“No, please don’t cancel on my account,” Isabella said, giving Jane a warm smile that made the guilt twist deeper in her stomach. “You need a night off, Jane. You’ve been working so hard on this ballroom.” She turned to Gabe. “We’ll be back at the inn by the time you get home, and I’ll collect the girls then.”
Excitement erupted. Trinity and Maddy immediately started planning what to pack for the sleepover, their voices overlapping as they discussed movies, snacks, and whether they could stay up late.
Jane stood trapped by her own politeness, by Julie’s obvious matchmaking, and by the simple fact that backing out now would be obvious and rude. She forced a smile that felt brittle on her face.
“Sounds great,” she said, and the words sounded hollow evento her own ears.
An hour later, Jane locked the ballroom doors behind her and walked quickly through the inn toward the private entrance that connected to the Christmas family’s house. The separation between the inn and their personal space had always felt important. A boundary between the public face they showed guests and the private lives they led.
Right now, that boundary felt like salvation.
She entered her bedroom and closed the door, leaning against it with her eyes shut. What had she just agreed to? An evening alone with Gabe. Well, the girls would be there, but they were twelve. They’d be so wrapped up in their own excitement that Jane and Gabe would essentially be alone together.
Her heart hammered against her ribs for reasons she absolutely refused to examine.
Jane pushed away from the door and headed for the bathroom. A shower. That’s what she needed. Something to wash away the nervous energy that had been building in her chest since the moment she’d agreed to this outing.
The water ran hot, steam filling the small bathroom until the mirror fogged over completely. Jane stood under the spray and tried to convince herself that she shouldn’t feel excited. Shouldn’t feel anything at all. She’d closed that part of her heart three years ago. It was safer that way. Easier. You couldn’t lose what you didn’t have.
But the water couldn’t wash away the nervous energy thrumming through her veins. Couldn’t erase the memory ofGabe’s quiet competence as he’d untangled lights all afternoon. Couldn’t make her forget the tender way he’d looked at Trinity, the fierce protectiveness in his eyes when he’d offered to include Maddy in their evening.
Jane turned off the water and wrapped herself in a towel, staring at her reflection in the slowly clearing mirror. She looked the same as always. Dark hair plastered to her head. Eyes that her father used to say could see straight through to a person’s soul. The same face she’d been seeing in mirrors her whole life.
Except something felt different tonight.
She walked to her closet and stood there, wrapped in her towel, staring at the contents as if they held the answers to questions she wasn’t ready to ask. Usually, she didn’t care what she wore. Jeans and a sweater, maybe a nicer shirt if they had important guests checking in. Functional. Practical. Done.
Tonight felt different.
Jane pulled out option after option. The blue sweater was too casual. The burgundy one was too dressy. The black one made her look like she was going to a funeral. Why did it matter? It didn’t matter. It shouldn’t matter.
Except it did.
She finally settled on dark jeans and a soft green sweater that Gran had once told her brought out her eyes. She left her hair down instead of pulling it back in her usualponytail and applied minimal makeup with hands that were definitely not shaking.
She was just being presentable. That was all. Nothing more.
The lie felt obvious even to herself.
7
JANE
By the time Jane made her way back to the inn’s lobby, she’d almost convinced herself that she could handle this evening with grace and composure. Then she saw Gabe standing near the entrance with Trinity and Maddy, and her carefully constructed composure cracked.
He looked unfairly handsome in dark jeans and a long-sleeve Henley, charcoal in color that did interesting things to his broad shoulders. He’d thrown a bomber jacket over it, and his dark hair was slightly damp, like he’d recently showered. He’d cleaned up very nicely.
Too nicely.
Jane’s mouth went dry.
The girls chattered excitedly, oblivious to the turmoil of emotions churning inside Jane. They were dressed warmly forthe evening carriage ride, both wearing jeans and thick sweaters with jackets already on.
“Jane!” Trinity spotted her first and waved enthusiastically. “We’re so excited! This is going to be so much fun!”
“I’m sure it will be,” Jane managed, her voice coming out steadier than she felt.
Gabe’s gaze found hers, and something flickered in his expression before he looked away. “I’m taking my mother’s car,” he explained, gesturing to where Holly’s sedan sat in the parking lot. “With this boot, I probably shouldn’t be driving, but it’s automatic, so...”
