Deck the Halls by Donna Alward

Author:Donna Alward
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: St. Martin's Press

Chapter Six

Amy shrugged on her coat and wrapped her scarf around her neck. “Have you got everything?” George asked, and she nodded. Her lids were heavy, both from the crying and the fact that it was one a.m. and they’d spent the whole evening talking. First about Ian; once George had let out the truth, it seemed as if a dam had opened up and the good memories of their times together on deployment came rushing out. She’d laughed at some of the stories, tucking them away in her heart, the little pieces of her brother that she had missed over the years. They’d done the dishes together, him washing, her drying, and then shared a hug when George got a little misty again over a particular memory of Thanksgiving in the desert.

But now it was late, and she wasn’t sure where to go from here. There’d been a moment, when George had looked into her eyes, that something had happened, a tenuous, invisible connection between them that frightened her. He’d always been attractive, but now he was a bit weathered from time and experience and damned if she didn’t find it sexy. At the same time, he was so damaged. Even considering anything happening between them would be a mistake.

She knew better than most that going into a relationship trying to fix someone was a recipe for disaster.

She should leave. Go back to Brooklyn, spend the holiday in her brownstone and with her parents, and . . .

And do the same damned thing she did every year. It sounded disgustingly dull and a bit sad.

She looked up at George, who was holding out the salad bowl. “Thank you for dinner.”

“Thank you, for everything,” she said softly. Her gaze lit on the plain Christmas tree in the corner. Thought about George trying to celebrate the holiday alone, and knew exactly how he felt. It wasn’t that she was a Grinch or a Scrooge and hated the holiday; she didn’t. But sometimes decorating for one, showing up at all the gatherings alone . . . and having only her own presents under the tree was depressing.

He had his hand on the doorknob when she looked up into his face. “Do you want to go for a walk tomorrow night?”

He hesitated. “A walk?”

She nodded. They had to do something other than eat if they were going to spend some time together, but she didn’t want to suggest anything elaborate that could be misconstrued as a date. “I was just thinking that we could walk around Darling and see all the different Christmas lights. And if you wanted, we could put some decorations on your tree.”

He looked over his shoulder at the tree. “Oh. Yeah, I was going to get around to that . . .”

She smiled a little. “I put my artificial one up on December first, but I can’t really enjoy it while I’m in Darling, can I? And I can’t really put one up in the rental. I was kind of hoping there’d be one already.

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