The place smelled like an appetizing mixture of fried foods and bread. Servers dashed here and there, all appearing to have someplace they needed to be.

  Wesley had lost his mind.

  He was kneeling at my feet. Right here in broad daylight.

  I didn’t care what anyone else thought about much of anything, but being the center of attention was not something I enjoyed. I was a private person who preferred to be left alone to do my own thing.

  And right now, not only were we getting attention from tables around us, but Wesley had lost his mind.

  “What are you doing?” I asked.

  “I’m proposing.”

  “Stop it,” I said. “You can’t do this.”

  I honestly thought he was kidding around, but the hurt in his eyes was real.

  When he was back in his seat, I scooted my chair next to his so I could talk to him without everybody in the world hearing.

  “Wesley,” I said. “I don’t understand. You hardly know me.”

  “I know everything I need to know.”

  “Well I don’t know anything about you.”

  That seemed to resonate with him.

  “You’re right,” he said, looking into my eyes. “You don’t.”

  Then he proceeded to tell me.

  “I’m an engineer. I came up with an idea, got a patent, and sold the whole thing to a company. Since I don’t have to go to a job every day, I’m an investor.”

  “My sister is an investor,” I said, absently, but I don’t think he heard me.

  “I came to Whiskey Springs to check out a potential investment.”

  “What kind of invention?”

  “A technological breakthrough that helps businesses with their WIFI.”

  “Oh,” I said. I tried to wrap my head around how that might work. But it was an exercise in futility since I knew nothing about WIFI except that it worked.

  “But that’s not really the point,” he said. “Or maybe it is. I can live anywhere. As an investor, I work from home.”

  I tried to make sense of what he was telling me.

  I think he was telling me that he could marry me and take care of me.

  And he thought I was pregnant.

  The pregnancy test and the book. There was no way he could have seen the pregnancy test, but he saw the book. That was a lot of jumping to conclusions. Still…

  “But why?”

  “Because,” he said and I realized I’d asked the question out loud.

  It was a valid question. This wasn’t the old days when a woman would be shunned from polite society for having a child out of wedlock.

  Looking into my eyes, he swept a lock of hair off my cheek. “Because I like you.”

  Something in his sparkling blue eyes told me he really did like me. But… there was one problem with his thinking.

  “I’m not pregnant,” I said.

  “How do you know? You haven’t had time to—”

  I put a hand on his wrist. “It’s not for me,” I said. There was only way I was going to get him to believe me. “It’s for my sister-in-law.”

  “Jenna?”

  “Please don’t say anything. You can’t know before Daniel.”

  He sat back in his chair and studied me.

  “I guess you think I’m an idiot,” he said, finally.

  “No.” I shook my head, feeling terrible. I didn’t think he was an idiot. I thought he was a chivalrous and honorable man.

  But he didn’t have to marry me to save my reputation. I wasn’t pregnant.

  Nonetheless, his proposal had me feeling completely off-balance.

  It had not only felt like a genuine proposal.

  As I looked him. At the way he was smiling at me. At the way his eyes seemed to latch onto mine and see into my very soul.

  It occurred to me that I had an overwhelming inclination to say yes.

  36

  WESLEY

  As far as bungling things up, this was on the top of my list. In fact, at the moment I couldn’t think of anything that ranked higher.

  I’d made assumptions because I wanted to. I’d looked for reasons.

  And I had been wrong.

  “I’m sorry,” I said.

  She put a hand over mine and smiled. “Don’t be. It was an honest mistake.”

  She was being kind, of course. That was one of the many things about her I was drawn to.

  So many women I’d met would have laughed or would have been offended.

  “Which one do you think would be better here?” she asked, looking at the menu. “A grilled hamburger or the fried shrimp?”

  I looked behind me at the table to our right. Then back to study the menu.

  “The shrimp looks good,” I said. “I’d go with the shrimp.”

  “That’s what I’ll have then,” she said, closing her menu and setting it aside.

  “I’ll have the same.”

  And just as easily as I had bungled things up, she had smoothed them out.

  “How long has it been since you lived in Pittsburgh?”

  “I’ve lived there off and on since college.”

  “And now?”

  “I have an apartment in Philadelphia.”

  “But you can live anywhere?”

  The server came and took our orders. We both ordered the fried shrimp. She claimed it was one of her weaknesses. She knew all the best seafood places in Houston. Some good ones in Galveston, too.

  “I can,” I said, sitting back and lifting my glass of wine. “I can live anywhere. I’ve been considering buying a place—a house or a condo, but it just seemed like something a couple would do together, you know?”

  She stopped, her glass halfway to her lips. “I do know,” she said. “Have you decided where you might want to settle down?”

  “Not really,” I said. “I don’t want to rush into buying something just because I can. I thought it best to get accustomed to not going to a day job first.”

  She grinned. “You sound like you’ve been talking to my grandmother. Or one of my aunts.”

  “Why is that?” I sat back as the server refilled our water glasses.

