Countdown to First Night: Winter's HeartSnowbound at New YearA Kiss at Midnight

by Jillian Hart

  It really didn’t make sense.

  “Interesting.” Cassie leaned in close. “I think this might be a promising new year.”

  “Go away, Cassie.” Jolie smiled at the man who had stopped a short distance away and turned to look for her.

  Cassie gave her a little push and Jolie stumbled forward. She caught herself and turned to give her friend a meaningful look.

  “I’ll get you for this.”

  “You did it to yourself. Now, go catch yourself a man.”

  People around them stared and Jolie’s face warmed. She had no intentions of catching herself a man.

  “Sorry...” She didn’t know why she apologized when she got close to Jake. Of course she knew why. Because of Cassie’s obvious attempts to push them together.

  “No need. Cassie always has the best of intentions.”

  “She’s clueless. She thinks...”

  Jake pulled a remote car starter from his pocket. “She thinks I plan on kissing you tonight at midnight.”

  Heat climbed from her neck to her cheeks and she couldn’t answer.

  “I’ll drive.” He pointed to the Escalade parked a few parking spaces from her compact car. “Mine will be warm when we get inside.”

  “Warm sounds good. I’ve often thought about moving somewhere warm.”

  Jake opened the passenger door for her and then the back door for Anna. As Jolie got in, he buckled his niece into her booster seat. Before closing the door he kissed her brow.

  He would never let that child down. Jolie’s heart caught at the thought and others that followed. She looked out the window as Jake got in and shifted into Reverse. She watched the town square and the buildings drift from view.

  Because Jake protected the people he cared about. Her heart ached and she couldn’t explain it. She wasn’t this person, wanting something out of reach. She knew how to survive and to be happy. She was happy.

  Why did New Year’s Eve do that to people—make them think about their lives, their future, what they still wanted? And what she wanted was someone to love her. A strong person who would be there for her, hold her tight when she got scared, cheer her on when she accomplished something.

  She wasn’t twelve. She was past needing those things. Wasn’t she? After all, she’d been alone a long time.

  “Jolie, are you okay?”

  She turned, smiling at him. “Yes, I’m fine. Just thinking.”

  “About?” He stared at the road in front of them and she looked away.

  “Life and why it is that we use New Year’s Eve to examine our lives, as if this one day a year should be the day we all think about changes we need to make. And then forget them the next day.”

  “I’m of the opinion we should always be changing and looking for ways to improve.”

  “I guess I’ve thought that, too. I’ve always wanted my life to be better, so I’ve kept moving forward, making goals.”

  “Then you have no reason to be down or worry about next year. You’re an amazing person. You’ve accomplished a lot.”

  “Thank you.” She drifted back to the window because looking out was easier than looking in.

  Jake slowed at a stop sign. “I’m not sure where you live.”

  “Cypress Drive.”

  He nodded and turned in the direction of the enclave where she lived. The homes were older bungalows built when Snow Falls first came into existence. In the past few years people were buying the houses to refurbish them. It was a nice neighborhood with mostly singles or retirees because the homes were small.

  “The second house on the right,” she said as he turned onto her dead-end street.

  “This is nice.” He pulled into the driveway.

  She looked at the house and tried to see it through his eyes. She could only see it through her own. To her the small house with the covered porch and evergreen shrubs was perfect.

  “It’s mine.” She grabbed her purse and stepped out of the SUV. He had opened the door, and Anna, already unbuckled, jumped into his arms.

  “Do you want hot chocolate, Anna?” Jolie offered as she unlocked the front door.

  Anna nodded against Jake’s shoulder.

  “What she probably needs is a nap before we have our big evening.”

  “It won’t take me long to get the water heated.” Jolie hung her coat on the hook next to the door.

  Jake helped Anna out of hers and then shrugged out of his one arm at a time, switching Anna from side to side. Jolie took both coats and hung them up. It was strange, looking at the coatrack with a man’s coat and a child’s next to hers.

  The longing began to build again, intensifying the way a fire catches hold of wood and comes to life. She looked away from the coats and led her guests into the living room. She loved this cozy room. It was shabby chic because that’s what she could afford, decorated with used furniture she’d refinished and recovered to make the room comfortable and warm.

  The fireplace had an insert and she bought wood from a man who lived outside of town. She crossed the room to open the door and shove in a few more pieces of wood from the box next to the fireplace. When she turned, Jake stood close behind her. Anna lay curled in her armchair with a blanket over her.

  “Do you mind?” He nodded in the direction of his niece.

  “Not at all.” She wiped her hands down her jeans and took a deep breath. “Coffee?”

  “Please.”

  She might have been able to breathe if he hadn’t followed her. When she reached the kitchen, he stood, hip against the counter as she filled the water reservoir on her coffeemaker. He smelled good. He looked better. He was somewhere between GQ and Timberland, a crazy blend of urban and country.

  She was shabby chic, like her furniture. She smiled at the thought. Together they created an eclectic style that really didn’t seem to blend.

  “You did all the remodeling yourself, didn’t you?” His voice was smooth, like soft silk brushing against her arms.

