“You too,” he mumbled as sleep claimed him.
For a moment, she stood beside his bed watching him sleep. Then she tiptoed out of his room and pulled the door closed just so, then she headed downstairs.
Daniel joined her a moment later. “That surprise took a lot out of them.”
“Out of all of us,” Holly agreed, settling onto the sofa. “But it was worth it to see your face.”
Daniel moved to the cabinet beside the fireplace and returned with two glasses and a bottle of bourbon. “Nightcap?” he offered, already pouring amber liquid into the first glass.
“Perfect,” she replied, accepting the glass he extended. Their fingers brushed, the brief contact sending a now-familiar spark up her arm. Did he feel it too? Or was it one-sided? She needed to know.
Daniel lowered himself onto the sofa beside her, close enough that she could feel the warmth radiating from him. The firelight played across his features, softening the lines of fatigue around his eyes, highlighting the strong angle of his jaw. He looked utterly drained, but there was something else there too…a vulnerability, a question.
Perhaps he needed answers too.
He took a small sip of bourbon, then set his glass on the coffee table. When he turned to face her, his expression was serious, intent.
“Holly,” he began, his voice low and slightly rough. “There’s something I need to tell you. Something I need toshowyou.”
The air between them seemed to sharpen, charged with expectation. Holly’s pulse quickened, her body tensing in anticipation. This was it—the conversation they’d been dancing around for days. The one that would determine whether this beautiful, accidental life they’d stumbled into could actually become real.
Her future—their future—hanging in the balance.
But before Daniel could continue, a small voice floated down from upstairs.
“Hooooolly? I can’t find Mr. Tops!” Teddy’s plaintive call broke the moment. Holly set her glass down immediately, risingto her feet. She placed a gentle hand on Daniel’s arm, feeling the solid warmth of him beneath her palm.
“I’ve got him,” she said. “Don’t move.”
Daniel nodded, the corners of his mouth lifting in a tired smile. “Thanks.”
Holly climbed the stairs, her mind still buzzing with anticipation of what Daniel had been about to say. She found Teddy sitting up in bed, his hair already sticking up at odd angles.
“He was here a minute ago,” Teddy said, looking around.
“Here he is.” Holly leaned down and retrieved the triceratops from the floor. “He must have been off on an adventure.”
Teddy nodded, his small face relaxing. “I like adventures. Do you?”
“I do,” Holly murmured, smoothing his hair back from his forehead. “I think meeting you in the snowstorm was one of the best adventures of my life.”
“You did look like a princess,” Teddy murmured. “But now you look like a mom.”
His words struck her like a physical blow. “A mom?” she repeated, her throat suddenly tight.
Teddy nodded, his eyelids already drooping again. “You make the best lunches. And you know where lost things are. And you smell nice. Like cookies.”
Holly swallowed past the lump in her throat. “That’s very sweet, Teddy. Now close your eyes and go to sleep.”
“’Kay,” he mumbled, already drifting off, his breathing deepening almost instantly.
Holly stood watching him for a moment, her heart beating painfully against her ribs.Amom.Much better than a princess or a bride.
Tears pricked her eyes, and she took a moment to compose herself before she crept back downstairs, her mind returning to Daniel and whatever important revelation he’d been about to share. Had he been about to ask her to stay? To tell her how he felt? The possibility made her heart ache.
But when she reached the living room, the words she’d rehearsed in her head died on her lips. The bourbon glasses sat untouched on the coffee table, and Daniel had slumped sideways into the nest of blankets, utterly and completely asleep.
She longed to wake him. To ask him what he’d wanted to tell her, to show her. But his expression was so peaceful, the lines of stress smoothed away. One arm was flung outward as if reaching for something—or someone—while his chest rose and fell in the deep, even rhythm of exhaustion.
