Hearing this made Lindy want to cry. “What a snake,” she said, angry on Billy’s behalf.

  “He’s gone as well. He died in a boating accident on the Columbia River. Another boat slammed into his and his boat sank. His body was recovered several days later. Mom heard about it on the news and told Dede and me.”

  Lindy had little sympathy for the man who had wreaked havoc in young Billy’s life.

  “The thing is,” Billy said, still looking down at her hand, which was swallowed up in his much larger one, “he did us a favor by leaving. It didn’t seem that way at the time. It felt as if our entire world imploded. We moved in with my grandparents for a while and then later into a tiny apartment while Mom worked two jobs. Both Dede and I had to grow up fast. We learned the value of hard work and a deep appreciation for what we had. We lived in terror of him and his dark moods when he was home. The truth is, we were better off without him.”

  Lindy agreed and was forever grateful for the love and strong relationship her parents shared. This same tenderness and concern were what she hoped to find in her own life partner.

  Lindy noticed that the bar was as busy as it had been earlier. Billy needed to get back to work.

  “I’m headed home. What time should I stop by tomorrow?” she asked.

  “Anytime. I’ll be around all day.”

  “You aren’t closing for Christmas Eve?”

  He shook his head. “We’re booked solid the entire day.”

  She sensed he would have liked to close early, not only for himself but for his staff. Turning away business would be difficult, especially when he was still getting his feet under him financially.

  “I’ll walk you to your car.”

  “Billy, it’s okay. You’re busy.”

  “Not too busy to see you safely to your car,” he insisted.

  When they started outside, Lindy noticed a light snowfall. “I do so love it when it snows this close to Christmas,” she said, looking up at the sky and the flakes slowly drifting down to cover the landscape.

  Billy opened her car door for her, and after she was safely tucked inside, he leaned down and kissed her. “Sleep well.”

  “You, too,” she whispered.

  Billy stood in the parking lot, snow gently swirling around him as she eased onto the street to drive back to her parents’ house.

  As she pulled into the driveway of the family home, her phone rang. She reached for it and hesitated when she saw the name on the screen. It rang a second and a third time before she found the courage to answer.

  “Hello, Celeste,” she said, keeping her voice cool and calm.

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  “Merry Christmas,” Celeste greeted hesitantly.

  She said it as if they were still the best of friends. As if when Lindy had learned the truth about her and Brian, it had been nothing more than a friendly exchange of insignificant differences. Billy had been with her when she’d run into them at Leavenworth. Having him at her side had given her confidence.

  Lindy remained silent. She would have spoken, if she’d been able to find the words, but none came.

  Pretending not to notice, Celeste continued, as if Lindy had welcomed the sound of her voice. “Are you with your family?”

  “Yes,” she somehow managed…She remembered the pastor’s sermon from last Sunday. Forgiveness had been the theme. Lindy had walked out of the service and felt free, as though a huge burden had been lifted from her shoulders. Now that she was speaking to the friend who had betrayed her, she wasn’t sure how she should react.

  “Yeah, me, too,” Celeste continued. “Christmas is for families, right?”

  “Right.” Lindy noticed she didn’t mention Brian. She wouldn’t ask, though.

  “Brian is with his mother,” Celeste continued, as if she felt it was necessary to let Lindy know.

  That made sense, since Brian’s parents had divorced when he was in high school and his mother lived alone. Brian chose to champion his mother and refused to reconcile with his father. From what he’d told her, he hadn’t had any contact with his dad in years.

  Lindy wasn’t sure what more she could say, other than to ask why Celeste had called, especially this late at night. “I’m not sure why you phoned,” Lindy said. It had to be more than to tell Lindy that she and Brian weren’t together for Christmas.

  The awkward silence that followed made Lindy uncomfortable. Celeste had been her best friend for ten years. They’d shared confidences, clothes, had been roommates, and as close as sisters. It was one thing to lose Brian, probably inevitable, in hindsight. The bigger loss was Celeste. In her view, a best friend was much harder to replace.

  “Brian and I were surprised when we saw you in Leavenworth. I wanted to say more then, I really did, only I didn’t know what.”

  Lindy understood, as she’d been shocked when she first caught sight of them as well. She’d had time during the sleigh ride to recover. Celeste had been taken completely by surprise and was speechless.

  “You looked great, and the guy you were with was a hunk.”

  “I knew Billy when I was in grade school,” Lindy said.

  “You looked happy.”

  “I am happy,” she said with all sincerity.

  “I’m glad. That makes me feel better.”

  “Listen, Celeste, I don’t know why you called, but I’m grateful you did.”

  “You are?” She sounded unsure, apprehensive, as if expecting a tongue-lashing.

  “Yes, because I want you and Brian to know you deeply wounded me. I carried that hurt with me like an aching sore until I realized the only way to heal that pain was to forgive you both and move on. That’s what I’m doing. I wish you and Brian the best, and I sincerely mean that. So Merry Christmas, Celeste. And thank you for calling.”

  “Wait…” Celeste pleaded. “It’s taken half a bottle of wine for me to find the courage to call you. Please let me say this one thing.”

