conversation spots as well as more private nooks for those who might prefer their own space.
Would the Caines come here again next year? Perhaps they would make it a tradition—or perhaps they would alternate between here and their homes in Hope’s Crossing. Wherever they met, their Christmases would be filled with laughter and fun.
She felt a sharp ache in her chest at the thought and especially at the realization that she wouldn’t be there to enjoy those future holiday gatherings.
This season spent at Snow Angel Cove would probably spoil her for all other Christmases.
She sipped at her tea, trying not to feel too depressed about it. She and Maddie had been fortunate enough to be welcomed into the Caine family circle for the holidays and it would be sour indeed for her to already bemoan that she couldn’t have another with them.
She sat for a while alone in the great room with the gleaming Christmas tree. When she finally rose to go, she noticed a light on at the end of the hall.
Aidan’s office.
Surely he wasn’t still working in the early hours of Christmas morning?
Though she knew he wouldn’t want to be disturbed, she couldn’t seem to help herself from walking down the hall and knocking softly on the door. He didn’t answer. Had he fallen asleep at his desk? she wondered. It wouldn’t surprise her.
After a moment’s hesitation, she pushed the door open slightly, just enough to peek in, and then paused in the doorway.
He wasn’t asleep. He was sitting with his back to her working on three different computers at once, his fingers flying over the keys. He had headphones on and was completely absorbed in his work.
She couldn’t tell what he was doing—for all she knew, it might be Spider Solitaire. Whatever it was, she was utterly fascinated by his single-minded focus.
“There you are, you son of a bitch. That’s it. That’s it!” he suddenly said with a delighted laugh.
As she watched him work, one firm, unshakable conviction seemed to settle over her.
She was in love with him.
The realization rolled over her like a snowball building up bulk and speed as it rolled down a mountainside.
She was in love with Aidan Caine.
It seemed an odd moment for the epiphany, while she spied on him cursing at a computer, but there it was.
The feelings had been building, like that snowball, for days. She loved his stubbornness and his dedication, his love for his family, his gentleness with her daughter.
Her heart ached as she watched his fingers dance over the keyboard. Okay, she loved him. So what? This, right here, was exactly the reason she could never do anything about that love.
She didn’t want a man who would be working with such single-minded focus at 4:00 a.m. on Christmas morning. She wanted a man who would be able to put her and her daughter first in his life.
He might go out and conquer the world all day long. She was fine with that—in fact, she loved that about him, too, his passion and his drive and his wild creativity. But she wanted to know she came first in his heart.
She had been married once to a man who had, in his efforts to give her and Maddie what he thought they needed, been unable or unwilling to provide what they needed most. His time, his heart.
She wouldn’t put herself through that again.
Her chest ached and her eyes burned with tears as she slipped from the room.
She loved him and leaving would shatter her heart into a million tiny shards but she didn’t have a choice. She had no place in his life, in his world.
Somehow she would stay until his family left. She had made a promise and she didn’t take promises lightly. When the holidays were over, she would take Maddie and leave Snow Angel Cove and would throw herself into doing whatever it took to put back together the pieces of her life.
* * *
“THIS WAS MY very best Christmas ever.”
“Was it?” Eliza smiled and hugged her daughter. A grand total of six Christmases—three of them spent in the hospital—wasn’t exactly a huge pool to choose from but Eliza still appreciated the exuberance.
“It has been wonderful, hasn’t it?” She had decided she would discount the heartache that had settled in her chest like a nagging cough.
“Bob says it’s his best Christmas ever, too.”
“I’m so glad Bob is enjoying the holiday season,” she said solemnly.
Maddie hopped around, apparently unable to contain her happiness in one spot. “Today after everybody opens their presents, we’re going to go sledding and Carter and me and Faith are going to build a snowman and take Daisy and Max for a walk and maybe go visit Cinnamon.”
“That sounds like a very full day and a wonderful Christmas.”
Everyone had been so kind to them. Maddie would miss this place and this family so very much.
“Santa found me here, too, just like you said! I was afraid he wouldn’t, since it’s not even our house, but he knew just where we were.”
“Santa is magic like that, sweetheart.”
“I wonder if he found Carter and Faith, too.”
“I don’t doubt it for a minute,” she answered with a tired smile.
As she should have expected, sleep had turned out to be impossible after she returned to bed. Heartache tended to have an insomnia-inducing effect, she had discovered, so she had still been lying awake when the first rosy fingers of dawn crept across the room to awaken Maddie.
“We should go see them. Carter and Faith.”
“We’ll find them in a bit. Let’s try to build something out of the magnetic blocks first.”
Her daughter was easily distracted. “Okay. Maybe the rocket ship.”
“Perfect.”
They were reading the directions to figure it out when Eliza heard a soft knock on the door. Perhaps Sue needed her help earlier than expected.
She rose from the little table in their room to open the door and was stunned to find Aidan standing there, his eyes bleary and his hair sticking up in every direction.
“Aidan. Hi. Merry Christmas.”
“Merry Christmas.”
An odd intensity seemed to seethe and froth around him. Through the lenses of his glasses, his eyes seemed to glitter with barely suppressed excitement.
“Sorry to interrupt your morning with Maddie. Should I come back?”
“No. We’ve opened everything.
