Lacey turned her back to reach for some silverware and let out a screech of surprise when Ean grabbed her around the waist. He spun her around and gave her a very thorough kiss before pulling back. “I’ll go down and bring some back. It may have stopped snowing but you still can’t maneuver in the snow in those boots.”
She rolled her eyes and playfully swatted him away. “Are we back to that argument? I can maneuver just fine in them. I wear them all winter long and while yes, it’s not in eighteen inches of snow, I still do okay.” Checking to make sure everything they needed was on the table, she nodded toward Ean to sit down.
“We’ll try it your way, Lace, but if you slip and fall in the snow, I’m leaving you there,” he teased. They laughed and dug into their lunch, hungry from the long night and their active morning in bed.
Lacey hated the thought of leaving the cottage but knew that the real world was waiting for her beyond the front door. She had to find out when the plows were coming through, call the auto club and call in to work because she had been due back later today. There was no way that that was going to happen but she had to at least check in – a fact that she shared with Ean.
“I’m sure the plows are already going strong but we may need to make a call to get one up here. My dad used to have one here for the property but I think he got rid of it a couple of years ago, said he was getting too old to do that for himself anymore. He’d rather pay someone.”
“I certainly don’t blame him one bit,” Lacey admitted, “although it would certainly come in handy right now so I could get my car out.”
“Anxious to leave?” he asked, his tone suddenly quiet, serious.
How could she possibly answer that? On one hand Lacey never wanted to leave. The real world was cold and lonely. What she’d experienced here in the cottage in the less than twenty four hours had made her realize just how lonely she’d been. On the other hand, however, everything had happened so fast that she wanted some time alone, away from Ean, to collect her thoughts.
With a smile of reassurance, Lacey reached across the table and took one of Ean’s hands in hers. “Not anxious, but I do have things that I need to get back to. Unlike you, I’m not the boss.” He smiled in return but it didn’t quite reach his eyes.
It was in that moment that Ean realized the hurdles that were suddenly in front of them. They’d just shared an amazing morning together and hopefully another full night before Lacey had to go back to work but what happened after that? His life was in Boston while hers was in Raleigh. Would she consider relocating? Could he even ask her to do that?
Not wanting to ruin the lighthearted mood they’d created, Ean pushed the negative thoughts aside and put a smile on his face as he kissed Lacey’s hand and they finished lunch.
“I can’t wait to talk to Ava and give her some ideas to tone the place down from her grand plan,” Lacey said as she put dishes away. “I mean, I get what she’s going for but if we do everything she’s asked, it’s going to look like Christmas threw up in here.”
Ean laughed. “You know if you stray from the plan that she’s going to have a fit. We’ll do everything she asked for just in moderation.”
Lacey agreed but Ean could tell that she was mildly distracted. “What’s going on?” he asked, taking her by the hand and leading her over to the sofa.
“I’m really worried about her, Ean. I mean, I don’t doubt that she loves Mason and that he loves her but I don’t think that either of them is doing this for the right reason. Does that make sense?”
Nodding, Ean took a moment to respond. “Do you think my parents know what’s going on?”
“No. I don’t think Ava even wanted me to know; it just sort of came out. When I tried to talk to her about sitting down with Mason and talking about her concerns and getting them actually resolved she accused me of not believing in love and fairytales and all the crap that goes with them.”
Ean chuckled. Only Lacey could take something sweet like a fairytale and make it sound like a nuisance with her practicality. “So what you’re saying then is that fairytales are crap? Did I get that right?”
Punching him in the arm, Lacey couldn’t help but laugh too. “It’s not that they’re crap it’s just that life isn’t a fairytale. People have to actually work for their happily ever after. It doesn’t just appear because you spend your wedding night in a specific cottage. She and Mason are going to be starting off on the wrong foot if Ava isn’t honest with him.”
Standing, Ean walked to the front window and looked out at the acres of untouched snow. What Lacey was saying made perfect sense, the problem was his sister. Ava was single minded when she was on a mission and right now her mission was to get married at any cost. While he had been looking forward to a little more alone time before reconnecting with his family, he knew he wasn’t going to get much rest with the impending nuptials weighing heavily on his mind.
“Maybe I’ll head back in to Raleigh a little sooner than I planned and spend some time with both Ava and Mason – not together, but a little one on one time with each of them to sort of feel them out. What do you think?” he asked, turning to face Lacey again.
Standing, she went to join him by the window. “I think that you are an amazing big brother and that Ava is very lucky to have you.” Lacey stood on her toes and planted a light kiss on Ean’s cheek. Turning, she looked out the window and sighed. “That is an awful lot of snow. I can’t even see my car.”
“It’s there and we’ll get it out.” He turned Lacey to face him and kissed her deeply, his hands anchored into her hair loving to feel of it. “Later.”
****
Proving Ean wrong had seemed like a good idea at the time but the reality was that her sassy black stiletto boots were in no way meant to be worn in a foot and a half of snow. When they’d finally left the cottage, he’d found an extra hat and gloves for her to wear but no extra snow boots. Lacey’d put up the argument that it would not be hard to do the walk; the snow was deep enough that she wouldn’t have the opportunity to slip. Ean had reluctantly agreed only because he was hungry again and they were out of food.
