Aiden grinned. “Well, you moved me, and I know plenty of others who now want to hear more. You should have heard the people talking about your playing. I was so proud, and so were Hadley and my parents.”
“Thank you, Aiden. Thank you so much for supporting me and letting me give Hadley lessons. She’s so good already, a total natural, and I think she’ll be playing better than me in no time.”
The smile he wore made my heart trip over itself. There was nothing sexier than a father who loved his daughter.
After stopping for gas, Aiden said, “I’ve got one more stop.”
A few minutes later, I frowned when we pulled into a store parking lot. “What are we doing? Nothing’s open, Aiden. It’s Christmas Eve.”
“Dalton needed to give me a report on the roads in the park.”
“Oh,” I said, as I belatedly noticed Dalton’s truck. I waved. He had his window rolled down, and he waved back. Turning my attention to my phone, I pulled up an app to see if the gift I’d ordered for Aiden had been delivered today. I sighed in relief when I saw it had been. I quickly texted Patty and asked her to put it in my apartment so Aiden wouldn’t see it.
After a few minutes, Aiden came running back to the truck. He jumped in and shook his body. “Brrr. Man, it is cold outside.”
“Aiden, look! It’s starting to snow. I’ve never seen it snow on Christmas Eve. Or Christmas Day.”
“Stay with us tonight.”
My head swiveled to look at him. “What about Hadley?”
“You can sleep in the guest room. I know she wants to be able to wake you on Christmas morning. Please, Emma.”
The way his blue eyes sparkled, and his boyish grin made butterflies dance in my stomach, there was no way I could deny him.
“Okay, I’ll stay the night.”
“And if I happen to sneak into your room to say good night, we’ll just have to be quiet."
I gave him a warning look. “Aiden.”
“Emma,” he replied.
“Would it be crazy for me to ask you to pull over again so we can make out in the truck?”
He laughed. “We should probably get to the house. I’m sure Hadley is ready to start all the traditions.”
“Oh, I love traditions. I always dreamed of having my own at Christmas.”
Reaching for my hand, he drew it to his mouth. “Then lucky for you we’re starting some new ones this year.”
I couldn’t help the smile that spread over my face.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
EMMA
TRADITIONS
Aiden pulled up and parked in the driveway. He’d been having me park in the garage so that in the mornings, Hadley and I wouldn’t have to fight with the snow and cold weather. The other bay of his garage was set up with workout equipment. I could definitely confirm that Aiden used the weightsa lot.
“So what are some of your traditions?” I asked as Aiden opened my door and took my hand.
“Hot chocolate, s’mores, and we usually watchThe Polar Express.”
“What’s the movie about?”
Aiden stopped walking, and I nearly ran into him. “You’ve never watchedThe Polar Express?”
