Andrea gave another smile. “On the recommendation of our new Santa, she’s moved into Bramble B & B.”
Mitch’s stomach gave a little leap. “So, she’s there? At Bramble House?”
Andrea gave a wide smile. There was a definite twinkle in her eye. “She just left. Maybe you could jog on over and carry her bags.”
*
As soon as she rounded the corner, she didn’t even need to look for the sign. Bramble House Bed and Breakfast was straight ahead and it looked like something from a Christmas card. A stately, Victorian building built from red brick on a stone foundation with white trim. There was a porch with a turret above and a widow’s walk. There was even a light dusting of snow on the roof.
Emma held her breath. It was gorgeous. And even though it was only late morning, there was a warm yellow glow from inside the house. The place just exuded warmth. A bit like Chris Krinkles.
All of a sudden she couldn’t think of anywhere else she’d rather stay.
A woman gave her a wave from the porch as she pulled into the parking lot. She parked and stepped out.
“Hi, are you Emma? I’m Eliza. Welcome to Bramble House. Chris said you would be here soon.”
She hadn’t even had a chance to catch her breath before Eliza led her up the steps and into the house. “Welcome. Would you like some tea? Some coffee? We might be a bed and breakfast but the kitchen is always open at Bramble House and the coffee pot is always on.”
Emma looked around and tried not to smile. “I can see you’re ready for Christmas.” Like The Graff, Bramble House had a large Christmas tree in the sitting room on her left. This one had red, green, and gold twinkling lights along with tiny pewter pictures hanging in frames – she’d need to look at them later. The wooden banister on the stairs had a huge evergreen garland twisted around it. “Marietta seems to surely like Christmas.”
Eliza smiled and nodded. “Oh, you have no idea. We haven’t even really started yet. Just wait until tomorrow. Once it hits the first of December, the whole town starts to go mad.”
She led Emma up the stairs to the second floor and pushed open one of the doors. “I’ve put you in the white room. You have your own en suite, TV, desk, dresser, and wardrobe. If you have any special requests, just let me know. I normally cook breakfast around here and I’m pretty good at remembering what everyone likes.”
Emma shook her head. “I’m sorry. I probably won’t be around. I’m working the breakfast shift at The Graff most mornings.”
Eliza gave a nod. “Well, if you’re not around for breakfast, all you need to know is that most days I’ll leave a large pot of soup on the stove. If you’re hungry when you get in, just help yourself.”
Emma dug into her jacket pocket and pulled out an envelope with the money for her room. “I’ve paid up until Christmas Eve. I think I’ll be leaving after that.”
Eliza never even checked the bills; she just nodded and put the envelope in her pocket. “By Christmas Eve, Emma, you’ll love Marietta so much you won’t want to leave.”
She said it with the assurance of someone who’d found contentment and happiness. She had the doe-eyed, quirky look about her of someone who was totally in love. Something tugged right at Emma’s heart strings. Had she ever looked like that?
The white room seemed to mock her a little. It seemed to know she’d have to try and sneak her white wedding dress up the stairs to hide someplace until she could dispose of it. What on earth did you do with a worn, but officially unused wedding dress?
Eliza walked over to the large white-framed picture window and looked outside. “Is there a charity shop? Somewhere I could donate a wedding dress?”
She watched the few seconds of confusion then saw Eliza draw a careful breath. “We don’t have a goodwill store in town. But, you could take your dress to Lisa Renee. She owns Married in Marietta. I’m sure she could arrange to donate your dress somewhere for you.” She licked her lips then gestured out of the window. “I was going to offer to help you with your bags. But it seems that you have your own help waiting.”
“What?”
Emma strode over to the window. Mitch Holden. The guy from last night was pacing around her car in running gear.
Last night, he’d been completely covered. Today, not so much. Wasn’t he cold? He was wearing shorts, a running vest, and a light jacket. Black gear with a little green stripe. It looked good on him. If she were a biology student she could have picked out every one of his defined major muscle groups.
“Oh, Mitch. Do you know him? I met him last night.” That didn’t come out quite right. That almost sounded as if she were implying something else.
Eliza headed back for the door with a smile on her face. “Sure, I know Mitch. Everyone knows Mitch. He’s the local high school heartthrob.”
