Читать книгу The Texas Christmas Gift - Cathy Gillen Thacker - Страница 3

Eve stiffened, unsure just how close to him she was ready to be.

“Okay,” she said with another shrug and a lift of her chin. “Then tell me about you.”

His blue eyes warming affectionately, he easily rose to her challenge. “I think Christmas is a magical time of year.”

“Because?” Eve prodded.

“The holiday opens up people’s hearts and brings them together in ways they often aren’t the rest of the year.” Derek paused and gave her another long, telling look. “Christmas makes all things seem possible.”

It was certainly making this seem possible, Eve thought, aware she barely knew him and already she felt as if they were a couple. Eve studied him right back. “You really are romantic, deep down.”

To her satisfaction, he did not even try to deny it.

“What does Christmas mean to you?” he continued.

He’d been remarkably honest. Eve knew she should be, too. Struggling to put her feelings into words, she raked her teeth across her lower lip. “I think it’s great if you have a big happy family, like you apparently do.”

Once again, he seemed to intuit all she wasn’t saying. “But otherwise?” Derek tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

Eve appreciated the tender feeling of his fingers against her skin. “It can be—it has been—the loneliest time of the year for me.”

Derek smiled and dropped his hand. “Then it’s time that changed.”