Leah hadn’t spent much time out in the snow, and if she didn’t take advantage now, it might very well be melted by tomorrow. “I will get ready and meet you outside.”
Cecily rushed in and Miranda trailed just behind her.
“Do you think Mama will have mistletoe this year?” Cecily asked with a twinkle in her eye. She walked over to Leah’s bed, flopping back onto it.
“You are not thinking of stealing a kiss this year are you? The Cluetts will be coming to Christmas dinner.” Leah walked to her wardrobe, grabbing her warmest cloak.
Cecily shook her head as she looked up to the white canopy over Leah’s bed. “Me? Heavens no. I cannot even bear the thought. But I had noticed you and Owen seemed to be getting along rather well, and youareof age.”
Leah stopped with one arm half-way into her sleeve, glancing back at her sister. “As are you.”
Cecily waved her off, choosing to ignore the implication.
“Please tell me you have no expectations of Owen and me.” And then to Leah’s shock and horror, the vivid image of herself and Owen kissing came to the forefront of her mind. Surely it was natural after her sister’s mentioning of it. It was the same as someone mentioning a frog and then the picture simply forms in your mind. Leah did not reallywantit to happen. But how did she make the thought go away?
Leah yanked her cloak off, suddenly overwhelmed with warmth. “I shall put this on outside. It is rather stuffy in here.” She draped it over her arm, striding to the door where Rose stood with a conspiring grin.
“I am not warm,” Miranda said. She stepped farther into the room.
“Let us go outside, hm?” Leah insisted.
Rose rolled onto the tips of her toes before slinking back onto her heels. “I think you love Owen.”
Leah burst out of the room, grabbing Rose’s arm, pulling her into the hall and towards the back stairs. “Rather the opposite actually.”
Footsteps followed as Miranda and Cecily hastened to catch up. Miranda came up beside Leah, taking her arm. “But he is so handsome. Do you not think he is handsome?”
Leah rolled her eyes. “I suppose I must admit he has a certain symmetry to his features that some might find attractive.”
Rose was barely keeping up with Leah’s determined pace, her little voice coming from somewhere behind them. “Symmetry? What about his face is symmetrical?”
Leah let out a sigh, slowing her steps. She kept her voice low as she pulled on her thick gloves. “His eyes are a good distance apart.”
“You are overthinking it. Being attractive is not mathematical.” Miranda crossed her arms. “I spend enough time on arithmetic as it is. I do not need it to be involved in matters of the heart.”
Cecily laughed. “Matters of the heart? You are only thirteen, Miranda.”
“And even I, as a very young lady, can tell you that finding someone attractive has nothing to do with symmetry of features. It has to do with the way they make you feel.”
The girls stopped just short of the back door and Leah threw on her cloak. “Enough of this talk. Now let us get outside and collect some trimmings for the table.” She glanced at her youngest sister and nearly groaned. “Where is your cloak, Rose?”
Rose touched her shoulder, as if she just now realized she was not properly dressed to be out of doors. “Oh, I seem to have forgotten it.”
Miranda tossed her hair. “Perhaps you became distracted bysomeoneneeding to discuss arithmetic.”
“All right, you and Cecily get outside.” Leah grabbed their arms, leading them to the door at the end of the hall where they gave her a parting smile before exiting into the bright white outdoors. Leah strode back to Rose. “And you need to go and get your cloak.”
“I will be back quicker than a dog on the hunt!” And then she turned and ran down the hall.
Leah waited by the door, pulling up her hood and peering out the small window. Eventually, she heard muffled footsteps and turned, expecting to see her sister.
But it was someone much different. Someone that she could no longer see without thinking of kissing him under the mistletoe due to her meddling little sisters.
“Owen.” Leah tried to say his name with as much indifference as she could muster. She had years of practice, she only needed to distract herself from thoughts of his lips being on hers.
He gave her an amused grin, stopping short of their exit. “Leah.”
Could he read her face? Did he know where her thoughts were? He was quite clever, much as she hated to admit it, but he was certainly not a mind reader. There was no way to know what she was thinking unless she said the words aloud, which she never planned to do. Never, ever, ever.
