Page 44

Ten o’clock.

Nicole would be arriving any moment, and they had a full schedule ahead of them—a tricky rewiring job at the historical society and then several houses that had appointments for Christmas lighting.

Despite that, he could easily leave Nicole at the office to handle scheduling and phone calls. In fact, it would probably be the more efficient use of their time. At this point, they were ahead of schedule on jobs now that he had the extra help. She’d gotten remarkably good at managing the administrative side of the business, which was where he didn’t shine, and there was always paperwork that needed attention.

But Henry found himself making excuses to bring her along on the jobs instead.

He needed her help with the rewiring, he’d told himself that morning while planning their day. It was a two-person job, after all. Never mind that he’d done similar projects by himself countless times before. And the lighting displays would go faster with an extra pair of hands. After all, that was why he’d been able to keep up in the first place.

But the truth was much simpler, actually. He just wanted to be near her.

Since their kiss by the fireplace on Saturday evening, Henry had found his thoughts drifting to Nicole at the most inconvenient times. While replacing a circuit breaker, he’d remember the way her eyes had looked in the firelight. While reviewing his accounts, he’d catch himself smiling at the memory of her laugh. And last night he’d replayed their conversation over and over, hearing her say that she’d wanted him to kiss her, feeling the warmth of her in his arms.

It had been so long since he’d felt this way about anyone. So long since Daisy’s passing that he’d almost forgotten what it was like to count down the minutes until he could see someone again or feel his heart skip when he heard a familiar voice. He was falling for her, and he was worried that he was just going to get his heart broken in the end, when she inevitably left. But he told himself that this was an exercise in opening himself up to love again. If it wasn’t Nicole, perhaps it could be someone else, in the future. He was learning to take steps forward, and that was what really mattered.

He also really, really hoped that she would decide to stay.

The bell above the shop door chimed, and Henry looked up to see Nicole stepping inside, bringing with her a gust of cold December air and the scent of vanilla and jasmine. She was wearing the perfume again, he realized, and his cheeks colored slightly.

She was dressed for the job, in her work coat and boots with thick jeans and a cable-knit sweater, and he felt his mouth twitch with amusement at the memory of how she’d started out those first few days. When her eyes caught his, the smile that spread across her face made his grow brighter too, as his chest tightened warmly.

“Good morning,” Nicole said, unwinding her scarf as she approached the counter. “Sorry I’m a couple minutes late. I got caught up talking to Christopher about the holiday decorations at the B&B. He wants to add even more lights to the front porch, if you can believe it.”

“The man does love his Christmas lights,” Henry said, returning her smile. He tried to keep his voice casual and professional, as if his heart wasn’t currently doing acrobatics in his chest. “Are you ready to head out? We’ve got that rewiring job first thing, and then⁠—”

“Actually,” Nicole interrupted, and there was something in her tone that made Henry pause. She was nervous, he realized. Her hands fidgeted with the strap of her bag, and she wasn’t quite meeting his eyes. “Before we go, I have something for you.”

Henry watched as she reached into her bag and pulled out a neatly folded object wrapped in tissue paper. She held it out to him, and he saw her bite her lip nervously.

“I made this for you,” Nicole said softly. “I hope you like it.”

Henry took the package carefully, his fingers brushing against hers. The tissue paper crinkled as he unfolded it, and then he was holding a knitted hat in his hands—a beautiful, expertly crafted hat in a deep forest green that reminded him of the pine trees that surrounded Fir Tree Grove. The stitches were tight and even, forming an intricate cable pattern that must have taken hours to complete. It was thick and sturdy too, clearly designed for warmth as well as aesthetics.

Henry stared at the hat, unable to speak. His throat had gone tight, and he found himself blinking rapidly against the sudden sting in his eyes.

“I always notice that the one you have doesn’t stay over your ears while you’re working,” Nicole said, rushing to fill the silence. Her words came out in a nervous tumble. “You’re always adjusting it, and I thought—well, I thought you must be cold. So I made sure this one would fit properly. The brim is deeper, and I used a tighter stitch around the edges so it’ll stay in place. And I chose this color because it seemed like something you’d wear, not too flashy but nice, and⁠—”

She stopped abruptly when Henry looked up at her. What she saw in his face made her own expression soften.

“Henry?” she said gently. “Are you okay?”

“Nicole,” Henry managed, his voice rough with emotion. “This is… I don’t know what to say.”

It wasn’t just the hat, although the hat itself was beautiful and clearly made with great care. It was the thoughtfulness behind it. The fact that she’d noticed something as small as his ill-fitting hat, that she’d paid attention to such a minor detail of his daily life. The fact that she’d taken the time—hours and hours of time, judging by the complexity of the pattern—to create something specifically for him, something designed to keep him warm and comfortable while he worked.

It had been so long since he’d had anyone do something like that for him. He hadn’t realized how much he missed it until exactly that moment.

“I wanted to thank you,” Nicole said softly. “For everything you’ve done for me since I came to Fir Tree Grove. For giving me a job when I desperately needed one, for teaching me about your business, for being patient with me when I got tangled in Christmas lights.” She smiled at that, but her eyes were serious. “For making me feel welcome here. For making me feel like I matter.”

“You do matter,” Henry said immediately. “Nicole, you—” He stopped, trying to collect his thoughts, trying to find the right words. “Thank you. Thank you for taking the time to make this. It means more to me than you know.”

Nicole’s smile widened, but she still looked nervous. She took a breath, as if gathering her courage. “If I’m being honest, while I was knitting it, I was sorting through my feelings about you with every stitch.”

Henry’s heart stopped. Or at least it felt like it stopped. The shop seemed to fall away around them, the world narrowing to just Nicole’s face, the way she was looking at him. He couldn’t tell if he was about to get his heart broken or if everything was going to open up into a new, exciting future.

“I’ve been confused,” Nicole continued, her voice soft but steady. “About what I was feeling, about what I wanted, about whether I was ready to open my heart again after everything that happened with my ex-husband. I told you on Saturday that I was having trouble piecing together exactly how I felt, and that was true. But I’ve been thinking about it constantly since then.”

She paused, and Henry held his breath, afraid to move.