“We’ll call the town when we get to the ranch and see about that plow and getting your car out,” he called over his shoulder as they made it past where her car was snowed under.
Lacey merely sighed and trudged on, every step it’s own little slice of hell. If she lived to make it to the cabin, she was going to throw the boots in to the fire! “Oh, wait!” she called before Ean got too far ahead of her. “Since we’re right here can we get my bag out of the car? We can dust it off and get the door open if we try.” She batted her lashes at him and her green eyes twinkled. How could the man possibly resist?
His sigh was long and dramatic but Lacey could tell it was all in good fun. It didn’t take long for them to move enough of the snow for her to open the door and grab her overnight bag. Relieved to have her essentials back in her possession, she thought of how much she’d wished she had on more make up right now. Closing the door, she was just about to say how she couldn’t wait to change in to dry clothes when a snowball hit her square in the chest.
“Ean!” she screeched, shocked that he would do such a thing! Now wasn’t the time for playing; all she wanted to do was get to the ranch, change into dry clothes and have something to eat. Obviously, Ean had other plans.
His laughter was contagious and within minutes they had a full-blown war going on. Lacey used her car as a shield but Ean didn’t play fair. With no fear of running in the snow, he was able to pummel her from all sides and it didn’t take long for Lacey to cry out in defeat.
She was brushing snow off of her coat when Ean came forward and wrapped his arms around her and kissed her. She swatted him away, feigning annoyance but Ean wasn’t buying it. “Admit it, Lace, you had fun.”
“No, I did not,” she replied primly. “I’m soaked to the skin, this coat will never dry and these boots are killing me!” That last admission hurt the most but walking in her socks w
as starting to look appealing.
“Dammit, I knew I shouldn’t have let you talk me in to letting you walk to the ranch. C’mon, let’s get going.” Taking the overnight bag in one hand and reaching for one of Lacey’s gloved hand with the other, they walked silently back to the Callahan’s home.
By the time they were safely inside, Lacey’s teeth were chattering. Ean helped her take her boots off and led her to the guest bathroom and ordered her to take a hot shower while he made them something to eat. She didn’t argue and once she stepped under the steamy spray, all seemed right with the world.
Honestly, she could have stayed in there for hours but the smell of whatever it was that Ean was preparing was a big enough draw to lure her out. Drying off quickly and putting clean clothes on, Lacey slathered on some moisturizer and towel dried her hair. With any other man she would have been horrified to be seen like this but with Ean it seemed perfectly natural – plus, having grown up together, he’d pretty much seen her at every phase of life and not having makeup on wouldn’t traumatize him too terribly.
There was a fire roaring in the massive stone fireplace that divided the kitchen and family room and Ean had prepared steaks and baked potatoes for them. He smiled as Lacey entered the kitchen and held a chair out for her so that she could sit.
“I made some calls,” he said as he carried their plates to the table. “The plow will be out first thing in the morning; it’s the local guy that my father uses and when I told him about your car he said he’d help us get it out of the rut and back on to the road so I think we’re set with that.”
“Thank you. I really appreciate that but it wouldn’t have been any trouble to call the auto club.”
“They’re probably overworked right now. Why bother them when we can take care of it?”
Over the meal they talked about their careers and got caught up on each other’s lives. The previous day and most of the morning had been spent talking about Mason, Ava and the wedding; now they finally had time to focus more on themselves.
Lacey knew how successful Ean’s career was; the Callahan’s bragged about him constantly. Ean traveled the world and his software company was one of the most popular on the market today. Likewise, Ean had been kept up to date on Lacey’s career with interior decorating. The only difference now, talking to one another, was getting the personal, un-biased feedback on what it took to maintain their careers.
“I love the travel,” Ean said, “but I feel like I have been going non-stop for eight years now and I’m starting to burn out. That’s why I came up here before heading to Raleigh; I know being with my family isn’t work but I just needed some time to just not be around people.”
“And then I ruined it for you,” she replied, pouting slightly.
Ean reached across the table and took her hand. “No; you didn’t ruin anything for me, Lacey. It’s been a long time since I relaxed and had a conversation that wasn’t work related and in the last twenty-four hours I’ve laughed more than I have in years.” He lifted her hand to his lips and gave her a gentle kiss. “You were a most pleasant surprise.”
“That’s not what you were saying when you first saw me last night.”
Letting go of her hand, he gave an exaggerated eye roll. “I had just fallen off of a chair on to a hard deck and banged my head. I wasn’t going to be pleasant to anyone right then.”
“Excuses, excuses…”
They cleared the table and straightened the kitchen before heading into the family room to share a spot on the sofa in front of the fire. “I can’t wait to talk to Ava about the cottage,” Lacey said as she reclined against Ean, enjoying both the warmth of the fire and the man. “I still think that some issues need to be resolved between her and Mason but I’m not going to stress about it.”
“Maybe if we approached her together…” Ean began.
“No!” she replied a little too quickly for Ean’s liking.
“Why not?”
