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“Yes! Only a couple times, but I love it.”

“Excellent.”

They passed around a pot of jasmine tea and waited as Donna selected dishes for the table from a cart pushed by one of the servers. The conversation flowed easily around her as Arden feasted on pork buns, doughy shrimp rolls, and spinach dumplings. She half expected someone to ask her more questions, to put her in the spotlight again, but no one did. She was free to enjoy the delicious meal, listen to the family’s banter, and exchange the occasional whispered aside with Sam.

After Donna and Doyle emphatically refused Arden’s offer to chip in toward the bill, they all drove to the movie theater. Arden shared a popcorn, a box of Junior Mints, and a Sprite with Sam. She lost herself completely in the action-packed yet tender and funny movie about a man who was lost in space. When they stepped outside afterward, it was pitch-black except for the festive lights on the buildings around them, and the air was frosty with the promise of more snow. Arden waved goodbye and thanked the Kellers for letting her join them.

When they were alone, Sam turned to her and held both of her hands.

“Thank you,” Arden said. “This was the best Christmas I’ve had in years.”

“And we didn’t even celebrate Christmas.”

“We did. Your way.”

“It was the best one I’ve had in years, too.” Sam gazed at her. Arden saw something like nervousness in the crinkle of his blue eyes. “I really enjoy hanging out with you, Arden.”

And here she’d thought that her Christmas couldn’t get better.

“The feeling is mutual.” Arden pulled Sam’s hands against her torso and kissed him. When they broke apart, the air swirled with thick, fluffy snowflakes.

“I better get you home before this weather gets worse,” Sam said.

Back in Phoebe’s apartment, Arden turned the dial on the thermostat a few notches to turn up the heat. She’d never before appreciated the feeling of coming in from the cold to a toasty home. Sam crossed the living room to the large picture windows.

“It’s coming down fast,” he said. Arden joined him, and they watched in silence for a moment as the snow coated the streets and cars below. “Not a bad view, huh? My place is a couple blocks away, but I don’t have a view like this.”

“It is nice,” Arden agreed, “but I do wish there were curtains. It’s kind of exposed, in a way. I’m used to my tiny little house surrounded by trees.”

Sam looked at her. “I saw some of the pictures when Phoebe was on the home-exchange app. It looks like a cozy place.”

“It is.” Arden felt a confusing pang of homesickness combined with the realization that, when she next found herself at Flamingo Cottage, it would mean she had said goodbye to Sam.

“Oh, but”—Sam held up a finger as if he’d just remembered something—“there are curtains. Or whatever you call”—he pushed a button that Arden had mistaken for some kind of light switch—“these.”

Automatic blinds whirred as they lowered from the ceiling all the way to the floor.

“Better?”

Speechless, Arden nodded.

“And did you notice this one?” Sam flicked another switch, and a fire flared to life in the glass-fronted gas fireplace under Phoebe’s TV.

“Wow.” And just like that, the cold, exposed apartment was transformed into a warm, private haven. “That is so much better.”

In front of the glow of the fire, they slipped their arms around each other’s waists.

“When you were talking about my house…” Arden cleared her throat. “I sort of realized that we’re going to be saying goodbye in a few days.”

Sam nodded and brushed a tendril of Arden’s hair behind her ear. “Yeah. I’ve been thinking about that, too. Do you want to talk about it?”

Arden stepped closer. “We could. Or… we could talk about it later.”

“Works for me.” Sam smiled at her, their faces inches apart, waiting for a signal.

Arden decided to give him one. She pressed her body into his and moved her hands up his back.

“It might be snowing too hard for you to drive home.”