“Well, he used to call you Tinker Bell.”
“Exactly. A girl who hangs out with a boy who never wants to grow up. Need I say more? I’m not like you. I’ve never wanted nor tried to find Prince Charming. And now that I have…”
“Will is your Prince Charming?”
Kelsey’s mouth parted in surprise. “Did I say that?”
“You did.”
“I didn’t mean it.” Whatever she felt about Will had to stop. Maybe when she got back to LA she could throw herself a pity party. Send out invitations, order an obscene amount of chocolate—ice cream, cake, cookies, and candy.
“You can’t let this chance pass you by,” Christina encouraged. “You have to tell him how you feel.”
“How can I do that when I’m not even sure myself?”
“Are you in love with him?”
“Love?” Kelsey’s voice cracked. “It can’t be love.”
Love drove couples to marry. Love brought her parents so much misery and heartache. Love was the one thing she wasn’t looking for. A lump formed in Kelsey’s throat.
But she didn’t know how to describe the new feelings coming to life within her, her heightened senses that made snowflakes come alive, the perpetual smile on her face when she thought about Will.
It couldn’t be love.
Could it?
* * *
The wind howled, but Will couldn’t see anything outside the window except a blanket of white falling from the sky. No moon, no stars, no trees, no mountains. Only snow. Lots and lots of snow. At least Kelsey would be happy since she seemed to like the white stuff. And with Faith and Trent and Hope due in tomorrow for the rehearsal, Will hoped the storm passed by morning.
Wanting to keep busy, he opened a bottle of merlot and placed it on the coffee table next to a plate of cheese and crackers. With the push of a button, music filled the living room. He added a log to the fireplace and stoked the fire until it blazed.
Above the music, footsteps sounded on the stairs. Kelsey had been upstairs squirreled away, hard at work as usual. He hadn’t seen her since returning from his parents’ house after dinner.
Will turned away from the window and sucked in a breath. Kelsey stood in the doorway, a shy smile on her lips. She wore her hair down, the way he liked best, and the strands gleamed in the light. Even from this distance, he could smell her perfume.
She took a step toward him. “How’d it go?”
He didn’t know how a woman could make a pair of black jeans and a white turtleneck look like high fashion, but Kelsey did. “My mom walked the entire length of the living room.”
Kelsey joined him at the window. “That’s wonderful.”
He nodded. “She told us to hold our applause until she goes up the stairs.”
Kelsey smiled. “That sounds like Starr.”
“You think so?”
It was Kelsey’s turn to nod. “You sound surprised.”
He shrugged. This wasn’t something he felt comfortable talking about, but with Kelsey…even the uncomfortable seemed easy. “She seems so different now.”
“There will be differences, but it could have been a lot worse.”
“Still seems pretty bad to me.” He stared at the fireplace. Once, his mother had been like those flames. Warm and full of energy. “And…”
Kelsey touched his shoulder. “What?”
