Holly Pointe & Candy Canes: A heartwarming feel good Christmas romance

by Cindy Kirk

  Krista appeared to want this time alone with Faith as well. The pretty blonde, her blue ski coat making her eyes look even bluer, gestured with her head toward the two men who were now out of earshot.

  “The coziness seems to have continued.” Krista’s tone held a lot of curiosity but no judgment.

  “Graham is a good friend.” Faith managed to keep her voice offhand even as she wondered what she’d done today to further pique Krista’s interest. Not that her relationship with Graham was a secret or anything.

  It was just because whatever this was between them was new and shiny and a whole lot personal, she told herself. She wanted to hold it close to herself for a little bit. She didn’t want her friends analyzing and making more of it than it was or could ever be.

  “I think there’s more.” Krista lifted a shoulder, then let it drop. “But if you don’t want to say, I won’t—”

  “I slept with him.”

  Faith wasn’t sure who was more surprised by the admission, her or Krista.

  The blonde’s eyes widened before she grinned. “That’s fabulous.”

  “He’ll be leaving at the end of the month.” Faith wasn’t sure why this was her response. She wished she’d said something cute and flippant.

  Then again, she’d never been a cute and flippant kind of gal. But she hated making it sound as if she wanted more. She’d gone into this…this thing…with Graham with her eyes wide open.

  It was just sex. Two consenting adults enjoying each other’s company for a brief period of time. Faith just hadn’t planned to fall for him. Or to find herself wishing for more.

  “You might be leaving soon yourself,” Krista said.

  Faith blinked.

  “If you accept our offer.” Krista’s hand touched her arm. “Please tell me you’re at least considering it.”

  Crazy as it sounded, she hadn’t given the offer a thought today. She’d been too busy mooning over Graham.

  “I am definitely giving it consideration,” Faith said quite seriously. “For many people, the opportunity to work with friends you love and admire and for your business to soar would be an opportunity of a lifetime.”

  “You’re still not sure.”

  “I’m certain it’s a fabulous deal. A wonderful opportunity. I just need to make sure it’s right for me.” Faith slowed her steps until they stopped, and Dustin’s and Graham’s coats soon became mere spots of color in the distance. “I’ve told you a little about my family.”

  Krista’s expression had turned solemn. “The high achievers.”

  “Every last one of them,” Faith agreed. “With the exception of me.”

  Faith held up her hand to stop Krista’s protest. “I’m the slow-goer,” she said, recalling Charlotte and Hannah’s teasing words to each other, “rather than the go-getter. Money and prestige aren’t all that important to me.”

  “You’ve made your decision.” Krista’s smile faltered, but understanding filled her eyes. “I respect that. I had hoped, but—”

  “No.” Faith shook her head. “I haven’t made any decision.”

  Krista’s brows pulled together in confusion. “You said that money and prestige aren’t important to you. This opportunity offers both.”

  “While those things would be added perks, they don’t motivate me.” Faith struggled to explain something she didn’t quite understand herself. “But the opportunity to have my work gain a wider audience, to employ more people, to bring more tourists to Holly Pointe. Not only that, I’d get to work with two people I love and admire. Those are potent draws.”

  “We’ll need a decision by the end of the month, but you don’t have to decide anything today.” Krista started walking up the path, and Faith fell into step beside her. “In fact, I want you to take your time. If you’re like me, you’ll change your mind several times before you come to a decision that’s right for you.”

  Faith wrapped her hand around Krista’s arm and squeezed. “I’m glad we’re friends.”

  “I am, too.”

  No other words were said until they reached the top of the hill. The boys, one on a red saucer and one on a blue one, were already on their way down the hill.

  Graham was positioning the girls in the front of a long toboggan. When he saw Faith, his expression brightened. “You’re just in time.”

  She smiled. “For what?”

  “There’s a seat on this bad boy,” he gestured to the shiny sled, “and it’s calling your name.”

  Not even a minute later, Faith found herself on the sled, behind the girls and in front of Graham as they shot down the hill.

  “Yay,” she called out from the sheer joy of it.

  As if voicing her pleasure had given the girls permission, they yelled and screamed on the way down.

  Graham’s hands held tight to the rope as he steered a steady course.

  Faith’s heart pounded, and her breath came in short puffs by the time they reached the bottom.

  The girls scrambled off the sled, their faces red and their eyes bright.

  “That was super fun,” Charlotte huffed out.

  “I want to do it again,” Hannah told her dad. “Only this time on one of those saucer things.”

  “Yeah, I want to go down by myself,” Charlotte asserted.

  “Well, I liked going down with your dad.” Faith shot Graham a wink.

  It was true. She liked feeling his body pressed against hers and his warm breath on the back of her neck.

  “You can go down with him by yourself.” Charlotte waved a hand like a queen bestowing permission.

  The girls loved the saucers so much that the toboggan became Graham and Faith’s. On what she knew would be their final trip down the hill, she leaned back against Graham and lifted her face to the sky.

  When the sled came to a stop, his arms tightened around her as if he was reluctant to let her go.

