“The hots for Kieran.” Carina put the dish in the sink, then picked up Emmy’s and started wrapping it in foil.
“The hots?” Emmy said, taking the covered plate from her and putting it in the fridge. She’d warm it up later for lunch. Or dinner.What’s Kieran doing for dinner?She yanked back the thought. A carriage ride and a kiss—all right, several kisses—didn’t mean anything.Right?“What is it with you and these old-fashioned words?”
“They seemed appropriate.” She winked, then crossed her arms over her maroon ribbed turtleneck. “Tell me I’m wrong.”
“You’re... you’re wr...”
She grinned. “I knew it. And I approve.”
“There’s nothing to approve of.” Emmy leaned her hip against the counter. “Just because we kissed—”
“Youkissed?” Carina’s jaw dropped. “Chelsea and Robyn never said anything about kissing!”
Oh boy. “Carina, I know you want me to start dating. But I’m not ready. And even if I was, Kieran isn’t a viable option.”
Her brow furrowed. “Why not?”
“He’s going back to Ireland.” She brushed by her daughter, fighting to ignore the stab of pain in her heart.
“Are you sure about that?” Carina followed her to the coatrack,and they both put on their winter garb. “He doesn’t seem like the type to kiss and jet away.”
“How do you know?” Emmy selected a white scarf from the three different ones hanging on hooks.
“He’s Sheryl’s brother. She’d kill him if he did.”
Emmy couldn’t deny that was a possibility. And for some reason the thought that he would stay gave her a glimmer of hope that he hadn’t just been toying with her emotions. When they’d parted ways after the festival, he’d told her he would see her later, then kissed her cheek. But she had noticed his awkward hesitation.
Her stomach sank. She never should have kissed him. Or ridden with him in the carriage. And while Kieran’s kisses had taken her breath away, not to mention being the best ones she’d ever had, she shouldn’t have given in. “We’re going to be late for church,” she said, opening the door.
Carina glanced up at the mistletoe over the doorway. “Maybe later you and Kieran can give it a whirl—”
“Carina!” She shoved her daughter out the door.
The O’Neills attended a different church than she and Carina did, so Emmy didn’t expect to see Kieran there. After the service Carina had gone off to spend the rest of the day with Jeremy, and Emmy hoped Kieran would stop by her apartment, despite her continual mental litany that she shouldn’t have given in to her impulses. By three o’clock she hadn’t heard from him, not even a text.
Her shop was closed on Sundays, and normally she tried to stay away from work on her day off. But she couldn’t focus on TV, and she was too agitated to relax. She went downstairs, unlocked the door, then grabbed a dust cloth and some polish and started dusting and straightening shelves. When she finished, she swept the floors and cleaned out the coffeepot and hot water carafe in the café area, even though they didn’t need it. By then it was five.
She glanced at her phone, even though the sound was turned on so she could hear it. No call or text.
Her spirits sank deeper. Carina was wrong. Kieran was exactly the kind of guy to kiss and... what did she say? Jet away?
Emmy scowled and went behind the counter, her foot hitting a box on the floor near the cash register. It was half full of old Christmas decorations that she’d meant to take to the thrift shop and donate. The flaps were open, and she knelt to close them when she saw a single candle taper with a vintage-looking white light at the top. The candle wasn’t that old, since the original ones were plug-ins and this one had a battery-operated timer on it. She’d never seen it before and figured either Carina or Sheryl had added it to the pile.
She was about to put it back in the box when she remembered what Kieran said about the Irish putting candles in the window for family and loved ones. Even though she was irked at him, she liked the tradition. Emmy turned on the candle to see if it still worked and smiled when it glowed.
She stood and went to set it in the center of the picture window. Once she had the light in position, she looked up... and saw Kieran standing in front of her.
***
The snow had stopped overnight, and by morning it was gone. Kieran had spent the entire day, including during Mass, thinking about Emmy. Yesterday had been magical in more ways than one, and he wasn’t sorry that he’d kissed her. In fact, he wanted to kiss her again, right now. He’d arrived at her shop just as she was putting the candle in the window, the soft light casting her beautiful face in a lovely glow, and he recalled telling her about the Irishtradition. The timing was perfect. He started to tap on the glass, but she had looked at him first, and her expression wasn’t a happy one.
He couldn’t blame her. He’d battled with himself over contacting her or just pretending nothing had happened between them. He was annoyed at his indecisiveness. Kissing her hadn’t been part of his plan, but he couldn’t help himself. He wasn’t sure what to do next either. All he knew was that he couldn’t ignore her. He didn’t want to. But would it be fair to start something with her, knowing he was leaving next week?
There was only one way to find out.
Kieran moved to the front door and waited for her to unlock it. His palms suddenly grew damp, and his nerves fired up.
She opened the door, her expression blank. “Hi, Kieran.”
