Page 79 of Christmas at the Ranch
“Bruno?” Samantha repeated.
Drew nodded. He ran his hands through his hair.
“He couldn’t stand by and watch me lose the best thing that will ever happen to me,” he continued. “It took me a while to come around, but he was right. We all make mistakes. It would have been a much bigger mistake to let you go.
“I’m falling in love with you and I’ll never feel like this again. I wanted to come and tell you right away. But there was something I had to do first. Bruno drove me into the village.” He paused. “I spent the afternoon with my mother.”
Samantha gasped.
“You were with Marigold?”
“We had a lot of things to talk about,” Drew confirmed. “She wrote to me for years. I guess my father received the letters and never told me.” He shifted his feet. “It doesn’t excuse her for leaving, but holding on to a grudge doesn’t help. She loves me and wants a relationship. We’re going to try to start again.”
Tears welled up in Samantha’s eyes.
“I’m glad. She’s a special person.”
“She’s upstairs having a cup of tea with Elaine,” Drew said. He somehow looked lighter, as if a weight had been lifted from his shoulders. “She wants to come to the party, but I needed to talk to you first.”
Drew took Samantha’s hand. His palm was warm on top of hers. She remembered the first time their hands touched on the plane. She had asked him to tell her a story.
“What are you thinking about?” he asked, noticing her expression.
“If I hadn’t been afraid of takeoff, we never would have started talking,” Samantha said, smiling up at him.
“You are beautiful. I would have thought of some reason to talk to you,” Drew said knowingly.
“I doubt that!” Samantha laughed. The worry and fear dissolved and she felt bright and happy. “You only asked me to move my books from your seat.”
“It was a lot of books,” he conceded. “We’ll have to take that into consideration. Most women need a whole closet for their clothes; you’ll need a whole room for your books.”
“We have plenty of time to figure it out,” Samantha replied. “Right now, we better go back to the house before Arthur sends a search party.”
Drew lifted his hand and touched her cheek. “There’s something I want to do first.”
“What is it?”
He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her. The kiss was long and deep, and she kissed him back.
“I wanted to do that all afternoon,” he said, when they parted. He leaned forward to kiss her again. “Now that I have, I don’t want to stop.”
Samantha stood in the living room, sipping a glass of champagne. Drew had gone upstairs to change. The party was in full swing. Jazz played over the speakers and couples danced on the dance floor. A waiter passed around platters of hors d’oeuvres, and crystal champagne flutes lined the bar.
The door to the kitchen opened. A woman stood in the hallway.
Samantha almost didn’t recognize Marigold. She wore a black velvet cocktail dress and pearl earrings. Her hair was twisted into a knot, and there was the shimmer of lipstick on her mouth.
Samantha glanced across the room at Arthur. His brow furrowed and he clenched his glass. Marigold caught his eye and gave him a little wave.
Arthur crossed the room and joined her.
“Diana,” he said. “What are you doing here?”
Marigold held out her hand.
“Bruno told me about the party,” she replied. “I hope you don’t mind me inviting myself. I felt like dancing.”
“Like dancing?” Arthur repeated, puzzled.
