Christmas at Eden Manor by Noelle Adams

Author:Noelle Adams [Adams, Noelle]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: UNKNOWN
Published: 2016-10-04T21:00:00+00:00

Six

On Thursday morning, Cyrus sat with Brie at a bench in one of the squares off Bull Street.

They’d gotten up early so they could wander the streets during the quietest part of the day, before tourists started to swarm the shops and sidewalks. The day was clear and brisk, and there was a nip to the air that hadn’t been there earlier this week. The shops and streetlights were all decorated for the holidays, but it still didn’t feel like Christmas to Cyrus. It was too warm. Not nearly festive enough.

It felt more like the end of summer as they sipped the last of their bottled water and sat in soft silence, watching the city come to life.

Cyrus’s arm was draped around Brie, pulling her snugly against his side. She leaned against him, occasionally stroking his chest in a fond, idle way that made him ache behind his ribs.

Cyrus had been to this city many times before. His sister had lived here since she’d gotten married. But he’d never breathed in the city like this before, and he knew he’d never be able to come here again without thinking about Brie.

Tomorrow was Friday.

Tomorrow he’d have to leave her for good.

Almost unconsciously, he lifted his hand to brush along her long, soft hair, burnished now by the sunshine

Cyrus had a crazy, passing thought. He wondered what she would say if he blurted out a proposal—if he asked her to marry him. Right here. Right now.

He wanted to ask her.

He wasn’t so foolish as to do it though.

He’d known her for less than two weeks. He was far too old for her. And he could hardly burden her with everything that came along with being Cyrus Damon. Even with all he’d poured out to her in the hot tub earlier that week, she would have no idea of the baggage he brought with him.

Plus Brie would never say yes.

“It’s a golden sort of morning, isn’t it?” Brie’s voice broke the stillness. It was soft, strangely resigned.

“Yes. It is.” He knew she meant the sunlight, which was streaming in through the bare trees, burnishing everything it touched with an almost overpowering gold. Summer or winter, Savannah could still offer them this.

“Life sometimes sucks, doesn’t it?”

“Yes.” Intuitively he understood that her thoughts had followed the same paths as his over the past few minutes.

“I guess there’s no way to stretch out today any longer—I mean, make it last for a few more months.”

He let out a long breath, oddly touched by the hesitant, half-teasing statement. “I think that’s more than I’m capable of doing.”

“Yeah,” she said, raising a hand to cup his cheek briefly. “I know.”

He nodded to let her know he understood, but he couldn’t think of anything to say.

“It’s just that two weeks doesn’t seem long enough,” she continued, slouching against his side again and staring out at the drooping oaks. “I mean, it seems like we have something good here, and it’s too bad that this is all it can be.”

She’d voiced his own feelings so perfectly that there was nothing he could add.

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