by Cynthia Swan
She stuck her hands in the pockets of her coat. “That man is falling for you, honey. Tell him.”
Christy pulled her scarf up around her nose.
“I can’t.” Then she straightened her shoulders and looked Hazel in the eyes.
“No, that’s not true. I’m afraid. I… care for him. A great deal. What if I tell him and he wants nothing to do with me?”
She opened the car door.
“Anyway, I have to go back to work the first week in May, so what does it matter?”
Hazel touched her arm.
“Secrets tend to come back and bite you in the butt at the worst moment.” Hazel let out a sigh. “Trust me, I know.”
A look of sorrow flashed on her face. Christy would have missed it if she hadn’t been watching Hazel.
“I understand your fear, but think about it from his perspective. Wouldn’t you rather tell him and not have a big secret like that weighing on you?”
“I’ll think about it, Hazel. It’s a risk.”
She stepped back so Christy could close the car door.
“I won’t say a word, it’s your secret to tell.”
Christy rolled down the window.
“I’m a little surprised more people haven’t figured it out. It’s amazing what a change in hairstyle and color can do.”
“People see what they want to see.”
“It’s the hair.” Christy tucked a dull brown strand behind her ear.
“You certainly went for an unflattering look.”
Delicious heat flowed through the vents of the car. Christy slumped in the seat.
“I know I look awful, but for now my hair has to stay like it is.”
“No, sugar. You’re breathtaking. I’m just saying, you could quit modeling and be a makeup artist. You have the gift to transform people. Look at what you did for me. And for Mabel.”
“You and Mabel are beautiful. Inside and out. I just enhanced what you already have.”
Hazel grinned and stepped back from the car.
“You just want my last bag of grapefruit, don’t you?”
As she drove the short distance back to the rental house, Christy thought about what Hazel had said.
She knew Dalton was a good guy who’d been hurt, but if he knew her — if he knew her secret, he wouldn’t want her. None of them would want to continue being her friend.
For the first time in her life, she’d made real friends, and she desperately wanted to keep them. So nope, she was taking this secret to the grave. She wasn’t telling her friends. Or Aunt Alice. Or her dad. No one could ever know.
Only Jo. The woman who’d been like a mother to her had kept her biggest secret, only she knew what a fraud Christy was. And Jo would never tell a soul, so she was safe.
Christy spent an inordinate amount of time on her hair and makeup. She wanted to look pretty for her first real Valentine’s date. Sure, she’d been on plenty of dates, even on the supposed most romantic day of the year, but the agency had staged several of them. Between other models, actors, rock stars, sports figures, she’d been linked to an astonishing number of men over the years, and the funny thing was, only a handful had been real. No wonder she was nervous.
The eyeliner she’d applied looked more ghoul than cat's eye. With a deep breath, she closed her eyes and listened to all the makeup artists over the years as she’d sat in countless chairs, picking up tidbits here and there.
When she opened her eyes, her hand was steady. The no makeup look took forever to apply. She’d sworn she wouldn’t wear a stitch of makeup the entire time she was here in Magnolia Beach but, well, she could admit it. She wanted Dalton to look at her with that look.
The one that said, you’re the only one in the world for me. A couple of days ago she’d been wandering along one of the neighboring beaches looking for a change in scenery when she saw them.
They looked like the grandparents she wished she’d had. Both bundled up against the cold, wisps of gray hair peeking out from the woman’s purple knitted hat. She had matching purple gloves, and a purple, pink, and white scarf to bring color to her navy wool coat.
Her husband wore a black coat with tan slacks and tan gloves, scarf, and a matching hat. She linked her arm through his as they strolled along the beach. Every so often one of them would stop and point out a shell or something else that had caught their interest.
Unable to resist, she’d followed along behind them, filled with a longing so strong she was shocked she didn’t melt into the waves.
They looked at each other as if no one else in the world existed or mattered. It was a look full of history. Of shared heartbreak and joy. Of love. She wanted a man to love her like that.
A knock at the door made her jump. Dalton was here.
With a last look in the mirror, she took a deep breath and jogged down the stairs.
11
Jill wasn’t currently dating anyone, so she’d agreed to work at the pub tonight, leaving Dalton free to take Christy on a date. Who would have thought he’d end up crazy about her?
At first she annoyed him, probably because she was movie star beautiful. And second, because she was kind to everyone. Pretty and nice?
He’d had a hard time believing she was authentic. Until he realized that’s just who she was, and as his brother pointed out, judging her for being pretty wasn’t fair.
He snorted. How had she done it? Every day he looked forward to seeing her, talking to her.
“What’s so funny?”
Tim sat on the hard plastic chair, knee bouncing up and down, rubbing his palms on his jeans. His mother had to work, and the kid couldn’t wait another minute to get his driver’s license, so Dalton had agreed to take the kid to motor vehicles. He remembered the feeling of getting his license and then his first car.
“Nothing. I was just thinking about women.”
Tim made a face. “Miss Christy is awesome, but most girls only want to date the popular rich guys.” The kid frowned.
