He chuckled. “Speak for yourself. Since today is Christmas Eve, there will be a Christmas tree lighting on the north side of the lake tonight. I figure everyone will be all bundled up with knitted caps and gloves. Some might even wear a balaclava. I have one if you feel more comfortable using it.”
“A knitted cap with my jacket should do. I don’t think I’ll need part of my face covered,” she said.
“I don’t think so either, since we don’t plan to mingle with the crowd. We can just stand on the outskirts and watch.”
She smiled. “That sounds like fun.” Glancing over at the sofa, she asked, “Did you make it into a bed last night?”
“Yes, and it was pretty comfortable. I was surprised. However, I didn’t have all the roaming space you probably had in that big bed.”
She chuckled and thought of reminding him that he could share the bed as long as he stayed on his side. Although now, she honestly didn’t care if he stayed on his side or not.
There was a knock on the door. Drew went to answer it, and like the night before, he rolled in the serving cart with their food.
**
Drew had told Eden that housekeeping would be coming and suggested they stay away from the mini-lodge for most of the day. After breakfast, they rode mountain bikes to the other side of the mountain. They stopped for lunch at a quaint café surrounded by souvenir shops and gift stores. Other patrons were there, but no one paid them any attention. He figured that it wasn’t likely she’d be recognized all bundled up, with her knitted cap covering most of her head. There was no disguising those green eyes, though.
After lunch, they walked around the shopping area, where he purchased a balaclava and gloves for her. Not far from where the café and shops were located, a holiday fair was being held by the Cherokee Indian Tribe, who’d originally made their home near the Smoky Mountains. Both he and Eden had enjoyed seeing the women design pottery, beadwork, weave baskets, and make jewelry, and they’d loved being entertained by Cherokee music. Lastly, they had visited an arcade, where they had spent time playing several games.
Finally, they had returned to the lodge for the lighting of the Christmas tree. After trying the different foods that had been served, they declared themselves full and made their way back to their suite.
“Did you enjoy yourself, Eden?”
She smiled at him. Drew didn’t think he would ever get used to that smile. Considering how the past few days had been for her–on the run from her overbearing, controlling father- he was glad she could relax enough to smile.
He appreciated that. And although his response to her request yesterday hadn’t been what she had wanted, she seemedto be taking it in stride, not developing an attitude like some women he knew did, when things didn’t go their way. She hadn’t brought it up today. If he hadn’t had her words memorized, he might have thought he had imagined the entire incident.
“It was wonderful! I hadn’t expected to be gone all day, but I loved it. And the tree lighting was magical. The food afterwards was a nice surprise.”
He opened the door and then stood aside to let her in.
“A Christmas tree!”
He smiled when she saw the reason he had intentionally kept her from the mini-lodge all day. “You like it?”
“I love it! Where did it come from, Drew?”
He had seen her smile before. She’d done so several times today. However, the expression of sheer joy on her face let him know all his planning had been well worth it. “I ordered it this morning and arranged for someone to deliver it and decorate it. I’m surprised you didn’t suspect anything. It wasn’t easy keeping you away from here all day.”
She threw her head back and laughed. “No, I didn’t suspect anything. I just thought since it was Christmas Eve, you wanted to get out of the lodge for a while.” She looked back at the tree. “And it’s a real one.”
“Of course it’s a real one. What other kind are there?”
“The kind my parents had. Of course, it was tall and beautiful, but it wasn’t real. We’ve never had a real tree.”
Drew thought that was sad. They’d only ever had a real tree when he’d been growing up. Walleen would not have allowed a fake Christmas tree in her house. It was a holiday ritual for his dad to buy a Christmas tree the day after Thanksgiving, and then they would spend the weekend decorating it. It was the only activity Drew recalled that he and his parents ever did together as a family.
She moved around the tree, looking at the ornaments and all the twinkling lights, touching them as if she were truly fascinated. “I thought about asking them to just get a tree, so you could decorate it, but I figured it would be late afternoon by the time we got back. So I asked them to go ahead and decorate it as well.”
She looked up at him. “That’s fine. I’ve never decorated a Christmas tree before anyway. I would not have known what to do.”
He was surprised by that. “All you do is hang the ornaments and then wrap the lights around the tree. Didn’t you ever help your parents decorate your Christmas tree? Even if it was a fake one?”
“No. They didn’t even decorate it. They hired a company that came in with the tree and decorations. Then, a few days after Christmas, their truck would return and take it down. Christmas is my favorite holiday, and I’ve always said that when I get married and have a family, I’ll have a real tree and decorate it with my family.” She touched a few more of the ornaments. “I can’t believe you did this.”
“What would Christmas be without a tree?” he asked, coming to stand beside her. “I figured since the two of us couldn’t spend Christmas with our families, we would make the most of it here. I even got popcorn to eat while we watch your favorite holiday movie. I checked the TV Guide andIt’s a Wonderful Lifeis coming on at nine.”
She turned to him, and there was that huge smile again. Then he noticed how close they were standing, right in front of the tree. When Charlie had suggested that he add a couple of sprigs of mistletoe to the decorations, Drew had flat-out refused. His only intent had been to make sure that all she’d been going through wouldn’t dampen her enjoyment of the holidays. Nothing more. Although he would admit, he’d never cared abouthow any other woman felt. Why had he gone out of his way for her? Why, while jogging this morning, did he decide that he wanted to do something nice for her?
