Page 25 of Sweet Summertide (Christmas Cove #4)

The man in the mirror’s reflection looked calm and cool in his creamy linen shirt and pants, but Theodor’s blood was swarming red-hot with anticipation in his veins.

He washed his hands in the sink and pressed cold water into the skin on his cheeks.

Resting his hand on the sides of the sink bowl, he locked eyes with himself. “It’s just a date. You can do this.”

Show time , he thought and ran his fingers through his loose hair.

He had coiled it into an easy knot at first, but Holly seemed to prefer his hair down, so he changed his mind and his style.

Because his father hated Theodor’s long hair, he was accustomed to slicking it back whenever he had worked at the firm.

Here, in Christmas Cove, there was nothing holding him to anyone else’s standards anymore.

If he wished to wear his hair loose, he would.

A soft knocking came at his cabin door, and he said goodbye to the reflection in the bathroom mirror.

Outside, Holly waited. A single pane of glass and the sheer curtain separated him from his date.

The silhouette teased him. She was obviously wearing nothing since her every curve was visible in the shadow.

Opening the door, he now understood why her shape had appeared naked.

She wore a red, skin-tight dress that hugged her beautiful body and left little to his overactive imagination.

The square neckline suited her well, and the long hemline stopped just below her knees.

His hands covered his heart. “You’re so lovely, it hurts. ”

She smiled and kicked one foot up towards her bottom and highlighted her gold, sparkly flat sandals. “Thanks. I thought you might like this dress.”

He nodded, unable to form a sentence that would sound gentlemanly.

He liked the dress very much, but his mind was busy imagining what it would look like in a pile on the floor of his cabin instead of stretched across her skin.

He presented his hand to her, and he pulled the door shut behind him with his other.

“Have you ever been to a firefly parade before?”

“No. I think this is a new thing since the Foundry opened last year,” she said as they began to walk towards the Foundry’s main structure, Harbour House.

The packed gravel pathway, lined with little solar lanterns, made the short trip up the hill an easy one, though neither of them was in a hurry with all the scuffing heels against the ground.

“I never had anything like this in the city. Too much light for fireflies.”

“When I was little, Millie and I would stay in the pasture after the horses had gone in for the evening. If you stood really still in the long grass, lightning bugs would hover right in front of your face. I swore they were little fairies put there to sprinkle magic on the world.”

“I like that,” he said and threaded his fingers through hers.

Dusk was settling into darkness and the fireflies were already dancing around the property.

“I have no thoughts about fireflies, none as nice as yours anyway. I figured it was an Ohio thing. Like something that normal people have in middle-America. Come to find out, my whole life, I was only a couple hours train ride away from experiencing them for myself. Manhattan is great, but it’s like living in a bubble sometimes. ”

“I get what you mean. You can be so close to something and not even see it, not even know it’s there to be seen.” Holly nudged his arm with her elbow which he took to mean she was seeing him in a new way.

Being in her presence felt so natural at some times, and like torture at others. He considered the double meaning of what she had just said. Was he too close to see what was really happening between them? Was she? He nudged her back as they came to the front of the barn-like building.

Outside the Harbour House, the activities director, Thandie, handed out lanterns no bigger than a coffee mug, along with bug-catching kits; a medium-sized mason jar and a net.

Beside the path, there was a table with baskets filled with individual snack packs of little sandwiches, fruit, and cheese, a choice of either water or a split of something bubbly.

Releasing Holly’s hand, Theodor took the basket and added two little champagne bottles.

In his free hand, he held the lantern allowing her to have the mason jar and net.

Other guests had already begun their parade.

Theodor and Holly followed behind the group in front of them, giving themselves enough space to speak without being overheard by other folks.

Plunged into darkness within a minute, they entered a section of the property where newly planted trees lined the route and lush green and white ground-cover spilled over the edges of a gravel path.

The lantern was just enough to illuminate their feet without interfering with their ability to see the lightning bugs springing up from the ground.

Holly pointed at every firefly she saw, her excitement seemingly growing with each passing second.

