“Here we are,” she said suddenly, perking up as he drove them past the sign and down the drive to the farm.
“You’ll be well-behaved, right?” he said. “And you’ll do whatever Mr. and Mrs. Lawrenceask you to?”
“Yes, Daddy,” Maya sang out, already squirming in her seat.
“Okay then,” he told her. “We’ll park a little far away from the house so you can run.”
“So we canrace,” she corrected him with a mischievous smile.
“Okay,” he allowed. “So we can race.”
He helped her out and she was off like a shot, her boots crunching on the snowy gravel.
He jogged after her just fast enough for her to feel that it was a real race. No way was he not going to let her win when she was so excited.
“Well, hello there,” Maggie Lawrence said as she stepped out onto the porch, a big smile on her face.
Allie’s mom was beautiful with her warm smile and her pretty Christmas apron. Her long hair was pulled back, but Ash imagined that when it was down, she looked even more like her daughter.
Will I get to see if Allie looks like that one day?
He frowned, not liking how sentimental his thoughts were. He had made a decision to pursue things with Allie, not just a pretend relationship, but a real one too.
But that didn’t mean he was letting his guard down, not after Libby. It was one thing to have a calm, adult relationship. It was another to spend the whole week dreaming about a kiss, or picturing himself with the woman thirty years from now.
Pull it together, Tailor,he scolded himself.
Maya reached Maggie, who bent to wrap her arms around her, and Allie stepped out from behind them just as Ash made it onto the porch.
He’d found her beautiful from the first time he saw her, as much for her intelligence and kindness as for her outer attractiveness.
But tonight, she was beautiful on a whole other level.
“Wow,” he heard himself say softly as he took her in.
She was wearing a blue sweater dress that brought out her eyes. A soft-looking suede belt cinched her small waist, and her golden hair was down loose around her shoulders.
“Hi,” she said softly, her cheeks so pink he figured it had to be from his schoolboy-ishwowand not the cold wind.
“You look lovely,” he told her, doing his best to pull himself together.
“Thank you,” she said. “You too.”
Then she giggled at her own awkwardness and Ash laughed too.
Maya laughed right along with them, even though he was pretty sure she had no idea why they were laughing.
“Come on in, Maya,” Maggie said. “Let’s get you settled. And you kids have fun. Drive safely.”
“We will,” Ash promised.
He waited while Allie ducked back inside for her coat and purse, and when she came out, he offered her his hand.
She looked a little surprised, but she took it, and they made their way carefully down the steps to the driveway.
“Sorry I parked a little far from the house,” he said.
“Don’t be,” Allie said. “It’s nice to stretch our legs. How was your day?”