  Although Lindy was anxious to get off the phone, she agreed. “Okay.”

  “I’m so sorry, Lindy. I should have told you about Brian and me. I meant to, I sincerely did. I hated the way you found out we were together. We should have told you long before you stopped off at the apartment.”

  Celeste clearly had no idea of what a shock it had been to find the two of them together. “Listen, if you’re looking for absolution, you have it. Life goes on. I should have realized sooner what was happening.” As painful as it was to admit, that was the truth. “It was right in front of my eyes, and I couldn’t see it.” In the aftermath of her discovery, Lindy wanted to kick herself for being so blind and trusting. She was foolish to ignore what should have been obvious.

  “I…don’t deserve your forgiveness,” Celeste said.

  “I did it for myself. The anger wasn’t doing me any good.” It was clear Celeste was dealing with a massive bout of guilt.

  “Thank you,” she whispered. “I’m so sorry, Lindy. Really, really sorry.”

  Lindy believed her regret was real. How good it felt to tell Celeste that she was forgiven and to mean it. “I accept your apology. Now it’s time to move on.”

  “One more thing,” Celeste rushed to add. “I need to say one more thing before we hang up.”

  “Okay.”

  “You’re the best friend I ever had, and I mean that with all my heart. I realize our friendship will never be the same, and I accept the blame for that. But I hope someday in the future that we might be able to reconnect.”

  “Time will tell.” Lindy said.

  “Time is a great healer, right? I mean, that’s something my mother always says. And, Lindy, I want you to know something. You’re talented and smart, and whatever you do will be a success.”

  “Thank you,” Lindy said, feeling lighter than she had in a long while.

  “Okay,” Celeste said. “I’ve said everything I wanted to tell you. Bye, Lindy.”

  “Bye, Celeste.”

  The house was quiet when Lindy went inside. Her parents had already gone to bed. Her head was reeling from the conversation with Celeste. She doubted she’d be able to sleep. She headed into her room and readied for bed, dressing in her flannel pj’s, unaccustomed to these bitterly cold nights. Fluffing the pillow, she sat up and reached for her phone, scrolling through Facebook and then playing a few online games. She’d crushed Candy Crush and had moved on to another game, realizing that all she was doing was killing time until she was too tired to function any longer. On a whim she sent Peggy a text.

  You awake?

  When her friend didn’t respond, Lindy figured Peggy was dead to the world, and rightly so. It was after one. Anyone with a working brain was asleep by this time of night. Unless Billy was still up. She hesitated, and then sent him a text on the off chance he was still awake.

  You home yet?

  Yes. What’s up?

  I miss you. She shouldn’t have admitted that, but before she could rebuke herself, her phone rang.

  It was Billy.

  “You’re awake? I thought you’d be home and asleep long before now,” he said.

  “Yeah, me, too.”

  Her voice must have alerted him to the fact that she was troubled, because he asked, “What’s on your mind?”

  She regretted disturbing him, especially when she knew how many hours he’d been up dealing with the assorted problems that were all part of owning and operating a restaurant. “You’re tired. We can talk about it later.”

  “Let’s talk about it now,” he said, encouraging her in that gentle way of his. As exhausted as he was, he sought to comfort her. She couldn’t do that. Not after the day he’d had.

  “I should never have—”

  “Lindy!”

  Seeing that she was the one who’d reached out, Billy wasn’t going to listen to any excuses. The truth was that she needed a willing ear and so, as briefly as possible, she relayed her conversation with Celeste.

  “Sounds to me like your friend is dealing with some major regrets.”

  “It felt good to tell her I’d forgiven her and Brian, freeing somehow. And I meant it, Billy.” She was grateful for the chance to let Celeste know she’d moved on. Forgiveness was one thing, reconciliation was another.

  “Do you think the reason she reached out is because she saw you and me on Wednesday?” he asked.

  “She mentioned seeing us.” Lindy left out the part about finding Billy handsome.

  “Did she happen to see the kiss? Bet that blew her mind.”

  Lindy didn’t know what Celeste had seen or not seen. If any mind was blown, it’d been hers. She wasn’t mentioning that, either. “It’s a possibility. I don’t know what she saw; she didn’t mention it if she did.”

  “I thought wanting them to see us was the reason you asked me to kiss you?”

  Remembering that kiss made Lindy smile. “As I recall, you weren’t overly pleased that I’d blatantly used you.”

  “True, but that kiss. I have to tell you, Lindy, it shook my world.”

  “It shook my world, too.” A warm sensation washed over her. “Every kiss since then has done the same.” Again, she shouldn’t be telling Billy this, especially when she’d resolved this was a holiday romance. The fact of the matter was that there was little choice what she would do in the future. She had a signed lease. Her livelihood was in Seattle. And more important, Lindy had a lot to prove to herself and Media Blast. Moving back to Wenatchee after being betrayed by her best friend and Brian, leaving the job she had trained for and emotionally invested in, would feel like she was somehow giving in and admitting defeat. Moving back to Wenatchee would look like she was coming home with her tail between her legs…especially when she felt, deep down, that success was around the corner. She couldn’t do that. Wouldn’t.