  “The painting, the shelves and the furniture, yes.”

  “Amazing. You have quite an eye.”

  “Thank you.”

  “I know that my buyer told you no local artists, but she was wrong. I wish you’d talked to Tansy. She’s your biggest fan.”

  “Is she?” Jolie barely knew his cousin.

  “Yes.” He didn’t say more and she wondered. She wanted to ask him questions.

  She put a cup under the spout of the coffeemaker, inserted cocoa and pushed the button. The brown liquid poured into the cup.

  “This will be hot. I have marshmallows.” She rummaged through the cabinets as Jake stood there, watching. She reached for a cabinet door behind him. “You’ll have to move. I think the marshmallows are in here.”

  He took one step out of the way. Her shoulder brushed his arm as she reached in for the bag of marshmallows. She closed her eyes and pretended that a handsome man stood in her kitchen every day of the week.

  But they didn’t. Ever. Jake took up all the oxygen. He turned her normally peaceful self into an unsettled mess. And he hadn’t done anything. He was just standing there. Standing. A normal thing to do. It wasn’t as if he’d touched her or said anything.

  She closed her eyes, nearly groaning at the train wreck her thoughts were going to make of this moment. She’d invited him here for coffee. Because it was close. And warm. He’d accepted for the same reason.

  For Anna’s sake.

  “Calm down.” He took the marshmallows from her. “I’m not going to bite you.”

  “Aren’t you?” She groaned and put a hand to her forehead. She raised her gaze to meet his. “I mean, of course you aren’t. I’m fine. It’s just...”

  “History. We have a lot of history.”

  “Not really. Not real histo
ry. We have anger, betrayal, guilt and a couple of moments.” Who could forget those moments?

  “We also have forgiveness.” He opened the bag and dropped marshmallows in the cup. He held one in his hand, his smile turning wickedly luscious. He leaned in and brushed his lips across hers. Then he rubbed the marshmallow across her lips and kissed her.

  Oh, wow, how he kissed her. And it tasted like marshmallow and peppermint. His mouth claimed hers as he held her close, her back pressed against the counter. He tangled his hands in her hair and held on to her. Jolie sighed as he moved an inch from her mouth but then returned, brushing his lips across hers and then settling on the spot on her neck just below her ear.

  “Jake,” she whispered as he lowered his head and tasted her neck. Her hands moved to his hips. “Stop.”

  “Do I have to?” he whispered as his lips moved back to that sweet spot near her ear.

  “Yes,” she whispered into his kiss as his lips found hers again. She no longer wanted to stop.

  “You’re right.” He brushed his lips across her cheek and she felt his breath, warm near her ear. “Time to stop.”

  He continued to hold her, though, his forehead touching hers. Jolie closed her eyes and waited for the world to return to normal. Normal. The real world. Jake owned Wildwood Lodge. She was Mac Godwin’s daughter.

  “Jolie.” He kissed her again. “I’m not sure what to do.”

  “I think take a step back. Take a deep breath.”

  “Right, of course.” He stepped back, but that smile returned, settling in his eyes. “I’m not sorry.”

  “We were sorry last year.”

  “We were?”

  “Of course.” She handed him the cup of hot chocolate. “Anna might be asleep.”

  “She might.” He smiled and leaned in again, just a breath away from her mouth. But he didn’t kiss her this time. “I’m not sorry.”

  He would be. She knew that, in a day or two when it stopped being fun or dangerous or whatever this was, then he would be sorry. He had a life so far removed from her simple existence that they didn’t make sense. She’d seen him in town. She’d read magazine articles. She knew the type of woman he dated and it wasn’t her. He dated Lamborghinis. She was a sedan. Maybe a van. Yes, a van, the 1960s version with peace signs and tie-dye.

  After a long look, he turned and walked into the living room. She breathed a sigh of relief. And then it wasn’t relief, it was something else, something that felt like disappointment.

  * * *

  THIRTY MINUTES AFTER hot chocolate and a kiss that should have sent warning sirens blasting through the entire community of Snow Falls, Jake carried a sleeping Anna from the garage at Wildwood Lodge into the elevator to his apartment. In an hour Jolie would be here to go skating.

  Typically he worked on New Year’s Eve. He made sure everything was set for the night. He made last-minute decisions. Because of Anna, he was learning to do what Tansy called delegating. Work days had never been as hectic as this day had proved to be, playing dad to Anna and...

  Courting Jolie?

  He shook his head as he placed Anna in her twin bed. She rolled over, reached for her stuffed doll and went back to sleep. He tiptoed out of the room. He had an hour to get his act together.

  To decide what to do about Jolie Godwin and the insane emotions she’d managed to kick up.

  As he changed into a flannel shirt, his phone rang. He answered it as he walked to the kitchen to make a cup of coffee. His head of security was on the other end to tell him last-minute details for the evening.

  Jake might be taking a day off, but not really. He couldn’t relax without having some control of his business. And he wanted security tight for a night like tonight. He had guests to think about. He had Anna to consider. She would be in this apartment with her nanny while he went to the ball.