  “We have a lot of psychologists in the family.”

  “Psychologists and pilots,” I said. “A rather odd mix.”

  “Not really. It actually works well.” She adjusted the napkin in her lap and sipped her wine. She hadn’t moved her chair, so she was still sitting next to me instead of across from me. I liked it better this way.

  “We have school teachers and bankers.”

  “Very traditional.”

  “I have a very traditional family,” I said.

  “That’s where you get it.”

  “Where I get what?” I asked, my gaze dipping to her lips when she wasn’t looking. I could never tire of looking at her.

  “Your chivalrousness.”

  “I guess it is,” I said. It was something I hadn’t given much thought. I didn’t tell her, but I hadn’t noticed having much chivalrousness until I met her.

  Sometimes all it took was finding the right person. Someone who brought out the parts of ourselves that we didn’t know we had.

  And this was the first time I halfway understood the expression about being someone’s better half.

  37

  ISABELLA

  I didn’t know what I was going to do. Yet.

  I did know that I wasn’t ready to leave Whiskey Springs.

  There were too many things left unresolved.

  I’d purposely distracted him to give myself time to settle. To think.

  The man had gotten on one knee and proposed to me, for God’s sake.

  That wasn’t nothing.

  I had been shocked. And, I had to admit, frightened.

  Being in Whiskey Springs and getting a marriage proposal on my third night here?

  My family would never ever let me live this down.

  My siblings would say “I told you so” until they were blue in the face.

  Maybe I wouldn’t tell them.

  But if I didn’t tell them, then that meant not being with Wesley.

  I liked Wesley. A lot.

  And I wasn’t ready to leave here because I wasn’t ready to leave him.

  It was a humbling realization.

  After lunch, we walked along Main Street, taking our time in the crowded shops before we started the walk back to Jenna’s parents’ house.

  Before I knew it, it was already getting dark. Somewhere along the way, it looked like I had decided to stay another night in Whiskey Springs.

  Moonlight reflected off the twinkling, sparkling Christmas lights. We turned left down Elm Street and walked along the alley of blue spruce trees. Nature’s Christmas trees. Decorated with pine cones and bird’s nests. An old owl hooted in one of the branches as we walked along, slowly making our way down the street.

  The trees smelled clean and tangy. The air here was so fresh it almost hurt to breathe it in.

  Jenna’s house was the largest on the street lined with old houses that looked like they had been here for hundreds of years.

  Even though the house was old, it was clean and modern. They had added a wing onto the house at some point and built a glass room that brought the outdoors inside. If I was going to live anywhere besides the city, I would want to live somewhere like this. Somewhere beautiful and peaceful.

  We walked right by Jenna’s house to the end of the street, then stood next to a wooden rail fence, just soaking in the moonlight.

  “It’s beautiful here,” I said, wrapping his scarf closer around me, then stuffing my hands back in my coat pockets, trying not to shiver. “The city is beautiful, too, but this is different.”

  “Agreed. It’s hard to pick the one place to live.”

  I turned and looked at him, his eyes bright in the moonlight.

  “That’s the thing,” I said with a little smile. “You don’t have to pick just one place to live. You can have a house in the city and a house… here.”

  “You have a different perspective from most people.”

  I shrugged. “I guess it comes from being a pilot. My grandparents used to have a cabin up here in the mountains, but I think they finally decided to sell it.”

  He leaned back, his elbows on the fence. “I could definitely live here.”

  “They say there’s a magic here,” I said, shivering now.

  “I’ve heard that.” He turned to face me. “You’re freezing.”

  Before I had time to realize what he was doing, he pulled me close and wrapped his arms around me. His coat was open enough that I rested my cheek against his shirt. As I soaked in his warmth, I felt his heart beating.

  I sighed.

  It felt so very right to be here with him. Right now. At this moment.

  “Isabella,” he said, softly.

  “Hmm?” I did not want to move. Ever.

  “Look.” He gently nudged me back and I reluctantly opened my eyes.

  “What?”

  “It’s snowing.”

  It was snowing. Tomorrow was Christmas Eve and the magic of Whiskey Springs was all around us. I laughed when a big, fluffy flake landed on my eyelashes.

  Smiling, I looked up at Wesley.

  He pressed his lips lightly on one cheek.

  Then he kissed me.

  I’d resisted the magic of Whiskey Springs, but Wesley pulled me under. I was swept away by the undertow and I knew I was lost.

  My last logical thought came and went like a wispy snow cloud.

  Tomorrow. Tomorrow I needed to leave Whiskey Springs.

  If not, I’d probably find myself at the altar.

  38

  WESLEY

  The magic of Whiskey Springs.

  As an engineer, I shouldn’t believe in such an illogical phenomenon.

  But that would be like someone saying they didn’t believe in love in first sight.

  I believed in both.

  There were some things a man probably had to experience to believe in. This was probably one of them.

  “You’re freezing,” I said. “I need to get you inside.”

  Hand in hand, Isabella and I walked back to Jenna’s house.