“I want to be like you when I grow up.”
Dalton cocked his head.
“What do you mean?”
“You don’t need anyone.”
Tim rubbed a hand over his chest as if he could feel the pain from whatever high school girl had stabbed him in heart. Dalton could relate.
The kid sighed, the weight of the world on his shoulders. “Girls break your heart. And they don’t even care.”
Ah. That explained the slumped shoulders. He turned to face the kid.
“Don’t be like me. My ex was awful. She broke my heart, and I closed myself off from everyone. Don’t let her make you cold. If you do, she wins.”
He clapped the kid on the shoulder. “We don’t let our exes win.”
Tim allowed himself a small smile. “Nope. We don’t.”
A stern woman walked into the waiting area, clipboard in hand, calling Tim’s name.
Dalton squeezed Tim’s shoulder.
“You’ve got this. Put everything else out of your mind and go get your license.”
The kid loped over to the woman as Dalton crossed his fingers. The kid’s mom worked two jobs so Dalton and a few others had been riding with the kid so he’d get the required hours he needed. Even Christy had gone with the kid several times. She’d said Tim wanted to drive by the fast food place where all the kids hung out. Tim told Dalton she was patient and never gasped like his mom or Colton.
Dalton was going to give his brother a hard time when he saw him next for letting the kid scare him. Back in the day, Colton had ridden his motorcycle down the hallways of school when they were teenagers. His brother was a legend.
Dalton couldn’t stop grinning as he sauntered next door to pick Christy up for their Valentine’s date. He hoped she’d like what he had planned.
He knocked and heard her coming down the stairs. When she opened the door, his mouth dropped open.
“Hi.” She beamed at him.
“You look amazing.” He swallowed. She’d done s
omething with her hair, it almost looked like she’d gotten those highlight things women liked. There was a bit of blond here and there, almost like it was showing through.
Could she be a blond? No, Dalton shook his head. Why would she dye blond hair brown?
“You said dress for outside so I didn’t dress up.” She shut the door behind her.
“You’re perfect.” And he didn’t mean what she was wearing. Suddenly it hit him. He wanted to spend every day with her. He’d been an idiot to push her away. That ended now.
She blushed.
“Thank you. You look pretty handsome yourself.”
Dalton looked down. He’d worn dark jeans, a heavy cabled cream sweater, and a black peacoat. He held out a hand.
“Shall we?”
She smiled, a smile that lit up the dark. Dalton took a breath, finding it hard to breathe.
She’d dressed simply in white jeans, a bright red sweater, and red boots. He and his friends called them fishing boots, but he remembered the brand was Hunter and they were very popular. Dalton had never seen her with makeup on. Whatever she’d done had enhanced her beauty. She was movie star beautiful. So much so, it was like he’d seen her somewhere before.
“Sorry, what?”
He opened the door to the truck for her.
“I asked what you had planned for today?” As she leaned over to fasten her seatbelt, he caught a whiff of citrus and gardenia.
Dalton swallowed.
“We’re going ice skating.”
Her entire face lit up.
“I haven’t been in ages. How fun.”
When he got inside the truck, it was already warm. He’d started the vehicle before walking over to get her so the heat would be on when she got inside. For a woman who’d lived up north, she sure was cold all the time.
“Oh, I almost forgot.”
She handed him a red bag with hearts printed on it.
“Cat treats for Sam. How’s his leg?”
He pulled out of the driveway.
“He’s doing great. Lazing about in a patch of sunlight. Eating and sleeping. That cat lives like a king.”
“He deserves a good life after being a stray.”
She pulled her red gloves off and stuffed them in the pocket of her black coat.
Dalton looked at her from the corner of his eye.
“I have to confess, I bring him leftovers from the pub. He loves hamburgers and salmon.”
She laughed. “He’s living his best life.”
They talked about their days as he drove across town to the ice rink. There were only a few cars in the parking lot, so not too many people to laugh at him when he fell and made a fool of himself.
Dalton offered her his arm as they walked inside the rink.
“I’m so excited.” She grinned, bouncing on her toes.
She was almost as tall as him and the deja vu returned for a moment, but he shook it away, and focused on their date.
Dalton tried not to let the fact that she was a much better skater than him injure his male pride. There were several kids whizzing past them along with a few adults. The rest of the adults were sitting at tables, watching their kids from a distance.
As they skated, a song came on and the kids went wild, flying past them.
“Maybe we should take a break.” Christy slowed down.
“No, it’s fine. I think I’m ready to go faster.”
To her credit, she didn’t say a word, just took his hand and basically pulled him along. They’d made two circuits around the rink when a kid skated so close, it startled Dalton.
It was the wrong thing to do. His arms pinwheeled, he let out a yelp.
“Look out.”
He tried to back away from Christy, but somehow he grabbed ahold of her scarf as he lost his balance.
He went down hard.
The worst part? He took Christy down with him.
Dalton lay there looking up at the flashing lights as kids skated past them, laughing and making jokes. Brats.
“Ow.”
She leaned up, hitting his gut with her elbow. She’d landed on top of him.
