“Hey, you came up with the name, not me. And I agree with Ash and Holly. It’s brilliant. And beautiful.”
Sofia, who never blushed, felt heat creeping up her neck. She shoved a piece of the coconut cream pie into her mouth, determinedly not looking at Isaiah.
“Damn, this pie is good,” Isaiah said after following her lead and trying a bite. “Are you sure there aren’t some magic elves cooking in your kitchen?”
Holly choked, a very un-Holly-like move, Sofia thought, and Ash put his hand on her back.
“Just talented employees and old family recipes,” he said, sharing looks with Holly.
What was that about?Sofia wondered. But her mind quickly returned to Isaiah. He was sitting inches from her on the bench, and she had felt his presence too strongly for her liking the whole evening.
“It was crazy that the snow just disappeared overnight like that. Is that normal for here?” Isaiah asked.
Ash shrugged. “The weather varies a lot in the late winter. But that was kind of unusual.”
“I’m sure we’ll have another snowstorm this week,” Sofia said, disappointment rippling through her at the thought.
“Nah, I don’t think so. This feels like real spring. I think the warmer weather’s here to stay,” Isaiah asserted.
Sofia turned to him, raising an eyebrow. “So, you, a man with no memory of this town as far as you know, think you know better than a local?”
Isaiah raised his large hands, that annoying, tantalizing smile pulling at the corner of his mouth. “I’m just saying. I know spring when I feel it. Maybe I’m a weatherman.”
Sofia shook her head.
“How about we make a wager out of it?” Isaiah suggested, and Sofia tried not to roll her eyes.
“What are we betting? You don’t have any money or personal belongings.”
Isaiah paused to think, and Ash jumped in. “Loser has to sing at Valentine’s karaoke night.”
Sofia gasped, giving Ash a look of horror.
Isaiah whipped his head toward her, his eyes sparking. “What? You don’t like to sing?”
Sofia glanced at him for a moment before turning dagger eyes back to Ash. She couldn’t believe he would betray her like that. A smile played on his lips.
“No. I don’t.” Her mind flashed to a party the previous December when she’d done a little singing. It was the one and only time she’d sung in public since she was a kid. She had to admit that party had been one of the best nights she’d had in recent memory. But she hadn’t been experiencing her normal insecurities. It was like she had been hypnotized or something.
Sofia peeled her eyes away from Ash and rolled her shoulders back, putting on an air of confidence. She knew that it was going to snow again, probably within the week. That was how things always went in Emerald Hollow. Unfortunately, winter liked to cling all the way through February and often well into March. There was no way Isaiah could know better than her.
“Fine. You’re on. If it snows again by Valentine’s Day, you sing a song…” She paused, looking Isaiah directly in the eyes and trying not to focus on the crinkles at the corners or the thick, dark eyelashes. “Of my choosing at karaoke night. If it doesn’t, I’ll sing.”
“A song ofmychoosing,” Isaiah added, sticking out his hand.
They shook on it, Isaiah’s large, warm hand holding hers a second too long, and Ash rubbed his hands together with a grin at Holly.
“This should be interesting. May the best forecaster win.”
Sofia smirked, all worries gone. She had it in the bag.
Chapter Twenty-Six
SOFIA
The next morning was Groundhog Day, and Sofia and Isaiah were seated on a couch in the café at the Emerald House, their eyes glued to the TV in the corner. Neither of them had brought up the bet they’d forged the night before, but Sofia was sure it was as top of mind for Isaiah as it was for her.
A handful of other people were there, watching with rapt attention as a reporter in Pennsylvania waited for a groundhog to join them.
