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Her breath was jammed in her throat. She didn’t pretend to misunderstand him. “I’m not good at relationships, Jason. I end them. Every time.”

“You mentioned that, and having heard about your childhood, I’m not surprised. You’ve learned coping strategies. You’re wary about trusting people. And that all makes sense. But here’s the thing to remember—” he pulled her closer “—I’m brilliant at relationships. I can teach you. But first, I have a question. You thought I was involved with someone, but you didn’t ask me about it. Why not?”

She had her hand on his chest and she could feel the steady thump of his heart against her palm. “I suppose I was relieved.”

He lifted an eyebrow. “Relieved?”

“Yes. It made it easier to convince myself that getting involved with you was a bad idea. It gave me the excuse I needed.”

“Ah. I see. Those coping strategies in evidence again.” A faint smile touched his mouth. “So you needed help to convince yourself of that. That gives me hope.”

His words stirred something inside her.

It was obvious that he would have been more than happy to pick up where they’d left off in the summer, so why was she still holding back?

The conversation with Brooke had stayed with her. How often did you meet someone you genuinely liked who seemed to like you back? She’d done her fair share of internet dating and had found it a soulless experience.

But things had been different with Jason right from the start.

She’d been fighting her feelings ever since that night of the party, but maybe she should simply enjoy the moment even if it was just for Christmas.

She stepped closer to him, heart thudding.

He cupped her face with his hands and lowered his head to hers.

She closed her eyes and then opened them again because she wanted to look at him and wanted to see the way he was looking at her.

“Izzy—” He breathed her name against her lips and then brushed his mouth against hers, slow and intoxicating. She felt his kiss right to her core and then he pulled her closer and kissed her hungrily, all restraint gone. It came back to her in a rush, the feelings she’d been suppressing since that hot summer night. The way his mouth had felt on hers. The skilled stroke of his fingers against her heated skin. The way he knew, he just knew, how and where to touch her as if he’d somehow found the key to all her secrets.

And she knew then that the reason she’d stayed away wasn’t because she’d been afraid of hurting him, but because she’d been afraid of hurting herself. Because she hadn’t known it was possible for something to feel this right, and she’d wondered how she’d cope when it was gone.

“Ten-minute warning!” The door flew open and Brooke entered with the force of the wind still buffeting the house.

Izzy and Jason broke apart and she grabbed the back of the chair to steady her wobbly legs.

“Oh—” Brooke skidded to a halt and immediately went into retreat. “I am so sorry. I’m going to go back out again and you should go right back to what you were doing. I’ll be back in ten—”

“Don’t.” Jason laughed. “Not your fault. We didn’t pick the best place.”

“It’s the perfect place. I cannot believe I interrupted your romantic moment, especially when I was the one who—” She stopped and Jason raised an eyebrow.

“You were the one who what?”

Izzy willed her not to answer.

“Wanted us all to share a lovely dinner,” Brooke said lamely. “Matt has champagne. We thought we could have a glass before we eat. Toast our unusual but as it turns out, very special Christmas.”

“Champagne sounds like a good idea.”

Brooke’s plan to leave them alone again was blown out of the water when Mabel came into the room carrying a tray of canapés, and Matt followed with a bottle of champagne and glasses.

There was a satisfying pop as Matt opened the champagne, and Mabel offered her canapés.

“They’re goat cheese with my homemade fig jam. The base is a sourdough crostini. Walter used to love them.”

“Walter was a man of exceptional taste,” Matt said, leaning across and helping himself. He ate one and closed his eyes. “Mabel, where have you been all my life?”

Mabel looked pleased. “I’m glad you like them.”