He could have watched her hips sway back and forth all night.

Better than that, he could watch her lips curl up at the sides and brighten her eyes forever.

“You know, you’re pretty fun to be around when you’re not trying to destroy me. ”

“Well, right now, I’m too busy concentrating on catching a fairy to be bothered with scheming of any other kind.

” She turned and he held the lantern to her flushed face.

She bit her smiling lower lip between her teeth and her eyes were wide with joy.

“I could go back to tormenting you if you’d like, but the pixies won’t wait. ”

Little did she know that her mere existence was torment enough. “That won’t be necessary,” he said. “I do want you to get your prize before they all go to bed tonight though. Should we go up a little further?”

They paraded up the trail until it turned back down towards the lake where a large gazebo glowed in the half-moonlight. Several guests stood under the gazebo roof while others sat in the lawn area enjoying their snacks.

“Let’s stay on the path for now, see where it goes. This area is busy.” As he spoke, a child ran between them, flinging his net through the air. If he was chasing a bug at all, it certainly wasn’t a firefly, as there were none near them, but the kid’s enthusiasm elicited a giggle from Holly.

“I think that’s a good idea,” she said with the laughter still present in her words.

Around the next bend, there was a fork in the path, one way hugged the shoreline, and the other meandered up a low hill between two cabins.

She veered towards the less traveled, up-hill route, and he was happy to follow her.

Just ahead, dozens of fireflies hovered about the grass, floating skyward and falling back down.

The little bugs blazed in spurts of electricity that matched the little sparks he had been experiencing throughout his own body since earlier that afternoon.

He chuckled in his throat, remembering how she looked wearing her tiny red bikini—as delicious as a fresh cherry—and running away from him while he soaked her through.

It was his privilege to witness her now, so full of bliss, knowing he much preferred being her friend to being her enemy. This was fun.

He set down his basket and watched her move through the grass on the hunt for her prey. “I have faith in you, Blake Holly Hollis.”

“Shh. I’m hunting wabbits,” she said with far too serious a tone than the moment called for and stalked a flickering bug about two feet in front of her.

Her lantern lay on its side in the grass behind her feet and illuminated her backside. He was in no hurry to miss this view. Theodor shoved his hands in his pockets and stood comfortably, observing her fling her net through the air.

“Shoot! I missed that one,” she said as she twirled all the way around, unaware of the show she was putting on for him.

“Keep going, honey,” he said, and she looked over her shoulder at him with her brow raised. It was a term of endearment, and though it had come out naturally, it sounded sexier than the alternative, ‘babe’ or ‘darling’. No regrets .

She stalked another firefly and swung her net again. This time it made a swooshing sound, followed by a squeal from her pretty mouth. He could do nothing but enjoy the entertainment. She was pure perfection, content in her childlike delight at having won her prize.

“Bring me the jar, quick,” she whisper-yelled.

“Why are we whispering?” he said and opened the jar lid.

She held the net upside down over the rim. “I don’t want to scare it,” she said, still whispering, and dropped the firefly into the glass container.

Theodor secured the lid and switched the net in her grasp for the jar. Her soft fingers brushed against his in the transfer, and he wondered if she was tempting him on purpose now. “I think you already scared it when you took it captive.”

“Oh, hush. It’s just a bug.” She held the container at eye level between their faces. “And look how cute it is.” She was smitten.

They watched the light flicker on and off for a minute, mesmerized by the chemistry of it.

He wished he knew something interesting about fireflies, instead of puffins, and could impress her with his knowledge, but he didn’t.

So, he settled on flattery instead. “I think it’s cute, but I think you’re cuter. ”

“Cuter, huh?” she said without taking her eyes off the jar. As the bug lit up, so did her face.

“Captivating?” he added.

She caught his eye through the jar. “Better.”

“Enchanting? Bewitching?” He pushed the jar away. He was so close; he could practically taste her vanilla lip balm. “And so very sexy.”

“You just like my dress.” She accused in a whisper, her words hardly making it past her lips.