“Well, for starters, if she found out that you were up here, your whole family would be upset. They have been talking about your coming home for weeks and if they find out that you came here first, they’ll be very hurt, Ean.”
“I can handle my family, Lace. That’s not an issue.”
What she had to say was not going to come out right no matter how she said it and although it pained her, Lacey was never one to walk away from a challenge. Straightening from Ean’s embrace, she turned and faced him. “I think it would be best if what happened here stayed here.” The words were said slowly and she winced at the expression on Ean’s face.
“Like Vegas? Seriously?”
“No, not like Vegas. It’s just that, well, think about it, Ean. Your life is up in Boston while mine is in Raleigh. You clearly have no desire to come back to North Carolina…”
“You don’t know that…”
“I can count the number of times you’ve been back in the last twelve years on one hand! Are you telling me that you’d move your company to Raleigh?”
His eyes bore in to her, his expression fierce, but he said nothing.
“Ean, what happened up here was a wonderful, exciting surprise. I never would have thought in a million years that I’d see you again and that you’d see me as anything more than Ava’s friend. You have no idea what you’ve done for me. You wiped away the humiliation I felt from that night and gave me a beautiful memory.”
“Dammit, Lacey, it wasn’t about atoning for that night!”
“No, no, I know that, Ean; I truly do. But once I leave here in the morning, its back to reality. This has been a wonderful, magical break from the real world that we both live in. I don’t want to end it fighting with you.” She leaned forward and kissed him softly on the lips. “Please, Ean,” she whispered, “Tell me you understand.”
The sad part was that he did understand but that didn’t mean that he had to like it. He’d already acknowledged to himself the hopelessness of their situation. Logistics just weren’t on their side right now but Ean had hoped that they’d at least talk about it and try to come up with some sort of plan to keep seeing one another.
“It doesn’t have to end, Lacey,” he said, trying to not sound desperate. “I’ll come back or fly you up to Boston. Have you ever been there? It’s beautiful! I can take you around to all of the historical sites; you might even find some inspiration for your decorating in some of the homes.”
She smiled and stroked his cheek. “Long distance relationships rarely work, Ean.” Lacey sighed and stood. “I never thought we’d get to a place where we’d be friends again; I spent a lot of years being mad at you and embarrassed of myself. Add to that the complication of our families being so close, they’re bound to interfere.”
“They wouldn’t.”
Laughing, she reached for his hand and pulled him to his feet. “That shows how little you know about our families. You’ve been away far too long. They would interfere and they’d start getting ideas and making plans and putting pressure on us and soon it wouldn’t be just you and me; it would be you, me and everyone. I don’t want that.”
“I still think you’re wrong about our families; they wouldn’t be that bad.”
“Oh, please, Ean,” she laughed. “As it is, Ava can never know about this because she’s banking on that cottage to be the be all, end all of fairytales and believes that it’s going to fix all of her and Mason’s problems. If she finds out that we stayed there, she’ll blame us both for stealing some of the “magic” from her and then we’d be the reason why her marriage fails. Never mind the reality that it’s going to fail because clearly the two of them don’t talk, we’ll be the scapegoats.”
She was on a roll. “I mean, how could we possibly steal the magic, it’s newlyweds and married couples that that silly fable is about and that’s not us but she’ll blame us anyway!”
Ean wasn’t about to correct her on getting her facts wrong; now was really not the time so he stopped her tirade the only way he knew how. He kissed her. Deepl
y. Lovingly.
“I’m not ready to let you go,” he said gruffly, his forehead against hers.
Lacey’s heart ached just a little. “I’m not going anywhere yet.”
****
When Lacey returned home the next day, her heart was in turmoil. Being in love with Ean for most of her life, was she wrong to just walk away? When she’d finally left the Callahan’s earlier that morning, Ean had told her again that they didn’t have to end things. He wanted to continue to see her and see where this relationship could go. Unfortunately, Lacey didn’t see how it could go any other way than Ean returning to Boston, leaving her with her heart broken again. Not a road she wanted to go down.
With a flick of her wrist, her keys landed on the coffee table in her living room and she collapsed on the couch. The time with Ean had been amazing; everything that she’d ever dreamed it would be. It was the thought of all that went with making that kind of commitment that freaked Lacey out.
Kicking off her shoes, she sighed. It was the holidays and people were always more emotional during the holidays; add to that Ava’s wedding and her crazy Christmas cottage story, it all had Lacey’s head spinning! Maybe she was over-romanticizing her time with Ean because of where they were? And then all that talk about love and weddings, maybe that had them both not thinking very clearly? Lacey had to admit, the theory had merit. Perhaps all they had shared for those incredible forty-eight hours was just nothing more than them being influenced by their environment.
Convinced that had to be all it was gave her some relief. Now she’d be able to get back to her real life without obsessing about what it all meant. Rising from the sofa, Lacey went and found the makings for a light dinner and decided to call Ava and discuss the cottage plans with her. It would be hard to omit any mention of Ean being there but his refusal to tell his family of his whereabouts was between Ean and the Callahan’s.
The Christmas Cottage Page 7