When we got to the bed, I took off the teddy, pulled back the bedding, and crawled under the blankets. Luke followed me in, reached back to turn the lamp off, then pulled me into his arms.
I’d never felt so satiated, content, and taken care of in my life. I drifted off within seconds.
The next morning, minutes after Luke left at quarter till six, I stretched out in my warm bed, my body pleasantly sore from multiple rounds over the course of the night. The sex had been incredible, creative, and infused with laughter and conversation, which was yet another thing I’d never experienced before.
We’d talked for hours about deep topics and silly ones. We’d even managed to catch a little bit of sleep, though I worried about how he’d get through his full day of work.
He was so good to me. It was like he’d said. We were good together.
As I started to get drowsy, a thought popped up in my mind: When it has seemed too good to be true in your life, it always has been.
I forced myself to dismiss the thought and succumbed to another hour or two of slumber.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Luke
The evening of the Earthly Charm open house, a light, fluffy snow fell gently on downtown Dragonfly Lake. The temperature hovered around freezing, but the ground was warm enough that the snow wasn’t sticking or becoming a nuisance. Even though I wasn’t much of a shopper, I could admit it was the ideal effect to put someone in the mood for holiday shopping.
“Can I get a present for Miss Magnolia?” Addie asked me as we walked down the sidewalk toward the store.
“That might be pretty tricky tonight,” I told her. “Miss Magnolia will be here the whole time since she’s the party planner.”
“Maybe we could do it in secret?” my daughter asked.
“If not, we can come back when she’s not here, so keep your eyes open for what you want to give her.”
As we approached the door, I could see lots of people inside through the festive window displays, exactly as Magnolia and the owners had hoped for. I took Addie’s hand and opened the door.
“Welcome to Earthly Charm, guys,” Harper said as we entered. “Hello, Addie. I love your llama hat.”
“Thank you,” my daughter said. “It’s white like Esmerelda.”
“It looks exactly like Esmerelda,” Harper said. “Thanks for coming to our party. Help yourself to any of our goodie stations, you two. We’ve got a hot cocoa station, hot cider, a cookie station, and candle making.”
“Cookies!” Addie said, looking up at me.
“We’ll get there,” I told her. “This looks like an early success,” I said to Harper.
She nodded, her eyes sparkling. “Lots of people so far. Be sure to hit the photo op area and take a pic with the reindeer.”
“Is it real?” Addie asked.
Harper bent down to her level. “It’s just a statue. We couldn’t bring a real reindeer inside, so you have to pretend.”
“Can we, Daddy?”
“We’ll get a photo with the reindeer,” I said, grinning at her wide eyes. “After cocoa?”
“Yes!”
Harper pointed us toward the cocoa station, then greeted Loretta and Dotty, who came in behind us.
As we headed for the cocoa setup in the corner, I scanned the room for Magnolia. When I spotted her near the checkout counter overseeing the raffle basket, my heart pumped faster, more like a teenager with a crush than a man who’d been sleeping with her for several weeks and knew her inside and out.
Tonight she wore a plum-colored party dress with sheer sleeves, a deep V-neck that teased me with her cleavage, and sparkles everywhere. I wondered if it concealed another brain-scrambling lingerie surprise beneath it. If I was lucky, I’d have the chance to find out.
I watched her until she glanced my way, enjoying the zing of connection when our gazes met. She smiled and waved before turning her attention to Ava Henry, who looked to be entering the raffle.