He brushed his thumb across her pillowy soft lips “It’s more than that. Your confidence is infectious. You find pleasure when you stop caring about what others think?—”

“Teddy, I’m only that way around you. And it’s the most frustrating thing ever.”

There was a cry in her voice that he wanted to take away if he could know where it stemmed from. Maybe someday, he would find out and make all the hurt disappear into the past where it belonged. He pushed her hair behind her ear and let her continue.

“You pierce my walls every time you look at me like that. Every time you make me laugh, even when I’m being awful to you.” She giggled. “Even sitting in prison.”

He wanted to kiss her, to possess her mouth with his and make her forget about the weight of the world she was carrying.

The day had been as ideal as any day he had ever had, and he was afraid it was too good to be true.

The woman standing before him was the same person who had nearly ruined his business, or at least she had tried with all her stunts and pranks.

He couldn’t hear anymore. Not now. Not when he needed to process what she had just admitted to.

She was right that she was different when she was around him, but it was yet to be seen if that would prove to be a good or bad thing.

He stepped back far enough to stop feeling the heat from her body.

“We should head back soon. Do you want to sit on the dock and enjoy our snack first?”

Holly nodded and picked her net up from the ground.

She hugged her jar into her chest as they made their way down the path along the shore.

As they walked, he did his best to ignore his ever more conflicting doubts about her.

His suspicions were like little demons trampling on his future.

He just needed more time to know if she was being real with him, and time would tell if he would be able to fully open up to her.

The gravel path gave way to the worn wooden boards of the dock.

Theodor removed his shoes and placed them just off to the side.

“May I?” he asked and fell to his knees beside Holly.

She lifted one foot, and he slid the strap over the back of her heel.

Her slender ankle fit in his palm as though she was made for him to touch.

He slid the sandal from her foot, letting his fingers glide up the inside of her calf before repeating the process on the other side.

Barefoot, they sat on the edge of the dock and let their feet dangle over the side. The water was just at his toes, and he kicked his legs back and forth. The water gently splashed underneath like rain dripping into a puddle.

He cracked open the champagne splits and handed her one. “No glasses,” he said and let the cool bubbles tickle his tongue.

“Teddy?” she said as he began to speak too. “You go ahead.”

“No, you. I insist,” he said and took a sip from the bottle.

“Today has been …”

“Pretty great?”

“Yeah,” she said and tucked her long blonde hair behind her ear on the side closest to him. She was nervous, he could see it in the tension of her long neck and the quick rising and falling of her chest.

“You’re thinking it’s too good to be true?” he asked, because that’s what he was thinking too.

She nodded. “I want you to meet my parents.” She took a long swig from her bottle.

“This is moving fast,” he teased.

“Not like that.” She rocked him with her shoulder. “I want you to meet them so you can understand me better. I am sorry for treating you so badly the last couple weeks and I think it would help if you saw the whole picture.”

“I think the thing that scares you the most is that I do understand you. It’s the only reason I could be so patient with you while you were trying to take me down.

I knew since we met on the train that there was far more to learn about Blake Holly Hollis.

” Theodor took a deep breath and another swig. “I appreciate your apology.”

“There’s an exhibition at the farm tomorrow morning. I need to make an appearance anyway and maybe smooth things over with my mother, if she’s in a good mood. It’s not far from here. Do you think you can come with me?”

He really wanted to. “I can’t. I have a delivery at the shop that I have to be there for. I have a ton of work to do still. Your shop is way further along than mine, and?—”

“It’s fine. It was a silly thing to ask.”

Theodor caught her chin in his hand and turned her face towards him. “It’s not silly. I just can’t tomorrow.” He looked out at the lake water shimmering under the stars. “How about I make it up to you with a moonlit boat ride tomorrow evening. Eight o’clock?”

She licked her lips and signaled her agreement with a blink. He let his lips do the talking and caressed the spot where her tongue had just been. She was far too delicious for his own taste, and for his own good. He had a whole day to plan their next date, and it would be a good one!