“You are?” Eloise asked, looking flabbergasted.
“No, no,” Allie said. “You two go swing. We can play after I chat with your dad, Maya. And maybe Eloise will want to play too.”
“Okay,” Maya said, and the two girls took off for the playground equipment at the corner of the park.
“Shall we go up to the pavilion so we can keep an eye on them?” she asked Ash.
“Sure,” he said with an amused half-smile.
“What?” she asked as she jogged up the steps.
“Just seems like a romantic spot,” he said, shrugging.
“It is, isn’t it?” she said, looking around the beautiful pavilion. It was hung with pine boughs, holly branches, and twinkly white lights for the holidays.
Allie had pictured herself standing up here with her true love about a million times when she was a teenager. She and the faceless man of her dreams would stand on the pavilion and he would propose, like she was the heroine of a Christmas movie.
Probably every girl in Sugarville Grove had the same fantasy. But real life sometimes turned your dreams on their heads. Standing here with her pretend fiancé was probably as close as she was going to get to hers.
She moved to the far end so they could keep Maya and Eloise in their line of sight.
The two girls were on the swings, talking and laughing. It warmed Allie’s heart to see how beautifully Maya had turned a tough situation and a mistake into a chance at a friendship.
“I’m so proud of her,” Ash said quietly.
She turned to find him gazing at the girls too.
“She’s wonderful,” Allie said, nodding. “You’ve done such a great job with her.”
“Not always,” he said, his smile disappearing. “But I’m going to do better now. Moving here was thefirst step.”
“That’s a big first step,” Allie said.
“It was the right one,” he said, nodding to the girls, who were off the swings now and taking turns on the slide.
Allie smiled.
“I have to thank you,” Ash said, his tone serious. “What you did yesterday… no one has ever done anything like that for me.”
She turned to look at him, thinking he might be teasing, but his expression told her he meant it. The big man looked humbled by her impulsive act of kindness.
“It was my pleasure,” she said. “But we need to figure out how to get out of it now. Maybe we can pretend to break up.”
“Do youwantto pretend to break up?” Ash asked her.
His voice was a low rumble in her ear and when she met his dark eyes she felt a funny little rush, like lightning was about to strike.
“No,” she heard herself murmur.
What am I saying?
The corner of Ash’s mouth tugged up slightly, like he was happy with her answer.
“Then I have another idea,” he said. “I know that keeping this going through the holidays is more than you signed up for. You asked for help with the greenhouse for the school, and I’ll take care of all that. But let me also do something just for you. Whatever you want.”
Allie’s romantic feelings faded and she felt an awful twinge of guilt.
“You’ve already been more than generous,” she said. “But I couldn’t ask for anything more. And honestly, Iwasn’t planning to hold you to what you already offered with the greenhouse. I know times are tight right now, for everyone.”
