But now…
Now I have this man, this handsome, brave, thoughtful man, right here. Wanting to take me out. Wanting to get to know me better. Bringing me flowers, and from the looks of the smaller bouquet in his left hand…
“What’s that for?” I ask, angling my head at it. I think I know. But I don’t want to assume.
Ronan glances at the small assortment of blue carnations and baby’s breath. Then he flashes me a quick smile that looks almost nervous. “They’re for Haley. While I was buying your flowers, I started thinking… Well, she might like flowers, too.”
My heart goes all gooey. “She’ll love them, Ronan. And blue is her favorite color.”
His cheeks flush darker. “She mentioned that. While we were skiing.”
Before I can respond, the wind picks up, bringing with it a whirl of snow. Without the buffer of a coat, I shiver.
“Let’s get out of the cold,” Ronan says. He puts his arm around my shoulders and leads me back inside. Once he shuts the door behind us, he turns to face me. That cutely nervous expression moves across his face again. “Are you sure it’s okay that I got Haley flowers? I just thought, since I was getting them for you… I didn’t want her to feel left out.”
Then he glances around my small living room, as if he’s expecting Haley to come charging out at any moment. “Is she here?”
“No,” I reply. Taking the smaller bouquet from him, I gesture for Ronan to follow me into the kitchen. “She’s already at the babysitter’s.” Then I set the flowers on the counter so I can search for the vases I know must be stashed somewhere in my cabinets. “She wanted to stay to say hi to you. But I was afraid she’d talk so much we’d never make it to dinner.”
As I find one slightly dusty vase, then another, Ronan takes them from me and brings them over to the sink. While he rinses them, he asks, “Is she with Hazel? Alec didn’t mention anything when I saw him earlier today, but he doesn’t always know what Hazel’s planning.”
“No, she’s with my neighbor. Miranda. She’s my usual babysitter, so I thought it would be easier. Plus, Miranda has two dogs, who Haley loves. So whenever Miranda watches Haley, I usually send Haley over there.”
“I see.” His expression turns speculative. Though I’m not sure, given Ronan’s protective tendencies, he’s probably doing a mental run-through of everyone he knows in town to make sure Miranda’s on the up and up.
“Miranda’s great,” I say. While I set the bouquets in the vases, I add, “She works at the daycare in town. And she’s takingonline classes to become a teacher. I’ve known her for… gosh. Ten years? I never worry about leaving Haley with her.”
Well, maybe I worry a little. But isn’t that what moms do? Worry no matter how reassuring the circumstances?
“That’s good,” he replies. “I’m glad you have someone like that to rely on.”
“Yeah.” I arrange the vases on the counter so they’re the first thing Haley will see when she comes into the kitchen. She’ll be thrilled to find out one of them is for her, and even more so when I tell her they’re from Ronan. Already at near-hero status from his association with the Green Mountain Guardians, the ski lesson propelled him the rest of the way there.
Now, I can’t go an hour without hearing something about Ronan. Things like, “Did you know Ronan was Special Forces? That means he’s the very best in all of the Army.” Or, “Ronan can give people stitches. And perform CPR. Did you know that? Isn’t that cool?”
I don’t mind it. I think Ronan’s pretty awesome, too.
But whenever I find myself thinking about Ronan—recalling his smile or the sparkle in his eyes when he cracked a joke or the feel of his lips against mine—a scared, insecure voice in my head whispers,What if it’s a mistake, letting him in? What if he hurts you, just like Justin did? What if he hurts Haley?
I don’t have the answer to any of those questions. And if it were anyone else, I might let the scared voice scare me away.
But it’s Ronan.
And though I know it’s a risk, my heart tells me to take it.
“So.” Ronan closes the distance between us and takes my hand. “Are you ready to go? Our reservation’s for six-thirty. Unless you’d rather not go out in the cold. I can always cancel it, and we can order delivery instead. Stay in and watch a movie.”
A beat later, his lips quirk. “We could even watch a movie thatisn’tabout Christmas.”
With a light laugh, I bump his arm with mine. “Ihavebeen watching a lot of Christmas movies lately. So that does sound appealing. But I’ve been looking forward to dinner at The Laughing Goat. So as long as you’re okay with it…”
His arm comes around me again, hugging me closer. Flares of heat erupt at the contact. “I’m definitely okay with it, Angel.” Then he dips his head towards mine, and I hear an almost inaudible sniff.
“Did you justsmellme?” I ask as we walk back into the living room.
“Hmm?” Ronan releases me and hurries over to the line of coat hooks near the front door. He takes my pink puffer jacket off the hook and shoots me a questioning look. “Is this the one you want to wear?”
“Actually, the black one.” I nod at the black wool coat hanging a few hooks over. It’s not nearly as warm, but it’s dressier. And I think it’ll go better with my dressy jeans—yes, I’m aware that sounds like an oxymoron, but the pair I’m wearing are darker and more fitted than the ones I usually wear—and the sparkly petal-pink sweater I found at Bargains n’ Bliss yesterday at seventy-five percent off.
