and windows, painting the town in fairy-white.
“This is beautiful,” Taylor whispered. “Snow in Vancouver is cause for chaos. Here, it’s peaceful.”
“Just because the wind isn’t blowing and causing whiteouts,” Rhys offered, but he was enchanted too. Not by the snow, but by her. The clever and efficient Taylor had tilted her head toward the sky and stuck out her tongue, catching a wide flake on its tip.
“I know it’s just water, but I swear snow tastes sweet for some reason,” she said, closing her eyes. Another flake landed on her eyelashes and she blinked, laughing as she wiped it away. “Oops.”
Rhys swallowed as a wave of desire rolled through him. Heavens above, she was pretty. Smart and funny, and while an absolute Sergeant Major on the job, a lot more relaxed when off the clock. He had the urge to reach out and take her hand as they walked through the snow. Odd that he’d have such an innocent, pure thought when the other side of his brain wondered if her mouth would taste like apples and snowflakes.
He kept his hand in his pocket and they resumed strolling.
It only took a few minutes to reach the bed and breakfast. Rhys paused outside the white picket gate. “Well, here we are.”
“Yes, here we are. What about you? You walked me back but now do you have to walk home in the snow? Or are you parked nearby?” She lifted her chin and Rhys smiled at the way the snow covered her hair with white tufts. She looked like a young girl, bundled up in her scarf and coat with snow on her head and shoulders. Definitely not like a cutthroat businesswoman who never had to take no for an answer.
“I live a few blocks over, so don’t worry about me.”
“Do you—” she paused, then innocently widened her eyes “—live with your mother?”
He laughed. “God, no. I’m thirty years old. I have my own place. I most definitely do not live with my mother.”
Her cold, pink cheeks flushed even deeper. “Oh. Well, thanks for dinner. I guess I’ll see you when we pick up the tuxes, right?”
“I guess so. See you around, Taylor.”
“Night.”
She went in the gate and disappeared up the walk, her ruby-red boots marking the way on the patio stones.
He had no business thinking about his friend’s sister that way. Even less business considering how different they were. Different philosophies, hundreds of kilometers between them... He shouldn’t have taken her elbow in his hand and guided her along.
But the truth was the very thing that made her wrong for him was exactly what intrigued him. She wasn’t like the other girls he knew. She was complicated and exciting, and that was something that had been missing from his life for quite a while.
As the snowfall picked up, he huddled into the collar of his jacket and turned away. Taylor Shepard was not for him. And since he wasn’t the type to mess around on a whim that meant keeping his hands off—for the next two weeks or so.
He could do that. Right?
* * *
Taylor had left the planning for the bridal shower to Clara Diamond, Ty’s wife and one of Avery’s bridesmaids. Tonight Taylor was attending only as a guest. In addition to the bridal party, Molly Diamond’s living room was occupied by Melissa Stone, her employee Amy, and Jean, the owner of the Cadence Creek Bakery and Avery’s partner in business.
In deference to Clara’s pregnancy and the fact that everyone was driving, the evening’s beverages included a simple punch and hot drinks—tea, coffee, or hot cocoa. Never one to turn down chocolate, Taylor helped herself to a steaming mug and took a glorious sip. Clara had added a dollop of real whipped cream to the top, making it extra indulgent. Taylor made a mental note to start running again when she returned home.
“I hope everything’s okay for tonight,” Clara said beside her. “It’s a bit nerve-racking, you know. I can’t put on an event like you, Taylor.”
Taylor had been feeling rather comfortable but Clara’s innocent observation made her feel the outsider again. “Don’t be silly. It’s lovely and simple which is just as it should be. An event should always suit the guests, and this is perfect.”
“Really?”
Indeed. A fire crackled in the fireplace and the high wood beams in the log-style home made it feel more like a winter lodge than a regular home. The last bridal shower she’d attended had been in a private room at a club and they’d had their own bartender mixing custom martinis. She actually enjoyed this setting more. But it wasn’t what people expected from her, was it? Did she really come across as...well...stuck up?
Taylor patted her arm. “Your Christmas decorations are lovely, so why would you need a single thing? Don’t worry so much. This cocoa is delicious and I plan on eating my weight in appetizers and sweets.”
She didn’t, but she knew it would put Clara at ease. She liked Clara a lot. In fact she liked all of Callum’s friends. They were utterly devoid of artifice.
Clara’s sister-in-law Angela was taking puff pastries out of the oven and their mother-in-law Molly was putting out plates of squares and Christmas cookies. Jean had brought chocolate doughnut holes and Melissa was taking the cling wrap off a nacho dip. The one woman who didn’t quite fit in was Amy, who Taylor recognized as the young woman from the diner the night she’d had dinner with Rhys. The implication had been made that Amy wasn’t pretty and smart. But she looked friendly enough, though perhaps a little younger than the rest of the ladies.
She approached her casually and smiled. “Hi, I’m Taylor. You work for Melissa, right? I’ve seen you behind the counter at the shop.”
Amy gave her a grateful smile. “Yes, that’s right. And you’re Callum’s sister.” She looked down at Taylor’s shoes. “Those are Jimmy Choos, aren’t they?”
Taylor laughed at the unconcealed longing in Amy’s voice. “Ah, a kindred spirit. They are indeed.”
“I’d die for a pair of those. Not that there’s anywhere to buy them here. Or that I could afford them.”
Her response was a bit guileless perhaps but she hadn’t meant any malice, Taylor was sure of that. “I got them for a steal last time I was in Seattle,” she replied. She leaned forward. “I’m dying to know. Why is it that everyone else is over there and you’re over here staring at the Christmas tree? I mean, it’s a nice tree, but...” She let the thought hang.
Amy blushed. “Oh. Well. I’m sure it was a polite thing to include me in the invitation. I’m not particularly close with the Diamond women. I kind of, uh...”
She took a sip of punch, which hid her face a little. “I dated Sam for a while and when he broke it off I wasn’t as discreet as I might have been about it. I have a tendency to fly off the handle and think later.”
Taylor laughed. “You sound like my brother Jack. Callum was always the thinker in the family. Jack’s far more of a free spirit.”
“It was a long time ago,” Amy admitted. “It’s hard to change minds in a town this size, though.”
“You
