“That’s fine,” Regina said.
The woman peeked over the top of her computer screen. “And how long are you planning on staying?”
“Um, for the first time in my life, I don’t really have a set plan.”
“That’s okay, dear. How long were you going to be on your honeymoon?”
Regina automatically flinched, and one of the other women scolded Fern and then took Regina’s hand and patted it like they were old friends.
Which made her even more hesitant to let go of the sheriff’s arm. He glanced down at her hand, and his throat worked a swallow, and she probably shouldn’t be noticing that.
She dropped her hand, wrapping her arm around her middle instead. Because she loved her finance-director job and felt the company could hardly run without her, taking time off was difficult and her workaholic sensibilities kicked in. “Um, two weeks, which seemed like an extravagant amount of time to me, but I never take time off.” Just another reason my fiancé decided to get out while he could.
Ex-fiancé.
The woman holding her hand squeezed it. “Everyone needs time off, and I say you take that time to relax and just work on you, honey.” A lightbulb went off, lighting her eyes. “You should spend it here with us.”
“Oh yes,” and a few other enthusiastic responses went through the group. “There’s nothing like Christmas in Friendship.”
“We’ve got enough things going on to keep your mind nice and occupied,” Fern said.
“I know that I’ll be nice and occupied with the events,” Sheriff Haywood added. “The town makes sure of it.”
Fern clucked her tongue. “Ignore him. He’s a stick in the mud about Christmas.”
“Funny,” Regina said, getting swept up in the teasing. “I just accused him of being the Grinch, and would you believe he tried to deny it?”
The ladies laughed, and she glanced at him, hoping it was okay she’d said that. He shook his head but there was that almost-smile; if she’d known she’d only get the with-teeth smile at his sister’s house, she would’ve taken an extra second or two to appreciate it.
“And you have to stay for the big Christmas party. There’s a dance and everything,” the woman still holding her hand said. Evidently, she wasn’t planning on letting go, which meant Regina might no longer have a choice in the matter. The woman’s gaze lifted over the top of Regina’s head. “Shouldn’t she stay for the dance, Sheriff?”
Regina glanced at him again. She couldn’t seem to help herself, and now that she’d gotten used to so many people she didn’t know crowding her space and asking about her personal affairs, she found herself swept up in the sense of camaraderie.
The sheriff’s eyes locked on to hers, mischief dancing in their depths. “Pretty sure it’s illegal not to go to the Christmas party ’round these parts, and I already gave you one free pass on being arrested, so …”
She tilted her head, giving him her best haughty expression. “So you’re saying, if I don’t stay for the festivities and go to the dance, I’ll be spending my vacation in jail?”
“Afraid so. I don’t make the laws, I just enforce them.”
“When he feels like it,” Fern said, and his scowl returned.
“No, you just want to be an exception to the rule,” he shot back.
The B&B owner made an offended noise before turning back to Regina, who’d always thought these kinds of towns only existed in fiction. She liked how involved they already were in what happened to her, even if she also worried it was a bad idea. She was in a fragile state as it was, and getting attached to people only to leave? Well, after the one person she’d planned to spend her life with walked away without a second thought, attachment issues were sure to follow. She’d do some research so she could find out what to expect and how long it might take to get over.
Still, two weeks in a cute little town that celebrated Christmas on such a grand scale sounded like just the vacation she needed. “Okay, book the two weeks. But if I need to leave early …?”
“We can work with whatever you need, dear,” Fern said.
“Thank you. I appreciate that.” As Regina dug out her credit card to finish booking the room, a lightness filled her. Her parents always vacationed in exotic locations for the holidays—this year it was Italy—and while she had friends and distant relatives, she didn’t have anyone she felt she could burden for Christmas now that she was a gloomy party of one. And she certainly didn’t want to go back to her place. That would only accentuate her loneliness.
“I can call in Aaron to take your bag if you—”
“I’ll take it,” the sheriff said, and the women exchanged curious glances. It would seem he didn’t offer to tote suitcases around very often.
Admittedly, it made her feel sorta special, even though her heart was far too beat up to go getting any ideas about the surprisingly cute law enforcer and resident grinch.
He walked her down the hall, and when she unlocked the door, he rolled the suitcase across the threshold but remained on the other side. “Just wanted to make sure that you felt safe here, and that you didn’t feel too pressured into agreeing to stay, even though you wanted to escape.”