Page 95 of Noel Secrets

They found a cleared path through the trees behind the main house. It was wide enough they could walk side by side. The sheriff gave them some privacy and distance, but neither of them struck up a conversation. Addie was trying to hold onto her anger. It was hard to remember in the ethereal beauty of this winter night.

She stared at the snow-covered pine trees and could even see the outlines of the soaring, dark mountains beyond the ranch. Everything was peaceful and unspoiled. It felt like they were on hallowed ground.

Growing up in Arizona, she’d rarely seen snow. They had snowstorms on The Cape and even more in Boston, but the snow didn’t always stick on The Cape. It was beautiful there with snow-covered dunes and the ocean and in Boston with all the historic buildings and sites, cemeteries, and parks covered in snow. But this otherworldly beauty of rural Montana was something she hadn’t seen before. The only thing she could compare it to was a ski trip to Park City as a teenager. She was truly in a winter wonderland.

“It’s gorgeous,” she murmured.

“It is,” Price agreed. “Thank you for coming out here with me.”

She glanced at him. His dark eyes were sincere but also probing. He wanted to talk with her, wanted to move past the pain they were both experiencing. Addie wasn’t ready for either, so she upped her pace.

They walked quietly for what felt like an hour. She admired the scenery, the crisp invigorating air, and tried to avoid looking at Price.

When they returned to the house, they both thanked Sheriff Clint and headed inside. She shed her hat and glovesimmediately as it was warm inside. Her fingers were white. She hadn’t noticed the cold, but sometimes when her hands were stuck in gloves and not getting the circulation they needed, her fingers would still turn white even if she didn’t feel chilled.

Price deadbolted the door and armed the alarms and then turned to her. He looked her over very seriously and his mouth turned down. “Addie, your fingers.”

“They’re fine,” she insisted, clutching her hat and gloves.

Price tugged the hat and gloves from her grip and set them on the entry table. He took both of her hands in his. The warmth of his hands seeped into her chilled fingers. He studied her with those dark eyes as he lifted her hands to his mouth and blew warm air onto them.

How could he generate so much heat? How could he be her protector yet she wanted him to be so much more?

Addie’s stomach flipped over. The warmth of his touch, his breath, and his gaze threatened to pull her into a Price cocoon. She longed to be wrapped in his arms, his head bowing to hers, that warm breath brushing her cheek and then her lips. She’d slapped him earlier, so angry that he’d dare to consider kissing her. Right now she’d be in trouble if he tried.

“Well then.” She ripped her hands from his grasp and stepped back. “I think I’ll go take another bath and get some rest.”

“Let’s make cocoa and taste test Millie’s cookies first.”

“Maybe tomorrow,” she said brightly, praying that tomorrow his replacement would come. “Did Aiden find somebody to send so you can enjoy Christmas with your family?”

His mouth tightened and he dropped his hands to the side. “He didn’t. With Christmas and various operatives being out of reach … you might be stuck with me for a few days.”

Her heart slammed against her chest. How was she going to survive emotionally stuck in this cabin with him for a few days?

She could only manage a nod, grabbing her hat and gloves off the side table, and then she literally ran across the main area and up the stairs. Reaching the loft, she glanced back down at Price. He was staring up at her, his gaze open and easy to read. He wanted her forgiveness. He wanted her heart.

Someday she might forgive him, but she couldn’t be so foolish as to let down her guard and let him into her heart again.

The problem was … she feared he’d never left.

Chapter Sixteen

Price should be exhausted, but he couldn’t sleep. He made cocoa and ate cookies by himself. It was lonely. He’d been on lonely assignments before. This shouldn’t be any big deal. The problem was he knew how incredible it was to be close to Addie and laugh, tease, and hold her. He finally lay down and fell asleep around eleven, but by four a.m. he was back up and pacing. He did a loop through the main area, up the stairs, around the loft, and back down.

Counting the loops to distract himself from wanting to knock on Addie’s door, explain and talk through the mess, he was at loop twenty-seven when he reached the loft and Addie’s door flew open.

She was wearing the same white silk pajamas, and she looked like an angel with her blonde hair flowing around her shoulders. A very upset angel.

“What are you doing?” she demanded, stomping into his space. “I’m all off on my sleep schedule and you marching around the cabin is not helping me one bit.” She poked her finger into his chest.

Price wrapped his hand around hers and held it. His heart raced. Was this his chance?

“Forgive me,” he got out, praying she could forgive him not just for ‘stomping around’ but for all of it.

Addie studied him and, for half a beat, he thought she might agree. Her blue eyes softened, and she even leaned toward him. Price’s hopes rose. She might forgive him, kiss him, or slap him again. He wasn’t sure which was coming, but anything was better than this pain inside his heart and this longing for Addie that no one else could fill.

“No!” she suddenly cried out. She yanked her hand free and backed into the wall behind her. “I will not forgive you. You got me to let my walls down and trust you and then you ripped me apart. Do you know how heartbreaking and humiliating it is to be lied to like that?”