“How cute. You blush.” She trilled a laugh. “And here I thought you were the dog walker.”
Gracie didn’t have any idea what to say, but Marshall put his arm around her and guided her to the door.
“Don’t leave Olivia alone for too long, Bianca,” he said as they passed by.
Gracie snagged her jacket from a hook near the door, but he slipped it out of her hands and held it up for her to slide into. As she did, he leaned close to her ear and whispered, “Not that it could be any chillier outside than it is in here.”
She threw a smile over her shoulder and let him lead her out to the sidewalk. They stood there for a moment while she zipped her coat and they both slipped on gloves.
“I certainly wasn’t expecting her,” Gracie said.
He exhaled. “Neither was I. She showed up at Craving Clean a few hours ago, poking around, talking to me…being weird.”
“Weird?”
He closed his eyes as if he didn’t like what he had to say. “She’s up to something,” he told her. “I don’t know what her angle is, but she always has one and she is definitely up to something.”
“Maybe she’s considering asking for more time with Olivia,” Gracie suggested. “You know, a change in custody? More time in L.A.?”
He shook his head. “Just the opposite.” Taking her hand and tucking it protectively into the crook of his arm, he walked to the crosswalk, paused to check for traffic, and then walked them across. “She wants time with me, not Olivia.”
“Maybe she…wants you back.”
He snorted. “That’s not happening.” He slowed his step once they’d crossed, looking down at Gracie. “First things first, Gracie McBride. You look spectacular.”
She felt a huge smile pull. “Thank you.”
“And this date—a little time in town, and a nice dinner at The Lakehouse Grill—is not going to be spoiled by my ex and her secret agenda.”
A secret agenda? How intriguing. But before she could ask, he took her hands in his and drew her closer.
“Let’s forget she’s here and concentrate on what matters—our time together.” He punctuated that with the lightest kiss on her forehead. “I’ve literally been counting the minutes until I could see you.”
She resisted the urge to giggle, but didnotresist the need to stand on the toes of her boots and respond with a lightning-fast kiss on his lips. “For a guy who doesn’t do sugar, that was just about the sweetest thing I ever heard.”
He laughed and hugged her, keeping his arm tightly around her as they strode down the sidewalk…in full view of that window table.
She didn’t know what Bianca’s secret agenda was, but right then, she didn’t care.
The next morning,Gracie woke up smiling.
Not the dainty, demure smile of a shy pastry chef who’d written off the possibility of falling in love again as the stuff of romance novels. No, this was the wide and wonderful Cheshire cat grin of a woman who suddenly believed that love wasn’t just possible…it was right around the corner.
With a shiver, she climbed out of bed and pulled on her fluffiest slippers and coziest robe, inhaling the scents of bacon and coffee that floated up from the kitchen.
“God bless you, Red,” she whispered, eternally grateful her grandfather was an early riser.
She lingered momentarily, gazing out at a snowy world, the rooflines of Snowberry Lodge visible as nothing but a white-on-white blur from this second floor bedroom.
As alluring as the siren call of coffee and bacon might be, she wasn’t quite ready to shake the haze of happiness that had clung to her since last night. She could still taste a long and lovely goodnight kiss, the memory spreading warmth all the way to her toes.
Was that her favorite moment of the night? When Marshall wrapped her in his arms outside of her car, with snowflakes melting on the collar of his coat while she melted in his embrace?
Or was it when he reached across the linen-covered table at The Lakehouse Grill and thumbed her knuckles tenderly, looking at her like she was something rare and wonderful.
Maybe it was when they slipped into a Christmas store and picked a few new ornaments for his tree, the two of them planning a decorating date in a few days.
There’d been so many perfect moments, she felt like she’d been in her own blurred movie montage of laughter, kisses, and deep conversation.
