Page 12 of Wish You Faith (Christmas Sweethearts #1)

They walked together outside and meandered down the stone path to the garden, which twinkled with Christmas lights and music.

Salty breeze swirled in the air to the beats of the ocean waves beyond the garden and sandy beach. He couldn’t see it at night, but he knew it was there.

“I love the sounds of the ocean,” Rosie said.

“We can hear them better if not for the music.”

“Only if someone walks down that path.” Rosie chuckled. “We’ll take them all down after Christmas, and then we can hear the ocean again.”

“Do you like the beach a lot?” Evan asked.

“More than the mountains.”

“Same. Growing up, we often vacationed on Cannon Beach.”

“Oregon?”

“Yeah.” He didn’t say that his parents still had an oceanfront cottage there. Telling her that might make her ask about his parents. Right now, Mom was flabbergasted that Evan had walked away from his job at the family business. Evan wasn’t ready to talk about it yet.

He wanted to tell Rosie everything about his life, including his big fight with Mom, but first, he wanted to stabilize his relationship with Rosie. And then she might not leave him after she found out that he’d been ornery to Mom.

Right now Evan only wanted Rosie to see the best side of him. Yes, he knew that was unrealistic. Perhaps he should chat with her and let her see all of him. That way, he wouldn’t be lying to her by omission. Their relationship would be transparent. She could trust him.

“You know, I’ve never been to Cannon Beach,” Rosie said. “Amy has some framed photos of Cannon Beach and Ecola State Park in her office, and she told me where Mom and I could stay and find food.”

Evan waited.

“Mom is waiting for heaven.” Rosie’s voice cracked. “I don’t want to leave town, just in case her cancer returns and we have to rush to SMH, you know?”

“SMH?”

“Savannah Memorial Hospital, where Mom’s doctors are. It’s providential that our old house is five minutes from the hospital.”

“There are doctors where you travel to as well.”

“I know, but Mom has decided that a staycation is for her. Lots of things to do here on Tybee and over there in Savannah, you know.”

Evan nodded. Growing up, he had traveled a lot every summer.

Mom and Dad would take Connor and him places.

All over the world. Once a year, Mom made sure that they returned to her hometown of Hong Kong so that they could connect with her Cantonese mother and British father, an expat who lived on the island.

After his maternal grandparents passed away, Evan and his brother went to Asia less frequently. Mom still did in her jet-setting lifestyle, but her two sons went off to college and started making their own vacation decisions.

If some day he could travel with Rosie, he would like to take her to all the places he had been to before, plus places that she would like to go.

Sadly, by the time they could do that, Rosie’s mom might have passed away.

Cancer was such a terrible thing, but it drew focus on what mattered.

Time with loved ones, for example.

Like now.

Evan followed Rosie to a folding table with a pile of marshmallow roasting sticks.

Rosie picked up two, one for her and the other for Evan.

They found the largest marshmallows they could get from the bags on the table.

Actually, they were all the same sizes, pretty much, but it was fun to think they could eyeball the biggest ones.

Roasting marshmallows on a stick over the fire pit was fun, but it was even more fun to sandwich the marshmallow between two pieces of thin chocolate and two pieces of graham crackers.

The benches were occupied, and so were the folding chairs in the garden. Rosie and Evan stood to one side and chatted with the residents and Christmastown workers as they ate their s’mores.

“S’mores came from ‘some more.’ Did you know that?” an elderly gentleman asked.

“Oh? That’s interesting.” Rosie bit another piece of the graham cracker she was holding in her hand.

Someone called the man’s name and he left to join his friends.

“Want another?” Evan asked Rosie. “I can go roast more.”

“No need. I ate a lot at dinner and couldn’t finish my cheesecake. So this one s’more was enough for me.” She turned to Evan and smiled.

She happened to be facing the main SSLR building. Lights shone on her face. Evan saw a smear of melted chocolate at the edge of her lips.

“Why are you staring?” Rosie asked.

He pointed to his own cheek and then to hers. “You have some melted chocolate stuck to the corner of your lips.”

“Seriously? I’m not usually messy.” Rosie chuckled, and accidentally dropped her napkin to the ground. “Oops.”

“Messy and clumsy.” Evan handed her his napkin.

Rosie didn’t take it. “Is that used?”

“Slightly.”

“No, thank you.” Rosie touched her face with the back of her hand, but got the wrong end of her lips.

“The other side. May I?” His hand was super close to her chin.

“May you what?” She leaned forward.

“Do this.” Using the pad of his thumb, he gently wiped off the melted chocolate from the corner of her lips.

Rosie froze.

Evan froze.

“Oh sorry.” He dropped his hand. Stepped back. “Sorry, sorry. I...uh...encroached into your personal space.”

“That’s twice in one day.”

“Twice what?”

“So quickly forgotten?” She grinned. “We held hands in the greenhouse this afternoon, and now you’ve touched my face, friend.”

Friend?

Was that all he was to her?