  “You’ve grown quiet. What are you thinking?”

  “That I should let you get to bed.”

  “Lindy?”

  “Yes?”

  “It’s late. I’m exhausted and probably shouldn’t ask you this.” He hesitated, as if even now he was weighing his words.

  “Ask me,” she said softly.

  When he spoke, his voice was so low she had to strain to hear him. “Stay.”

  “Stay?” she repeated, hoping she’d heard wrong.

  “I don’t want you to go back to Seattle. I feel like we have the start of something that has real potential. I hate to see it end.”

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  The next morning, Lindy slept until ten. Her mother was busy in the kitchen, which made her feel terrible, as she’d intended to help with the meal preparations. Her mother went all out for Christmas and cooked for weeks in advance. Her plates of cookies delivered to friends on Christmas Eve, following the church service, were tradition.

  “Mom, you should have woken me.” Lindy felt as though she was letting everyone down.

  “I heard you talking on the phone last night and it was in the wee hours of the morning. You needed your rest. There’s nothing I can’t handle on my own. This is supposed to be your vacation, remember?”

  Lindy refused to listen; she enjoyed cooking with her mother. Some of her favorite memories with her mom had taken place in this very kitchen. The recipes were ones handed down from her grandparents. From one generation to the next. The special fruit salad, the stuffing that went inside the turkey, and the homemade applesauce were the very dishes Lindy had grown up enjoying. One day she would prepare them for her own family.

  “I want to help,” Lindy insisted. “Now tell me what you’d like me to do.”

  Ever organized, her mother had the recipe for the family’s favorite corn casserole laid out. Lindy collected what she needed and assembled it, and then placed it in the refrigerator, ready for the oven on Christmas Day.

  “Aren’t you meeting Peggy for lunch?” her mother said, turning to look at the kitchen clock.

  Her mother was right. Lindy needed to get a move on, or she’d be late. Kissing her mother’s cheek, Lindy headed out the door, eager to see her friend. Ever since Lindy had arrived, the two had spent a bit of time together each day.

  Peggy was already at the pizza parlor when Lindy walked in the door. She’d ordered the margherita pizza they’d agreed on earlier.

  “Merry Christmas,” Peggy said, smiling up at Lindy.

  Pulling out a chair, Lindy took her seat. “Merry Christmas.”

  The server came to get Lindy’s drink order and left. “I should probably ask for something stronger than diet soda,” she said.

  “Oh? I got your text from late last night, so tell me what’s going on.”

  Lindy hardly knew where to start. Seeing that it was Christmas Eve, she wasn’t willing to weigh down their conversation. Now wasn’t the time to think about Celeste. She didn’t want to mention her early-morning conversation with Billy, either. Nevertheless, him asking her not to return to Seattle lingered in her mind.

  “Stuff. You know. Life in general.”

  “I’m glad you were able to meet me. Especially today.”

  “Sure. What’s up?”

  “I know I casually mentioned this idea before, so I hope you’ll indulge me.”

  This was interesting. “Okay. What idea? Another food scavenger hunt? A game to play at midnight tonight? A pub crawl?”

  Peggy smiled and was about to speak when the pizza was delivered. They took a few minutes to enjoy a hot slice before her friend returned her attention to Lindy.

  “I have a proposition for you,” Peggy said, and seemed to have trouble holding back her excitement. Her face lit up and she all but squirmed in her seat. “And it’s one I think you’re going to like.”

  “What kind of proposition?” Lindy couldn’t help being curious, seeing how Peggy’s beautiful dark eyes glowed with delight.

  Waving her hand, Peggy said, “I don’t want you to make a decision right away. You’re in town another week, and I want you to promise me you’ll use that time to mull this over.”

  “I’m listening.”

  “Earlier this week, you helped me with a small glitch on my website that I was having.” She mentioned this as if it was something Lindy might have forgotten.

  “Yes.” It’d taken her all of fifteen minutes to get the information arranged for Peggy the way that worked best. It was nothing. Lindy could have managed it in her sleep.

  “Greg, one of the guys in the office, happened to mention it to Marcus, a friend of his who owns the Rose Bud, a flower shop in town.” She paused, as if this was of significance. “Greg also told Marcus you’d been the one to work on the Wine Press’s website. Now Marcus wants to know if you’d be willing to help him with his website.”

  Instantly an idea for a flower shop popped into her head like a giant jack-in-the-box, leaping forward. This was exactly the kind of creative work Lindy enjoyed most. The back-end stuff took time and effort, but the graphics portion was the fun part for her, and she was good at it. She wasn’t being immodest. Lindy knew her strengths and weaknesses. The CEO at Media Blast saw her work and believed she was the best fit for the company, which was why he’d hired her over Laurie.

  “When Greg mentioned it to me, I told him I wouldn’t even ask. This is your vacation time, and besides, it’s Christmas.”

  The words went over her head until she realized what Peggy had said. “But you did ask me?” Lindy figured there was a reason her friend had relented.

  “And…being in the business I’m in, I have contacts with several small-business owners in the area. People who have invested their time, energy, and funds to build opportunity for themselves and their families. These family-operated businesses are the very backbone of America.”