Page 55

"Right. Safety."

"I have a lot to live for. I'm really enjoying the dessert trolley every night."

I give her a playful shove before pulling over at the overlook above town, where someone has wrapped the guardrail in flashing lights because Chilmore decorates everything that stands still.

Below us the valley glows with streetlights and rooftops. The Leopard Den looks even bigger from up here, burning purple in the night sky.

I reach into my coat pocket and pull out the small paper bag I've been carrying since the market.

"Here. I got you something."

I pass it to Audrey and watch as she unwraps it. Inside is a little carved wooden tree, small enough to sit in her palm.

"You bought me a Christmas ornament," she says softly. "For the woman who ran out on a Christmas wedding. Bold strategy."

"Figured you could use something of your own in that big old suite of yours."

"I guess you're right. All my ornaments are in a storage unit in a city I'm avoiding." Her thumb moves over the carved branches of the wood, and her voice drops. "And every single one of them was picked for the life I planned with Brett. The tree we were going to have. The house. Even the decorations belong to a future somebody else designed." She laughs, but it quickly fades. "That's insane, right? Being sad about ornaments."

"It's not sad. But this one?" I nod at her palm. "That's not from your old life. That one's yours. Only yours. Consider it the first of your new collection, and hell, maybe it's the start of your new life."

She goes very still, staring down at the little tree.

I lean across the console, giving her all the time in the world to see what my intentions are.

Before the words even leave my lips, she nods and says, "Yes, Miles. You can kiss me."

I lean in and do exactly that.

My lips land gently on hers, and this kiss is soft and sweet and tasting like peppermint. Her hands cling to my jacket, kissing me like the words landed somewhere deep.

When we finally break apart, she clears her throat, reaches up without a word, and hangs the little tree from my rearview mirror.

It turns slowly, shining in the valley lights, then, the Bluetooth shatters the moment like a puck crashing straight through the window.

HUNTER STRATTON.

I answer. "Hunter. Your timing is impeccable as always."

"Where are you?"

The complete absence of a joke sends every muscle in my body tight.

No jokes? No ask her about trees?

"Hunter? What's wrong?"

"Are you anywhere near the farm?"

I lean forward in my seat. "About twenty minutes out. What happened?"

"The transport rack failed while we were loading the Milford order. The whole frame came down on the trailer and it crushed half the premium firs. The big delivery, Miles. The one for the town event."

"Is anyone hurt?" The phone line goes all static and weird and Audrey is just staring at me. "Hunter! Is anyone hurt?!"

"No. Nobody's hurt, everybody's fine. But the order's due tomorrow and half the trees are wrecked, and if we lose this we lose—" He stops and breathes. "We need to replace and trim the whole order tonight."

"I'm on my way."