“Are you okay?” Concerned blue eyes met his.
It took him several moments to get his breath back. A slow song came on, one about casting a spell on someone, and time slowed and stretched as he looked into her eyes.
She let out a breath, the scent of gardenias and citrus filling the air as his arms came around her. She was so close he could see flecks of green and gray in her eyes.
Huh. He’d never noticed before. She had three freckles on her right temple. Her breath hitched as he tightened his hold on her.
The rink, the kids, the music faded away, until all he could hear was the sound of their hearts.
Ice shavings sprayed them, making Christy jump up. She reached a hand out to help him up as the kid skated past them, calling out over his shoulder, “sorry.”
Yeah, right. Little monster totally ruined the moment. He’d almost kissed her. And if Dalton wasn’t mistaken, she wanted him to kiss her. The thought warmed him from the inside out.
“Are you okay?”
Dalton brushed his jeans off.
“Nothing injured but my pride.”
At that, she laughed.
“You’ve been a good sport. Let’s get some hot chocolate, I’m freezing.”
“I thought you’d never ask.”
Still thinking about kissing her, Dalton didn’t even care she had to lead him off the ice.
On the way home, they finished the last of the hot chocolate he’d made for them.
“Thank you for a—” Christy clapped her hands together. “Look, it’s snowing!” She turned in the passenger seat to look at him. “Talk about a Hallmark perfect date.”
“They said on the news we might get a few flurries. It won’t stick so we better enjoy it for however long it lasts.”
“It’s so pretty.” She took his hand in hers and he wished they’d both taken their gloves off.
“Let’s go for a walk on the beach.”
“You’ll freeze.” But he was smiling, knowing she didn’t want the night to end either.
“How often does it snow here? We have to enjoy it.”
He parked the truck in the driveway.
“You have a point. It rarely snows here.” Dalton held up the battered thermos.
“Want a refill of hot chocolate before we go for a walk?”
“Yes, please. And plenty of marshmallows.”
She opened the door to the truck.
“Don’t you want to stay inside where it’s warm? I won’t be long.”
She grinned at him as she wrapped her scarf around her neck.
“I have to run in the house for a minute. I’ll meet you on the beach, say in ten minutes?”
“Sounds good.”
He held up the bag of treats she’d so thoughtfully gotten for Sam. “I’ll give his Royal Highness a treat before I abandon him again.”
“Better give him two, it is Valentine’s day.”
Dalton couldn’t hide the sheepish grin plastered across his face.
“I made him shrimp and salmon for dinner.”
She laughed, the sound mixing with the waves.
“You are such a pushover.”
“You’ve got that right.”
A bit later, he met her outside on the beach. Christy had snow in her hair and a smile on her face.
He accepted the bag. “What’s this?”
“I’m no chef like you, but I made sugar cookies for you.”
He opened the bag and pulled out the individually wrapped cookies. There was a heart, a cat with a cast on his leg, a truck, and a seashell.
“Miss Trudy taught me.”
Dalton looked at her.
“These are too pretty to eat.” Then he grinned. “But I’m going to eat every one of them. Thank you.”
“I’ve enjoyed spending time with you.”
She turned in a circle, her arms outstretc
hed as she leaned her head back to catch a snow flurry on her tongue.
“It’s been a perfect Valentine’s. Better than a Hallmark movie.”
“Perfect.” He agreed, and he didn’t mean the date. It was time.
Time to open his heart again, to let her in.
12
“Thanks for going with me.”
Christy waited for her aunt to grab her yoga mat and insulated mug of coffee.
“I can’t believe it’s supposed to be seventy today. In late February. I couldn’t pass up a chance to be outside doing yoga. But I’m not so sure about the goat part.”
Her aunt looked young, dressed in a t-shirt, hoodie, and black yoga pants. A gray headband held her beautiful silver hair back from an unlined face with excellent bone structure.
Her aunt put on a pair of oversized sunglasses Christy had given her. They were Prada, the wrong shape for her face, but perfect for her aunt.
“Let’s go try goat yoga.”
Christy grinned.
“There was a place outside of the city where I used to. It was always so much fun.”
She took a sip of her green tea. “I think you’ll have a good time.”
“Rose said if it’s successful, she’ll make the class permanent.” Her aunt locked the door behind them.
“She said you made a nice sized donation to the sanctuary. Sounds like you’re putting down roots.”
“When I found out Rose named the Great Escape sanctuary after their dog, I had to help.”
Christy gripped the steering wheel of the car.
“I’d like to make Magnolia Beach my home, even if I’m not here much when I go back to work.” How would she make a long distance relationship work? The press loved to make something out of nothing. They had ruined several relationships because the guys couldn’t handle the lifestyle. It was hard to date someone who wasn’t in the entertainment or fashion industry.
Aunt Alice touched her hand.
“I’d be thrilled to have you close.”
They pulled into the sanctuary and Christy grinned when a cow went running after a bright red beach ball as a little girl shrieked and clapped.
“Now that’s something you don’t see every day. A cow playing fetch.”