18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18

Jamie

I hear Sean and Jacob's voices as they talk, but have no clue what they're saying. My focus is all on the woman walking with my sister.

When I first saw Evie tonight, I was thankful I was sitting down. My breath caught, and my heart started racing. A small grin tugged at the corner of my mouth as I saw the hat Jessica made her wear.

When I finally got out of the car, I was too far away to hear what she and Jacob were saying. But somehow, I caught a faint whiff of the familiar scent of vanilla. Tonight, though, it was mixed with cinnamon. How is it that even with fires burning and hot chocolate in the air, the one thing I can smell is Evie ?

"I made sure to tone down the mistletoe a bit." Jacob's voice comes into focus as he tells Sean about the mistletoe. "But don't worry, there are plenty of locations with it hanging around. Many are clearly out in the open but you won't see them immediately unless you're looking."

"Great. Thank you." Sean turns to me and puts his hand on my shoulder, looking toward Evie and Jess. "She looks beautiful."

"Exquisite," I whisper.

"I can't believe I'm marrying her in two weeks." His words register, and I shake my head. A small laugh escapes me when I realize Sean is not talking about Evie. Sean is as distracted as I am by the woman he loves.

The sound of car doors pulls my eyes from Evie, and I turn to see my parents, the O'Connells, and Penny and Liam. Laughing happily as they walk toward the rink. I can see my mom pointing to the fire pits and Mrs. Stewart pointing out all the lights.

Sean and I head over to them, and my gaze is again pulled toward Evie. I catch her gaze before she quickly shifts to greet our families, and my chest tightens .

Jessica's voice floats through the air as she greets everyone with a smile that could light the night. I feel a smile lift my lips at seeing her so happy.

She grabs my mom's and Mrs. O'Connell's arms to show them around, and my smile gets bigger. I remember this Jessica. I would get to see her about three times a year: Christmas, her birthday, and on the Fourth of July.

She was a complete and utter grump the other three-hundred and sixty-two days of the year.

My mom looks over her shoulder, sees me, and waves excitedly. I wave back as I watch my dad and Mr. O'Connell follow behind their wives and talk to Sean.

I hear Evie laughing with Liam and Penny. Her face glows with happiness. I take a deep breath, blow it out, and make my way toward them, my eyes are on her the entire time.

As if sensing my presence, Evie glances in my direction, and our eyes hold for a moment. I feel a tingling in my stomach, and my heart races.

Seeing Evie's gaze shift to me, Liam and Penny look to see what she's looking at. I chuckle at Liam's hat, and he glares at me.

"Seriously?" Liam growls. "You're not wearing it? Sean told me he would kill me if I didn't."

"You know you were actually in the Army, and Sean just plays a soldier on the big screen, right?" Liam's forehead pulls and he takes his hat off.

"I'll be right back." He kisses Penny on the cheek and heads back to the parking lot to throw his top hat back in the car. Headlights are shining on us as more guests begin to arrive.

"Hey, Penny." I lean over and kiss her on the cheek.

"Hi, Jamie. You look great. I guess the makeover went well."

My eyes widen, and I shake my head back and forth, but it's too late and the words are already out of her mouth. Evie is staring at me with a massive smile on her face.

"Makeover, huh?" The glint in her eyes is dazzling, and my breath hitches in my throat. I'm completely embarrassed, but more so, I'm speechless at her beauty.

"I–uh–no," I stutter.

"Oops." Penny giggles. "Liam didn't tell me it was a secret."

I can't stop the glower that comes over me. But Evie just laughs harder. The sound of it rings through my body, making my heart stop before jump-starting again.

"It's a Sean O'Connell specialty for all of those in his matchmaking school," Evie teases, talking to Penny.

My glower turns into a grin as I focus on Evie. "Well, apparently it worked because you noticed right away."

Her eyes widen, and a pink hue tints her cheeks, which isn't from the cold. She coughs before saying. "I did not."

Penny's head is bouncing back and forth between us like she's watching the finals at Wimbledon. She doesn't even try to contain the smile splitting her face.

"You mean I just imagined your eyes taking me in when I walked up to you and Jacob?" I slowly move closer to her. I feel her hand on my chest to stop me, but my next words have her pausing her movement. "Or that your eyes hoovered over my lips before making their way to my eyes."

She gasps, laughs, and pushes me away. "Jamie Stewart, you are—"

"Pen are you ready for some…" Liam says before realizing he interrupted something. He smirks and then looks at me and then Evie. "What did I miss?"

My eyes are still glued to Evie as she drops her hand and looks at her brother. Her mouth forms the most adorable O.

