Bryant laughed, the sound echoing off the houses. “I’ll risk it.”
They rode the rest of the loop in contented silence, hands linked on the seat. The horses steamed, impatient to get back to their barn and the promise of apples.
When the carriage returned to the square, the party had begun to thin. Parents hustled sugar-bombed kids into minivans, the carolers had traded songs for thermoses of hot wine, and the churro stand was nearly sold out. Grace and Bryant hopped down, thanking the driver, and made their way back to the high-top where the others waited.
Caroline saw them approach and burst into applause. “About damn time! I thought you two were going to elope and leave us to clean up the mess.”
Anna whistled. “Did you get it over with, are you officially a couple, or are you going to make us all suffer until New Year’s?”
Olivia just grinned, her white coat glowing in the lamplight. “They’re cute, aren’t they?”
Grace felt her face heat, but she didn’t care. She squeezed Bryant’s hand. “You could have warned me they were going to make a scene.”
He shrugged. “Wouldn’t have helped.”
Anna nudged her. “You okay?”
Grace nodded. “I’m good. I mean it.”
Anna gave her a quick side-hug. “You deserve it.”
“Deserve is a strong word,” Grace said, but let herself lean into the warmth anyway.
As the hour grew later, the square began to empty of the few remaining families, leaving behind the childless adults, most of whom were enjoying far too much of the “special” eggnog. But at nearly eleven o’clock, even adults were starting to trickle out. Caroline, indefatigable as she was, started talking about hot toddies and foot baths. The five of them stood at the edge of the festivities, when Olivia pointed across the square.
“Look,” she said.
A Channel 5 news van had parked just beyond the curb, and the unmistakable form of Tessa Monroe stood in front of the camera, coatless in a sapphire dress that shimmered under the lights. She talked into the microphone with her usual certainty, every hair in place, eyes blazing. Grace could tell from the tilt of her head and the crisp articulation that Tessa was in her element: audience, spotlight, and total control.
“She’s fearless,” Bryant said, almost admiring.
Grace watched Tessa, saw the way she gestured with one hand, fingers playing absently with a new necklace: a teardrop of iridescent glass on a heavy silver chain, catching every bit of stray light. Just a short distance away, a police office stood in the shadows, watching Tessa. Probably the one Bryant had assigned to watch her.
The sight sending a shiver up her spine. She remembered the raven’s warning, the sense of being watched. The hair on herarms prickled, but she forced herself to breathe, to focus on what she could see and not what she feared.
Tessa finished her segment, exchanged a brisk hug with her cameraman, and made her way across the square toward them, boots clacking on the packed snow. She moved with her usual confidence, but there was an edge to her stride, as if she were walking through water, or pushing against a current only she could feel.
She stopped in front of the group, surveying them with a single arched brow. “Out for a night of revelry?” she said. “Or are we doing psychic stakeouts now?”
Grace smiled, though her jaw ached from the effort. “Just taking in the lights. You looked good on TV.”
Tessa preened. “I always do. But thanks.”
Caroline gestured at the necklace. “That’s gorgeous, darling. Who’s the lucky jeweler?”
Tessa glanced down, twisting the pendant between thumb and forefinger. “A gift. From a fan. No note, just a pretty box on my desk this morning.” She shrugged.
Olivia stepped closer, peering at the chain. “May I?” she asked, and when Tessa nodded, Olivia lifted the glass teardrop, examining it in the light. “It’s beautiful,” she said. “But heavy. Feels like leaded crystal.”
Tessa laughed. “If it turns my skin green, I’ll sue. But for now, it matches my eyes, so I’m keeping it.”
“Any luck finding the Christmas light thief?” she asked, remembering Tessa’s earlier complaint.
Tessa scowled, clearly irritated. “No, because someone,” she glanced at Bryant, “decided I needed a personal bodyguard. Do you know how hard it is to sneak up on a suspect when you’ve got a uniformed officer following you everywhere?”
Bryant raised his hands in surrender. “Just following orders. And it’s for your safety.”
Tessa rolled her eyes. “If anyone’s going to murder me, they better get in line behind my executive producer.”
