“I mean a wedding party.”
Kristy straightened.
“People will expect something,” Liza continued. “Perhaps at the Club, after the holidays.”
“Mom, I’m not sure that’s a good—”
“Nonsense.” Liza interrupted. “You cheated Kristy out of a wedding.”
“It wasn’t him,” Kristy put in.
“You told me he talked you into the hotel chapel,” said Elaine.
Kristy glanced guiltily at Jack. She had decided to stick to the truth as much as possible. “But I wasn’t holding out for a big wedding.”
Liza and Elaine waited for her to elaborate.
“It was, uh, more the length of …”
Jack gave her shoulder a squeeze. “She couldn’t decide whether to settle for me.”
Kristy shot a glance skyward. “Nice, Jack.”
“What?”
“You just told your mother I thought you weren’t good enough.”
Liza’s lips pursed.
Elaine started to chuckle. “He’s not.”
“Yeah, right,” said Kristy, with an exaggerated sigh. “Handsome, rich, intelligent and funny. I guess I was holding out for somebody who could also—I don’t know—sing opera.”
Elaine laughed again, and even Liza smiled.
“I can sing,” insisted Jack.
“And that’s what clinched it, darling,” Kristy purred.
“Back to the party,” said Liza. But she seemed more relaxed now.
“Look,” Jack called, pointing across the river to a resplendent Santa display. The lighted reindeer swooped through the air. Santa’s sleigh was festooned with red and green and white lights. The jolly old man himself glowed with tiny red lights that outlined his suit and his sack full of toys. In the background was a lighted Christmas forest—each tree glowing its very own color.
“Nice,” said Kristy. “Times Square has nothing on you guys.”
“It’s most definitely a competition,” said Jack. “As far back as I can remember, the Smythes tried to outdo the Comptons who tried to outdo the Baileys and so on.”
“Has your family always spent Christmas here?” Kristy asked everyone in general, hoping to keep talk away from anything wedding-related.
“Since we were kids,” answered Elaine.
“Hunter’s family, too,” Jack said.
The horses made their way past discrete pot lights lining the pathway, moving toward the faint glow of the next property.
“How does your family celebrate, Kristy?” asked Liza.
“Our Christmases were nothing like this,” Kristy answered. “We had a house in Brooklyn. Nice neighborhood, plenty of decorations, even carolers—”
Jack took her hand in his beneath the blanket. His gaze caught hers, his eyes darker than usual, the muffled sound of the horses’ hooves and the muted snatches of voices from the other sleigh filled the sharp, sweet air.
A rich, steady burn started in the center of her body. It radiated out, fingers of heat licking at her skin. She wanted to tell him she was in. She wanted to tell him so, for now and for later, for as many days as they had left. They could laugh, kiss, make love and sleep in each others’ arms.
Another resplendent estate came into view.
Liza and Elaine craned their necks.
Unable to wait any longer, Kristy stretched up to whisper in Jack’s ear. “Yes.”
He jerked back, staring down at her with wide eyes.
She gave him a nod and a secretive smile.
He squeezed her hand. Then he pulled her close, the warmth of his body seeping deeply into hers.
CHAPTER TEN
KRISTY barely remembered the rest of the sleigh ride, and dinner had taken forever. Their gazes had practically melted each other over crème brûlée and cognac. But if anybody noticed, they were too polite to say.
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