Page 45 of The Christmas Reunion

When he pulled into her driveway, his stomach hurt from laughing so hard over a story that she was telling where Gus, in his rowdy teenage dog years, had found his way onto the counter and tried to steal an entire roast. But it had been so much bigger than him that he hadn’t been able to get it down.

“He was always a ridiculous little thing,” Mindy said softly as she climbed out of the car. “But I’ve loved him from the very first day I brought him home.”

Noah insisted on walking her to her door, and once more, he took her hand as he led the way. He relished the solid feeling of her hand in his, lacing their fingers together as they approached her front porch step.

They stopped before the door, and Noah’s heart pounded as he turned to look at her. He knew that she had an early day tomorrow, and she was likely exhausted after the one that she’d already had. But he found himself not wanting the night to end.

“Thank you for coming out with me tonight,” he told her. “I had an amazing time.”

Her smile beamed up at him in the darkness. “I did too.”

“I would say it felt like old times, but…” He trailed off, not quite sure how to articulate what he wanted to say.

Fortunately, Mindy seemed to read the thoughts in his head, and she nodded, her expression softening.

“But that’s not quite right,” she finished for him. “It doesn’t feel like old times. It feels like something new.”

He nodded, his heart racing at the implication of her words.

“Will I get to see you tomorrow?” he asked in a low voice.

“If you want to.”

His answer came immediately. “I do.”

Her smile widened, and before he could second-guess what he was doing or talk himself out of it, Noah reached up to brush back one of Mindy’s curls that had fallen across her forehead.

She leaned into his touch, her eyelashes fluttering slightly as he cupped her cheek.

“Mindy,” he breathed. “Can I kiss you?”

“You’d better,” she whispered.

Noah bent his head to hers, their frosty breaths mingling in the space between them. Then, slowly, he pressed his lips to hers. Releasing her hands, he wrapped his arms around her, and she went up onto her tiptoes to deepen the kiss a little. He could feel his heart racing and something like butterflies flapping in his stomach, but there was also something more. Something deeper and even more intense, an emotion he wasn’t quite ready to name, but it soared through him and made him want the kiss to last forever.

Finally, Noah pulled back from her, looking down into the face that made his heart ache and his stomach flip. Mindy smiled up at him, the kind of smile that lit up her features.

And suddenly, Noah had a new definition of happiness.

This, he thought.Thiswas what he had been missing for years.

CHAPTERNINETEEN

Valerie took a few steps back from the staircase banister she had been decorating, eyeing the way the tinsel, garland, and Christmas ornaments all came together with satisfaction. Somewhere within the many rooms of St. Nick’s Place, someone had started up the old record player, allowing the scratchy sound of vintage Christmas carols to fill the air.

She and Lacy had spent a long time discussing decorations and plans for the combined party and wedding, and she was pleased at how excited Lacy had been. Everything was coming together nicely, and she couldn’t be happier with it. She swiveled her head, taking in the entryway of the manor house that she’d been decorating that day.

Typically, during the annual holiday party, the place was alive with every color under the sun, a vibrant showcase of true Christmas cheer. But since Valerie was getting married at the event this year, she had wanted to go for something a little bit different than the usual décor.

Lacy, thankfully, had been incredibly enthusiastic at the idea of keeping all the typical greenery, the mistletoe, the holly berries, and the evergreen garland. But the usual multi-colored ornaments had been replaced with colors of only silver, gold, and red. And as the vision was coming to life, Valerie found the entire thing absolutely breathtaking.

She’d footed the bill for all of the new decorations, of course, although Lacy had insisted she didn’t have to, and Valerie couldn’t help but think that it was all turning out to be perfect.

The sound of someone singing along with the music caught her attention, and a smile tugged up her lips as she set down the last bit of tinsel in her hands and walked through the winding hallways toward the largest room of the house, which served as the main gathering space and ballroom.

She stepped into the large open room, grinning as she watched Clark singing and dancing to the beat as he and Derek hung up more of the decorations. He was wearing an oversized Santa hat, so big that the puffball of white on the end fell down between his shoulders, and it swayed back and forth merrily with his movements.

Her heart swelled with joy as she watched him, working happily to bring both of their dreams about their wedding to life. A burst of laughter rose up from the other side of the room, catching her attention, and Valerie turned to see Mindy and Noah standing in a corner.

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