“Whatever you want, Wynter. I’ll take you however I can get you.” He pulled her close and rested his chin atop her head.
“Good. Because I don’t want Grams to know.”
He frowned but didn’t question her. If she wanted this to be a secret for now, he’d allow it. At least he had Wynter, and she had him. “Okay,” he whispered.
“Okay,” she repeated.
16
WYNTER
The world seemed brighter.
The lights were more vibrant. The reds and greens drew the eye. Even the smell of Christmas seemed heightened.
And all it had taken was allowing herself to let go.
Wynter had always loved Christmas. It was something she looked forward to every single year until that fateful day when she’d made the mistake of kissing Marcus under the mistletoe. After that, she’d felt a little queasy as the holiday neared.
Not anymore.
She pushed her hands into her pockets as she wandered down the sidewalk toward the café. Rose and Morgan wanted to meet for lunch before they planned an outing later this week. Wynter was leaning more toward ice skating, but if she knew Morgan like she thought she did, the girl was going to insist they go to a park and have a snowball fight.
Either way, Wynter would go along with it. Life was good.
She pushed through the doors to the café that Jason managed and immediately looked for him. When she didn’t see him, she settled on a chair in the corner of the small shop and waited. The smell of freshly baked sourdough permeated the air. Along with it was the scent of pastries that made her stomach gurgle.
Laughing quietly to herself, she placed a hand to her stomach. Maybe she’d pick up a croissant for Grams. One that had chocolate filling.
Minutes later, the door burst open, the bell quieter than the loud voices of her friends.
“You’re kidding. Please tell me you didn’t.” Morgan gave Rose a little shove. “You know you shouldn’t egg him on, right? He’s got enough reason to hate you.”
Rose snickered. “I can hold my own. Your brother doesn’t scare me.”
“Yeah, well, maybe he should.” Morgan’s eye caught on Wynter, and she beamed. “Hey, Snowflake. I thought for sure we’d beat you. How’s work going?”
Wynter smiled at her friends. “Great, I guess. Just keeping up on things in between spending time with Grams.” And Marcus, but they didn’t have to get that information right out of the gate. “What about you?”
Morgan motioned to Rose. “This one is trying to start a war between our two families.Again. I keep telling her that she needs to leave Lincoln alone, but apparently she’s having too much fun poking the bear.”
“Uh-oh. What did you do this time?” Wynter laughed.
Rose’s expression morphed into one of innocence. “Oh, you know. Let one of our goats across the fence so he could experience theexceptional grassthat the Meyers’ farm had to offer.” Rose rolled her eyes and gave Morgan an almost apologetic look. “I’m sorry, but your brother is nuts if he thinkshis grass is greener just because it’s on his side of the fence. News flash. Everything is practically dead in December anyway.”
Wynter’s eyes widened as she glanced at Morgan. “And you’re not mad?”
“It’s not really that big of a deal. It’s not like we’re growing anything important right now. Planting season is around the corner, and we’ll be tilling up the space anyway.” Morgan looked thoughtful. “And Rose has a point. My brother has always been a little…” She tapped her chin with her finger.
“Stubborn beyond belief?” Rose offered. “Too big for his britches? High and mighty?”
Wynter and Morgan laughed in unison.
Rose joined in. Wynter hadn’t realized how much she’d missed the friendships she’d had in college. Back then, they’d commiserated on grades and how terrible this professor was compared to that one. Every so often, Wynter would give up a little more information about Marcus, but she’d always brushed off her feelings.
Now, it was impossible to sweep those emotions under the rug. Her friends might not know her as well as they could if she’d let them in, but they knew her enough to see she was working through something heavy.
Rose narrowed her eyes. “Okay, spill. What’s got you all hot and bothered?”
