Lydia's Pine Harbor Christmas, стр. 7

“Oh, great.” Lydia felt like she’d been punched in the gut. “Lucky you, Marco!”

He gave her a gentle half smile. “I didn’t mind.”

Her mother said, “Happy birthday,” then hugged her.

“Thanks, Mom.” It was a fantastic gift—the best birthday gift she’d ever received. She could drive herself to and from school. But she was going to miss Marco.

Dylan said, “Why don’t you two take her out for a spin?”

Lydia tightened her grip on the key. “Oh, I’m sure Marco needs to get back to the bar.”

“I think I can spare a few minutes. Come on, let’s go see what this baby can do.”

The two guys were practically beaming with joy—not that Lydia wasn’t thrilled with her car. She was. And she was glad Marco wanted to ride in her car. It was her birthday, and he was happy for her. She looked around, and her heart was so full. She had everything she could have hoped for her birthday. Her mother was happy with Dylan. They were almost a family. And Lydia had a father. She couldn’t wait to open his card. And Marco was Marco. But that was the problem. She wouldn’t think of that for the moment.

They got in, and she turned the key in the ignition. “Okay, here we go!”

They drove through the town. In the dark, all the Christmas lights glowed. Marco suggested they park by the water to take in the harbor lights. It was a magnificent sight at any time of the year, but at Christmas, it was especially magical.

Lydia kept the car idling while they leaned their heads back and soaked in the scenery. “I’m so glad this is home. I love it.”

“And now you can come over here anytime you want.”

“This is a great way to top off my birthday.” She started to shift into reverse and head for home, but Marco stopped her.

“Let’s stay here for a minute.”

“Okay.” That caught Lydia off guard.

Marco unbuckled his seat belt and turned, leaning his arm on the seat back. “I have an idea. It makes good sense financially.”

“Okay.” He was sounding oddly practical, which wasn’t exactly her first choice when parked before a scene so romantic that it made the heart swell.

“Well, I was just thinking.”

“Thinking is good.”

Marco’s practical expression disappeared, and the old Marco returned with a grin. “I know!”

When he didn’t continue right away, Lydia said cheerfully, “Well, good. Thank you for sharing.”

“Wait. Hear me out.”

The longer he took to say whatever it was he had on his mind, the more uncomfortable Lydia became. But that was her problem. She was always overanalyzing everything that he said or did, even though she knew it was not all about her. In fact, it was seldom about her.

Marco slipped off his shoes and put his feet up on the dashboard then clasped his hands behind his head.

“Comfortable?”

He tilted his head. “Leather seats would be nice.”

Lydia started to give him a playful swat with the back of her hand, but he caught her wrist. An awkward moment followed while he loosened his grasp on her wrist and set her hand down gently. Lydia’s heart did the weightless thing it always did when he touched her. I am so hopelessly lost.

Oblivious to Lydia’s moment of crisis, Marco said, “I got used to riding together.”

That made Lydia far happier than it should have. “Me too.”

Marco touched the button and tilted the seat farther back to almost a full recline. “You know, we’d save money if we carpooled. Not to mention reducing our carbon footprint.”

Lydia gestured toward Marco’s feet on the dashboard. “If your feet weren’t so big, we wouldn’t have to worry so much about that.”

“I know. That’s why we need to act now.” A smile teased the corner of his mouth.

“What kind of act?” Because you really shouldn’t talk about performing acts together when we’re in a parked car with your seat horizontal.

“Carpool.”

“Carpool?”

Marco pressed the button and raised his seat back up to its original position. “Yeah. I’ll take Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. You can drive Tuesdays and Thursdays.”

“But…” That is not going to help me break free.

“Okay, we can alternate Fridays.” He nodded as though it were settled then smiled and leaned back while he lowered his seat back again.

Lydia couldn’t help but smile. “Having fun?”

“Try it. It’s like an amusement park ride.”

“Marco, have you ever been to an amusement park? ‘Cause I’m pretty sure it’s more fun than this.”

“Lydia, nobody has more fun than we do.”

She smiled and lowered her seat back. “How could they?”

And that’s why I’ll wind up spending the rest of my life like my mother, alone and unloved—except even she has found love.

So have I. Too bad it’s one-way.