  “I think you missed your flight,” I said.

  Isabella laughed. “I think you’re right. I did.”

  “Maybe you can catch one out tomorrow.”

  “I think it’s likely.” She didn’t look up as she said the words.

  “You can hitch a ride with me,” I said, squeezing her hand.

  “Yeah,” she said. “I can do that.”

  I ignored the lack of conviction in her voice. It was cold and it was snowing.

  I would get her inside, then tomorrow, we would have the morning and the long flight to Pittsburgh to figure out our next step.

  I knew what I wanted our next step to be.

  I’d known the moment I’d seen her. I just hadn’t realized it.

  And now that I had kissed her, even the logical part of my brain agreed wholeheartedly and was working on how to make a legitimate proposal. One that was planned out and didn’t send Isabella into shock.

  Surprise was okay, but not shock.

  But now that I had found her, I didn’t want to wait. I didn’t want to be apart from her. Not even for a minute.

  It was illogical. Unexpected. And wonderful.

  When we reached the door, she punched a code into the door’s keypad and the lock slid open.

  With one hand on the doorknob, she turned and looked up at me.

  I pulled her into my arms and sank her into a deep kiss.

  She sighed and leaned against me, letting go of the doorknob, and wrapping her arms around me.

  She was perfect. She fit perfectly against me. Her lips were sweet and her kiss matched mine.

  But it was time to let her go before I couldn’t. Before evening turned into morning and my arms were still wrapped around her.

  “I’ll see you in the morning,” I whispered.

  Pushing away, she looked at me with sleepy eyes. Squeezing my hands, she leaned forward and kissed me on the cheek.

  “Goodnight,” she said, then opened the door and slipped inside.

  “Goodnight,” I said to the closed door.

  I stood and waited until I heard the door lock click into place. Then I turned and looked out over the valley toward the mountain peaks.

  The mountains were just a faint outline in the moonlight. If I didn’t know they were there, I don’t think I would have noticed them.

  Inhaling deeply, I breathed in the intoxicating scent of the blue spruce trees scattered about the lawn and lining the street.

  Isabella had said I could live here.

  It was funny because it hadn’t occurred to me.

  I could go anywhere and live anywhere. I only stayed in Philadelphia because that was where I had last worked.

  I thought of it as home. Oddly enough it had somehow become more home than Pittsburg where I had grown up.

  The thought that I could live anywhere I wanted to was a freeing sensation. I knew it, of course, logically, but I hadn’t actually added it into my belief system. Born and bred in Pennsylvania, that was where I lived. Where I thought I would always live. It wasn’t even something I consciously ever thought about and now I felt a little bit silly.

  As I walked down the front porch stairs, I smiled to myself.

  Isabella was so very right.

  We could live mainly in Houston near her family. I’d never spent any time in Houston, but I was sure it was a perfectly fine city.

  She also had a brother who lived here in Whiskey Springs. We could have a house here, maybe a cabin, but a nice one. Big enough to accommodate the children.

  I was getting ahead of myself.

  But I knew where I wanted to go.

  I just needed to figure out how to get there.

  39

  ISABELLA

  I woke early. Four a.m. The gentle chiming of my phone’s alarm an unwelcome reminder of what I had to do. It was four in the morning here, but already five o’clock in Houston.

  It was Christmas Eve, but for the first time in my life, I didn’t feel the magic that had always come along with my favorite time of the year.

  Instead, I felt a deep wounding sadness that haunted me down to the core.

  After a quick hot shower, I carefully hung Jenna’s dress and jacket in the closet. Put on my jeans and sweatshirt that I had washed yesterday morning.

  I packed everything—not much at all—into my overnight bag.

  Finding a piece of stationary in the writing desk drawer, I sat down and wrote Jenna a little note. I folded it, wrote her name on the outside, and left it on the desk, along with the pregnancy book and the pregnancy test.

  I’d send her a text later in the morning with an explanation.

  I put on my coat, then picked up the red scarf that belonged to Wesley. Considered.

  If I left the scarf here, there was no guarantee that he would get it.

  Sitting in the armchair, I carefully folded it, then held it up and breathed in the rich clean scent that reminded me of Wesley.

  I allowed myself a moment to replay his kisses in my head.

  Then I straightened and, unfolding the scarf, I wrapped it around my neck and looped it in front. I should have given it back to him last night, but I hadn’t been thinking. I’d barely been able to keep a single thought other than him in my head.

  I would just keep it. A scarf wasn’t something a guy would be overly attached to. He probably wouldn’t even notice that I still had it.

  I stood up and surveyed the room. Everything was in order. It would be so easy to stay. So easy to catch the flight with my brother to Houston. Drop Wesley off in Philadelphia then be home for Christmas Eve.

  But that wasn’t what I had to do. I wasn’t ready for that.

  Slipping out the door, I quietly walked down the hallway toward the stairs. So far so good. I didn’t have an explanation ready, so it was best to slip out undetected.

 

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