  The ball. A man couldn’t say he was going to a ball without feeling a little itchy. Men went hunting or fishing. They didn’t dress up in a suit, wear a mask and dance until the clock struck midnight. The idea made him more than a little antsy. There would be women down there lining up to dance, like he was the prince, and he planned on finding a bride before the clock struck twelve.

  He blamed Tansy for this mess. He’d given her creative license a few years ago and this is what she’d come up with.

  The phone rang again. Speak of the devil. He answered it, if only to give Tansy a piece of his mind for coming up with this ball idea and for insisting that he attend. Maybe next year she could come up with something new. Or not. The ball had become a favorite of visitors and locals alike.

  “You back from town?” She sounded worried. He didn’t like his ever-optimistic cousin to be worried. Her worry meant he should also worry.

  “Yes, why? Where are you?”

  “Outside your door. Can I come in?”

  “Sure, you have a key.”

  A moment later she walked into the kitchen, her auburn hair in all directions and a stain on the front of her blouse. Not a good sign. Without speaking she made herself a cup of coffee. The silence caused him more concern. He should have stayed on top of things. He shouldn’t have gotten distracted and left it all on her shoulders.

  “Tansy, what’s up?” He took another sip of coffee and wished he had something stronger. He didn’t keep alcohol in his apartment. For Tansy’s sake.

  “Your mother called from the airport.”

  “Well, let’s not beat around the bush.” The news gave him the same sinking feeling Tansy probably had. His mother always brought some type of turbulence. Today meant too much to the resort to have the kind of problems Helena Wild-Langston could bring to the Wildwood.

  “She asked me to send a car to pick her up.”

  “I wonder why she’s decided to visit?”

  “I asked. She said she wants to spend time with you.” Tansy affected a snobbish voice to imitate his mother and finished with her hand on her brow.

  “She needs money.”

  “I wasn’t going to say it.” Tansy sipped her coffee, closing her eyes and then taking another sip. “I wish this was...”

  “No, you don’t.” He touched her back and she looked up at him. “Four years, Tans, don’t let her mess you up. This is my battle, not yours.”

  “It always feels like my battle.”

  “It isn’t. I don’t want this night to be too much for you.”

  Tansy finished her coffee. “She’ll ruin your night. She’ll mess everything...”

  “I think we’re talking about two different things. I’m not sure what she’ll mess up. I’ll see her tomorrow, write her a check and she’ll be gone again.”

  “Your dad left her enough money for a dozen families to live on. It isn’t your fault she ran through it like a kid with a bag of candy.” Tansy brushed a hand through her hair. “It isn’t my business.”

  “I made it your business. Remember, you’re the person who keeps me on track and keeps me from becoming like her.” He set his cup in the sink and turned to look at his cousin. “With that in mind, why is it you seem to be trying to distract me?”

  “I’m not.”

  “Yeah, you are. You’re trying to distract me with Jolie Godwin.”

  “I’m not distracting you, just showing you that there’s more to life than work. And there are women who can be trusted.”

  He leaned to kiss the top of her head. She was the closest thing he had to a little sister. Her mother had been his father’s sister. “I trust you, so obviously I know that women can be trusted.”

  “You need to trust a woman to be in your life. Jolie is different. She makes you different.”

  “I hadn’t realized I need to change, my matchmaking cousin. And what about you? Why don’t you find someone to take you to the ball?”

  “No,
thank you. Been there, done that.”

  “So have I.”

  “But you didn’t marry a mistake. You got out.”

  “And lost a lot of money along the way.” He listened to the sound of Anna getting out of bed and moving around in her room. “Vivian managed to put it to me. I’m not going that route again.”

  “Jolie isn’t Vivian.”

  “No, and I’m not the man I was seven years ago. Listen, I’m going to take Anna skating. Can you keep the hounds at bay for a while?”

  “You mean keep your mother away?”

  “I didn’t say that.”

  Tansy smiled a wicked smile and he hoped she wouldn’t go too far.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  JOLIE LOOKED UP at the wooden siding of Wildwood Lodge through the tinted windows of the luxury Escalade that picked her up at her house. Jake had sent the car for her because hers was still parked in town, and by now probably snowed in. When the Escalade had turned in her driveway she’d had to take a minute to pull herself together. She’d reminded herself the Cadillac wasn’t a pumpkin drawn by mice. Or even a carriage drawn by horses.

  It was New Year’s Eve. She could celebrate and then tomorrow return to her real life. As she got out of the vehicle, leaving behind the heated seats and soothing music, she shivered.

  She had time before meeting with Jake to go inside and take a look at her display. The sidewalks were shoveled but there were still slick spots. A doorman opened the front door as she approached.

  “Good evening, ma’am. Do you have luggage?”

  “No.” She wouldn’t be staying the night. She entered the luxurious lobby and the warmth hit her, taking her breath away. Her gaze settled on the massive stone fireplace on the far wall.

  “Jolie, you’re here early.” Tansy crossed the room, heels clicking on the stone floors, a welcoming smile on her face.

  Elegant, that was the word for Tansy. She looked as if this had always been her life. Jolie felt like a child playing at being a grown-up.

  “I thought I’d check my display.”