  The girls were soon engaged in a snowball fight with the boys. The scene, with its blue sky, ground covered in white and gales of laughter, was so heartwarming it brought tears to Faith’s eyes. This, to her, was Holly Pointe. A place for families. A slower-paced environment where friends had time for each other and neighbors were there if you needed them.

  I wouldn’t have this in Gatlinburg.

  Faith shoved the thought aside. She’d meant what she said to Krista. She would consider the offer, look at it from all angles before making her decision. Thankfully, she didn’t have to make that decision right now.

  Today, she would embrace the present without one thought to the future.

  “We promised the boys burgers at Rosie’s,” Dustin was saying. “We’d love for you to join us.”

  Graham glanced at Faith, and she saw the question in his eyes.

  “We’ve got Christmas bingo at the house today.” Faith thought about the plans already firmly in place. “I believe Mary and the volunteers who are coming over can handle it.”

  “Fabulous news.” Krista beamed.

  “What news?” Hannah came over, her coat splotched with snow and her eyes shining.

  “We’re going to Rosie’s Diner for burgers,” Graham told her.

  Hannah’s gaze settled on Faith, and a hopeful gleam filled her eyes. “All of us?”

  Faith took her hand. “Yep. Once we drop off the tree at the house and put it in water, all of us.”

  Chapter Thirteen

  “I think they’ve taken more naps since they’ve been here than in the last three years,” Graham said later that afternoon, closing the door to the bedroom and following Faith down the hall to the sitting area.

  Faith smiled. “Lots of fresh air and activity will do that to a child.”

  Graham dropped down on the sofa beside her, placing his arm around her shoulders. “The warmth of the café and a full belly helped.”

  “The burgers were excellent.”

  “Your friend Mel kept giving me the fisheye.”

  Faith laughed. “She did not.”

  “She did.�
� His fingers toyed with her hair. “I think she’s worried I’m going to break your heart.”

  “That’s an odd thing to say.”

  He shrugged. “Maybe.”

  “The way I see it, what happens during this month you’re in Holly Pointe is no one’s business but ours.”

  Graham heard her say it, knew in some ways she believed it, but he’d also seen how important her friends were to her. Regardless of what she might say, their opinions mattered.

  “I don’t want to hurt you, Faith.”

  “I don’t want to hurt you,” she responded and kissed him lightly on the mouth. “Let’s make a pact here and now not to hurt each other.”

  He shifted and extended a hand. “Want to shake on it?”

  Her brown eyes held a devilish twinkle that he’d have had to be blind to miss. “I’ve got a better idea.”

  Her lips met his, and his hand dropped, then stole around her, pressing her body against his. By the time they came up for air, they were both breathing hard.

  “Okay,” she said, her breath coming in little puffs. “I’d say that’s sealed good and solid.”

  He grinned. “But to make sure—”

  Faith put her hands on his chest in a gesture that told him she wanted him to keep his distance.

  Disappointment surged, but he sat back.

  “I could kiss you all night,” she said. “But first, tell me about your conversation with Dustin. With the twins around and then Mary wanting all the details on the sledding when we got home, there wasn’t a chance to ask.”

  Home.

  Yes, Graham thought, this had begun to feel like home in a way that his apartment in New York never had. His gaze drifted to the undecorated Christmas tree. Would Faith stick around and help him and the twins decorate it when they woke from their nap?

  First, they’d need to shop for ornaments, then…

  “Graham.”

  He jerked his attention back to the woman sitting beside him, dressed in black stretchy pants and a shirt with a Santa Claus face, complete with googly eyes. How was it he found such a look so incredibly sexy?

  Her hand now rested on his arm. “You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to. Like I said, I was simply curious.”

  “It isn’t that.” He gestured toward the tree. “I was just wondering what I’d need to do to convince you to help us decorate the tree.”

  That impish gleam returned. “Another kiss should do it.”

  He could kiss her, and she wouldn’t bring up his conversation with Dustin again. But Graham didn’t want her thinking that he was keeping anything from her. He liked them both being on the same page.

  “We discussed my previous ad campaign, the one I presented in New York.” Graham kept his tone matter-of-fact, though he had to admit the feedback had stung. “He told me my presentation was slick and polished and likely would have been a hit with any number of Fortune 500 companies.”

  “But…” The eyes that met his were soft with understanding.

  “I missed the mark by a mile.” He shrugged. “Win some. Lose some.”

  “You haven’t lost, though, right? You have this month to knock it out of the park.”

  “Correct.” He grinned, then sobered. “Dustin wasn’t able to articulate exactly what he and Krista want, other than they’ll know it when they see it.”

  “That’s helpful.”

  He chuckled. “It’s pretty common. The one thing he said that was a repeat of the feedback I received before was that the ads and the overall campaign must stay true to their brand.”

  “Which is?” she prompted when he didn’t continue.

  “Which is what I’m trying to nail down.” Graham felt himself settle and realized that talking this out with Faith was helping him make sense of it in his own head. “Today, seeing them at the Christmas tree farm with their boys, watching their interactions while sledding and later at the café had me seeing them in a new light.”

  He took her hand, smiling when her fingers curved around his.