"Nothing, hun." Penny grabs Liam's arm. "Let's go get some hot chocolate."

Liam looks at me, and then at Evie, and the smile on his face gets bigger, but he doesn't say a word. He takes Penny's hand, entwines it with his, and walks to the hot chocolate stand.

"Evie…"

"Evie!" Walking toward us are Sean's friends from bingo. Faith, Thomas, Alisha, Steve, Desmond, William, Hannah, Leah, and Tom. They're all bundled up like we're in a deep freeze, and I can't stop the smile that creases my face at each of them.

"Sean and Jess are going to be so happy to see all of you!"

"He better be. It's freezing," Steve complains.

"Steve!" Everyone growls at him.

"You said you were going to be on your best behavior," Faith chastises.

"Well, you didn't tell me it was going to be below zero." He pulls his trapper hat further down around his ears.

Evie's dancing eyes meet mine and the smile lighting her face makes my mouth go dry.

"We can't have you freezing. Let's head over for some hot chocolate and then to the special fire pit that Sean arranged for you all to play a game of Christmas bingo."

"Sean is the sweetest boy!" Alisha says.

"He's definitely special," Tom chimes in.

I watch as Evie walks them in the direction of the hot chocolate stand, warmth spreading throughout my chest. I have a lopsided grin on my face when she turns and meets my gaze. Her eyes are sparkling, and she beams a smile at me.

Just when I didn't think I could fall any more in love with her, I do.

A few hours later, I look around to see that everyone is enjoying themselves. The s'mores stand has just been set up. People are heading over to grab some graham crackers, marshmallows, and chocolate before heading back to the fire pits.

A flash catches my eye, and I see my mom and dad kissing under the mistletoe in front of the picture of Main Street. My mom sees me looking and waves at me. I wave back and smile.

It's amazing that everyone has been staying warm. The wind has died down, lessening the chill. I find myself searching through the people, looking for Evie like I've been apt to do all night. She keeps moving from group to group and ensuring no one needs anything.

Finally, I find her sitting with Liam and Penny. I look to the left and see Sean and Jessica laughing and playing bingo.

A grin creeps along my face, and I shake my head. I still can't believe that the famous Sean O'Connell plays bingo. He never fails to surprise me.

I look back toward Evie, Liam, and Penny to see Penny and Liam heading to skate. I feel a warmth spread through me and glance at Evie just as she looks away and takes a sip of hot chocolate.

At that moment, I realize that I haven't seen Evie on the ice. I head over to the rental booth and grab the ice skates that Jessica and Sean had set aside for both Evie and me. I head over to where Evie is sitting, and when she sees me, her eyes widen, and she vehemently starts shaking her head back and forth.

"There is no way I'm putting those on," she says, pointing at the ice skates in my hands. I take the seat next to her. I notice the rubber mat around the fire pit, far enough to not catch on fire but close enough to stay warm for people to put on skates without their feet freezing. I marvel at the details that Jacob has gone to to make everyone comfortable.

"You know it would make Jessica happy if you skated," I say using the bride as a reason to get her on the ice.

"You mean so she and everyone else can laugh at me as I fall."

"I won't let you fall, Evie." I glance up at her as I tie the laces of my one skate and see an uncertain look on her face. "I promise, Evie. I won't let you fall."

"I'm still scared." She says it so softly that I barely make out what she said over the music and laughter, but she grabs the skates and starts to put them on.

I put my hand on her arm and wait until she looks up at me. "I promise you will not hit the ice once while we're out there."

The worried look in her eyes is still there, but I see her take a deep breath, blow it out, and watch as determination replaces it.

"Attagirl." I smile at her as I put on my other skate.

When I'm finished lacing up, I wait for her to finish and then stand.

"Walking on the skates is a bit weird, but just do your best to walk normally."

"From what I remember, that was the easy part." Her laugh shakes a little bit.

We get to the entrance of the ice, and I step on and immediately turn to look back at her. She has both hands on the side entrance to the ice, and she looks terrified.

"Evie," I say, trying to get her to focus on me. When she looks up, my heart cracks a little. I want to remove that fear and have her feel completely safe. I stretch my hand out to her. She looks at it before meeting my eyes again. "Do you trust me?"

I see so many emotions flash through her eyes, and my mouth feels filled with cotton. My heart is pounding so loud it's like a dull roar in my ears. Her eyes meet mine again, and my stomach swirls.

I'm not just asking her if she trusts me not to let her fall on the ice, but if she trusts me not to hurt her again.

Everything fades away as I wait for Evie to make her decision.