Christmas in Bayberry

His gaze lingered on her lips. What would she do if he were to lean forward and steal a kiss? It wasn’t as if she was moving away from him. Was it possible she was tempted by the same idea?

He hadn’t gotten this far in his career without taking chances. Maybe it was time to take chances with his personal life. And kissing Kate was definitely a chance worth taking. In fact, he couldn’t think of anything he wanted to do more.

He started to lean forward. Her eyes drifted shut—

“Hey guys!”

Wes and Kate jumped apart, as though a bolt of lightning had struck in the middle of the snowstorm. Wes ducked his head as he turned away, pretending his heart wasn’t hammering against his ribs.

Kate turned to the kid standing behind them. “Hey, Sammy. I see you got your dad here.”

“Thanks to you.” The young boy’s face lit up with a wide smile.

His father, Sam Sr., walked over, greeted Kate and then shook Wes’s hand. While Kate went to look at the boy’s new toboggan, Wes stayed behind.

The tall man with the friendly smile asked, “Are you enjoying your visit to Bayberry?”

“I am.” Wes adjusted his gloves. “I’ve always enjoyed this town.”

“So you’ve been here before?”

“Yes. When I was a kid, we lived here briefly.”

“Not many people move away from Bayberry. The ones who do usually make their way back—like you.”

Wes shook his head. “I’m not staying. I’m just here until this project is done.”

Sam’s eyes lit up with comprehension. “You’re the one determining whether or not to shut down the candle company. Looks like you have the fate of the town in your hands. That’s definitely not a position I’d ever want to be in.”

Wes shifted his weight from one foot to the other. “So the word got out?”

Sam smiled. “The word has been out. You wouldn’t believe the efficiency of Bayberry’s gossip chain. It would beat the speed of light. They had you figured out from your first day in town.”

“And here I thought I was flying under everyone’s radar.”

Sam let out a deep laugh. “You came to the wro

ng town for that. So how are things looking?”

Wes shifted his weight again. He wanted to talk about anything but this. “I can’t discuss it.”

“I understand.” The man’s expression grew serious. “But you have to recommend the candle company stays in business. This town won’t survive without it. I don’t work there, but my wife does, and her sister.” When Wes didn’t say anything, the man continued. “That’s right, you can’t discuss it.”

Wes’s gaze sought out Kate, but she wasn’t looking in his direction. Her back was to him as she was examining the boy’s toboggan.

Wes searched for a topic of discussion that had nothing to do with the candle company or the future of Bayberry. “This is my first time in a toboggan race.”

“Mine too. I wasn’t even planning on doing it, but your girlfriend—”

“Kate’s not my girlfriend.”

Though as Wes disputed the man’s assumption, he couldn’t help but ponder the idea. It’d been a while since he’d had a girlfriend. He missed the companionship, but his job, with its long hours and travel, just wasn’t conducive to relationships.

He was surprised Kate wasn’t already involved in a relationship. And based on the way she interacted with Sammy, he couldn’t help but think she’d make a great mother—encouraging, patient and engaging.

And then he thought about the Candlelight Dance. It was little more than a week away. He’d meant to ask her to the dance all those years ago, but he’d missed the chance. And he had been toying with the idea of asking her out on a real date. This was his opportunity to do it. He could ask her tonight, over a cup of hot chocolate after the race.

Sam eyed him. “She’s a great gal. You’d be foolish not to ask her out.”