Emma hadn’t taken her eyes off him. He was standing with his hands on his hips looking at the front entrance of Bramble House. As if he was waiting for something or someone… Surely, not her?
“He is?” she murmured.
Eliza walked back over, looked out the window again, and gave a gentle laugh. “Oh, yeah. He is.” She walked back to the door, turning her head as she left. “Better not keep him waiting. Let the man carry your bags.”
*
He was pretty sure he was starting to look conspicuous. How long could he stand here before someone asked him what he was doing?
The front door of Bramble House opened with a little chime on the door.
Emma jumped down the steps, folded her arms, and walked towards him with a smart smile on her face.
Busted.
She was wearing a thick, red, winter coat with her hair swept up in some kind of crazy clip, meaning it was actually all over the place. Cute as hell.
“Mitch Holden. What are you doing here?”
He laughed. There was no point even pretending he was just passing. He put his hands on his hips. “I thought I should check up on you. Stranded runaway bride and all that.” He gave nod towards Bramble House. “I hear you decided to stay a little while.”
She gave a slow nod. “Well, when Santa tells you to do something, you gotta pay attention. Don’t want to end up on the naughty girl list.”
Did she really just say that? He was pretty sure his eyes must have lit up like firecrackers. “Tell me about this naughty girl list.”
She shook her head and nudged him out of the way to lift the trunk of the car. He got a whiff of her perfume. It was spicy. Kind of enticing.
“Naughty girl lists are only for people I’ve known a whole lot longer than you.”
He liked her. This was the glimpse of what he’d seen last night. This was the girl who’d been hiding beneath the voluminous wedding dress and sad eyes.
He reached into the trunk and made a grab for the case. “Whoa.” It wasn’t just heavy. It was crazy heavy.
He made a grab with both hands and heaved it out of the trunk. “What on earth do you have in here?”
She shook her head. “Just about everything. That”—she kind of wrinkled her nose—“was supposed to be my honeymoon case. But I’d no idea where I was going. So I just packed everything. Turned out that was just as well.”
He gave his head a shake. “You really aren’t going to go back and get your things?”
She seemed to hold her breath for a few seconds. Yesterday she was about to marry someone else. She must have loved him. Why on earth would she have walked away? It had to be something big. And although curiosity was killing him he certainly couldn’t ask.
“No. No, I’m not. There’s nothing I can’t replace. Once I get some money, of course.” She pointed at the case. “I have clothes. I have my car. And now, I have a job and somewhere to stay for the next few weeks.” She shrugged. “Maybe this is for the best. Marietta seems a friendly kind of place. It reminds of the village I stayed in back in Scotland. I have a few weeks to decide what I want to do. What kind of life I want to have.”
She was staring off into the d
istance at the mountains. It was a cross between a wistful look and a regretful one. Every part of him wanted to reach over and hug her. But considering how little he knew her, and how much he’d sweated during his run, it didn’t seem like a great idea.
He lifted the case again with both hands. “How about you let me take you for a coffee and introduce you to a little of Marietta life?”
She turned back towards him. “Sorry? What?”
“Coffee. This afternoon. Let me go and get cleaned up, you can unpack this dead weight you call a case and I’ll take you to the local diner. Show you around a little.”
For a second he thought she might say no. There was definite hesitation on her face. Then she stared up at one of the windows in Bramble House and let out a laugh.
He spun around just in time to see the blonde head of Eliza Bramble ducking away from view.
“What was she doing?
Emma shook her head. “Nothing. Nothing at all. Coffee sounds good. You can tell me a bit about this place.”
They moved across the parking lot and he climbed the stairs to Bramble House pushing open the main door and hearing that little chime again. “Perfect. I’ll pick you up in couple of hours.”
*
And he was right on time. Funny thing was, she knew he would be. She still couldn’t get over Eliza dancing around in the window and giving her a massive thumbs up. But it had given her the kick she’d needed. Because she’d just been about to say no.
And why? There was no harm in having coffee with a guy. Even if he was drop-dead gorgeous. Even if the last time she’d seen him she’d been wearing her wedding gown.
He stood on the front step waiting for her. She pushed open the main door. “What’s wrong, Mitch? Scared to come in and meet the parents?”
He rolled his eyes. “You just got here. You wait. Eliza Bramble can get things out of you that you didn’t even know were in there.”
She laughed. “I’ll need to remember that.”