Page 15 of The Christmas Door

A man stood across from them near a maple tree half-strung with lights, his posture too frozen to be casual. He wore a dark coat and lingered in the shadow between two porch lamps. His face was partially hidden, but his gaze wasn’t.

It was fixed on her.

Watching.

Her breath snagged.

No. No, it wasn’t?—

Was it?

The man who’d been following her.

He was here now.

Fear seized her lungs at the realization.

CHAPTER 7

Amayah blinked once.Then again.

The man had disappeared between two houses like he’d never been there.

Maybe she’d been seeing things. Maybe the man had simply been a trick of light. Her imagination. Residual fear clinging too tightly to memory.

“Amayah?” Luke’s voice sounded quiet beside her.

She turned toward him and forced the tension from her tone. “Sorry. I thought I saw someone. It was nothing . . . probably.”

He didn’t look convinced as his gaze deliberately swept the street before settling back on her. “You talking about the man who was across the street? Did you know him?”

She drew in a quick breath. Luke had seen him also. “No, no. He just . . . he looked familiar.”

His eyes narrowed as if unconvinced. “You sure you’re okay?”

“Yes.” She managed a small smile. “Just nerves.”

Instead of resuming his casual stride, Luke shifted—just enough that he walked slightly closer now, his shoulder nearly brushing hers.

His proximity didn’t make her tense. It made her feel . . . safer.

“People at The Home Show channel are going tolovethis,” Miranda said behind her.

Amayah ignored her.

She wouldn’t be pressured into doing anything she didn’t want to. She promised herself that.

She already had things going on here in Minnesota that she wanted to accomplish. She couldn’t lose her focus.

As they resumed their walk, Amayah couldn’t help but feel that something had shifted between her and Luke—something that blurred the lines between professional and personal.

The thought sent a shot of terror through her.

She was better off doing things solo. The past had proven that to her.

But these feelings . . . they were so . . . so unexpected. They’d come on so quickly.

She really needed to get back to the subject at hand.