  “Family. It’s important to them in a way I hadn’t realized. They’ve done a good job of keeping the media coverage of the twins to a minimum.” Graham absently stroked the palm of Faith’s hand as he continued to speak. “That’s what I think threw me.”

  Faith inclined her head and offered an encouraging smile.

  “When the two of them are at galas or parties, they appear to be a high-powered career couple. Prior interviews dealing with her modeling career and his success on the ice led me down a wrong path. I really thought they wanted slick, when that isn’t what they wanted at all.”

  “Have you seen their television show?” Faith asked.

  “Only a couple of early episodes. That was a big error on my part.” He expelled a long breath and started to pull his hand away, but to his surprise, she held on.

  “Continue.” She circled her free hand in a tell-me-more gesture.

  “What I observed today was a couple who place high value on home and family.” Graham shrugged. “I plan to watch several episodes of their show. I’m going to focus on the most recent ones to see how they’ve evolved and how they see themselves now.”

  “You’re on the right path,” Faith told him. “They may be all glitz and glitter at galas, but home and family are where their heart is, as well as giving back.”

  “You’re so smart.” His finger rose to trace a line down her cheek. “So sexy. So—”

  “When are we going to decorate the tree?”

  Graham dropped his hand, feeling like a teenage boy with a girl on the sofa and a parent in the doorway.

  Instead of a parent, Charlotte stood there, blinking away the last of the drowsiness from her eyes.

  She didn’t wait for an answer, merely raced across the room and propelled herself into his and Faith’s laps. Since they were sitting so close, it was difficult to tell where one lap ended and the other began.

  “We’re going to decorate the tree tonight,” Graham told her.

  Charlotte gave a little squeal. Flinging her arms around his neck, she gave him a noisy kiss on the cheek. “You’re the bestest dad.”

  Graham’s heart melted, simply melted.

  “What going on?” Hannah ambled across the room and crawled into Faith’s lap, wrapping one arm around her neck in a companionable gesture.

  “We’re decorating the tree tonight, Han.” The words tumbled from Charlotte’s mouth, excitement making them nearly unintelligible.

  If the shout Hannah gave was any indication, she didn’t have one bit of trouble deciphering her twin’s words.

  Hannah burrowed her head against the hollow in Faith’s neck. “You’re going to help, too, right?”

  Faith glanced at Graham, and he formed the word please.

  “Yes,” she told the girls. “If you’d like, I’ll even help you make the decorations.”

  * * *

  “I’ve never known anyone who made their own tree decorations.” Graham sat at the kitchen table and glanced at Faith.

  “Focus.” Faith gestured. “You’re getting behind on your popcorn garland.”

  Graham picked up the blunt-tipped needle and began threading it through popcorn kernels. “I’m surprised they’re not stabbing each other.”

  “You said nearly the same thing when they were using the glue gun to make the plaid bows.” Faith had seen the worry in his eyes and understood. But she’d given classes to children this age and knew what they were capable of doing and what needed to wait until they were older.

  “I realize I can be overprotective.” He shook his head, a rueful smile lifting his lips. “What surprises me is their bows look a thousand times better than mine.”

  “Remember, it isn’t about which ones look the best. We’re making these decorations with love. That’s what’s important.”

  “I’ve never known anyone like you.” His gaze settled on her, and her blood turned to molten lava.

  She’d gone three years without sex and
had never really given the lack much thought. Now, all she could think about was getting naked with Graham.

  About making the most of the time they had left.

  Because the thought of him leaving made her sad, Faith finished off her popcorn garland and clapped her hands. The girls immediately turned toward her.

  “Once you and your father finish with the popcorn garland, we’ll move on to our final project.”

  “What is that?” Charlotte’s voice quivered. “The angel at the top?”

  The hopeful note in her young voice had a lump forming in Faith’s throat. She hoped they liked the angel she had in mind, but told herself if they didn’t, she would work with them until they found something they did like.

  “We’ll get to the angel,” Faith promised. “For now—”

  She pulled a bag that she’d brought into the room with all the other supplies and upended it on the table. Pinecones scattered like pennies across the table covered in butcher paper.

  Charlotte and Hannah exchanged puzzled glances. For that matter, Graham appeared plenty puzzled himself.

  The girls’ confusion turned to broad smiles when she brought out cans of spray paint. “We have silver, gold, red and green. There’s enough cones here that we can each spray-paint four.”

  Hannah’s hand shot up.

  “Yes, Hannah?”

  “Do we do one in each color?” The girl surveyed the aerosol cans. “Or can we—?”

  “Whatever you want,” Faith told her, including Charlotte in the instructions. “If you want to do all silver or green, that’s your choice. If you want to do two of one color and then have the other two different, your choice.”

  Out of the corner of her eye, Faith saw Graham wince as she picked up one of the cans and demonstrated. “You need to spray toward the tabletop, not at each other or anywhere else in the room.”

  While they watched, she turned the brown cone into a shiny silver one.

  “I want the silver,” Charlotte said immediately, reaching for the can.

  “I wanted the silver.” Hannah’s lips formed a pout.