“I know. Call me when you get there?”
“It’ll be late.”
“I don’t care. Hearing your voice will be worth a little lost sleep.”
He let her go, reluctance in every move as he climbed into the truck. The engine grumbled to life, and he rolled down the window for one last touch of her hand.
“I’ll be seeing you, Elf Girl.”
The dimples winked on as she squeezed his hand. “I’m counting on it, Sergeant.”
They didn’t say goodbye.
He kissed her knuckles, lifted his hand in a wave to his family, and backed out of the drive. She followed the truck so that the last thing he saw in his rearview mirror was her standing in the middle of the street, her hair whipping in the winter wind, color high in her cheeks as she waved until he was was out of sight.
He was gonna move mountains to get back to that woman.
Epilogue
One Year Later
“Since we can’t get the mini topiaries, we’ll need to come up with some other centerpiece for the table arrangements. With the wedding being in a week, we’re getting short on time.” Whitney Edmonds, the divorcée who’d opened an event planning business down the hall from Hannah several months back, was more than a little rattled. Her usually perfectly coifed blonde hair was piled in a messy bun, chunks escaping at odd intervals, as if she’d started to run her hands through in frustration and caught her fingers. “I don’t know why anybody wants to get married so close to Christmas.”
Relieved at the interruption to her own thoughts, Hannah rose from her desk. “It’ll be fine. Let’s go brainstorm.”
When she’d started at the small business incubator nearly a year before, she’d been overwhelmed at everything involved with opening her own firm. While her Christmas decorating efforts had helped to get the word out about her services, building a sustainable client list that would actually make for a living wage had been harder than she imagined. Not until Whitney had arrived and ended up needing help with her first full wedding did everything click into place. Hannah enjoyed the mix of challenges from more traditional interior design jobs to shorter-term event decor, and she’d gotten a new best friend in the bargain.
With the business growing steadily, she’d finally moved into her own place. She still spent a lot of time with Carolanne, but she didn’t miss her sister’s baker’s hours. And it was nice to have total privacy for her phone calls and video chats with Ryan. They’d kept in touch as well as they could, availing themselves of every possible form of long-distance communication. Since Christmas, she’d managed to see him in Washington, D.C. for thirty-six hours over the summer, but he hadn’t been back in the U.S. since. It wasn’t enough. She missed him like a limb, worried about him during the long stretches he was on mission and incommunicado. But someday—someday he wouldn’t be at the whim of the U.S. government. That day would not be this holiday season. He wasn’t even getting to come home this Christmas.
It would be fine. They’d celebrate whenever he managed to get leave again. Her parents had hit town a couple of hours ago, and she just needed to wrap work for the day before heading over to Carolanne’s for a family dinner. With them staying the next several days for the holiday, there was plenty to focus on right here in Wishful.
Retreating to the conference room, Hannah and Whitney began listing out options, making note of what materials they had readily available and what could be overnighted via the internet. That sent Hannah’s distracted brain down a rabbit hole, trying to remember if she’d finished her Christmas wrapping so she could take the gifts over tonight. From there, she took a mental trip through the massive care package
she’d shipped to Ryan, wondering when it would get there and if he and his team would like the decorations she’d sent. Would it help cheer them up or just make them homesick? She was banking on the former, but it was her first major holiday as a military girlfriend. Maybe she should’ve asked first.
“Earth to Hannah. What do you think of those blown-glass ornaments we looked at by that artist in Eden’s Ridge? We could incorporate them on mini Christmas trees maybe.”
“What?” She blinked, zeroing in on Whitney’s expectant face. “Oh, sorry. My focus is shot.” She needed to get it together so they could put the finishing touches on this winter wedding for Wynne Montgomery.
Whitney smirked. “Perhaps your attention would be held better by a certain bearded hottie in uniform?”
A pang echoed through her heart. If only. “That would definitely catch my attention.”
“Good to know.”
At the deep, resonant voice, she whirled.
Ryan stood in the doorway of the conference room in his BDUs, bag slung over his shoulder, exhaustion etched around his eyes, a smile on his face.
She was running, leaping into his arms almost before he could drop his bag. “You’re here. You’re here.” She peppered kisses over his face, her arms and legs tightening around him as he staggered a little beneath her onslaught. “How are you here? Never mind. That can wait for a minute.”
Her mouth fused to his. He took a couple of steps, turning until her back was to a wall and he had better leverage. Then he pulled back for a moment, cupping her face in his hands and lowering his lips to hers in a deep, toe-curling, panty-melting kiss that went a long damned way to making up for the time and distance apart.
Dimly, she heard Whitney muttering, “I’m just gonna give y’all some privacy.” Then the door to the conference room closed.
When they finally broke apart, breathless, Hannah couldn’t release him. He was here. “Oh my God, I missed you so much.”
“I missed you, too.”