town. And we both know that I haven’t changed your mind. I don’t want to pretend anymore that we aren’t playing with fire doing what we’re doing. And I don’t want to end up hurt. So it’s better if we call this now.”

“What are you talking about?” Noah asked. “How are we playing with fire? How are we going to get hurt?”

“It’s inevitable,” she said softly, finishing rinsing the tray and setting it aside to dry. “And you can’t tell me it isn’t.”

Noah blinked at her, something she couldn’t identify churning behind his eyes as she grabbed a towel to dry her hands.

“Listen,” she began again, working to keep her voice level and even. “We both know what’s about to happen. I’ve done all I can do. And yes, it’s been amazing spending time with you again. This has been the best Christmas season I’ve ever had. But we both know this will only end in disaster if we continue to pretend our past doesn’t matter, and that the reason you came to Snowy Pine Ridge doesn’t matter.”

She looked up to meet his gaze, her heart lurching when she saw the hurt lingering in the depths of his green eyes. A lump formed in her throat, but she quickly swallowed past it. There would be time for her to fall apart later.

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