“So,” he said, when the last crumb of pizza was eaten, “are there any more stores you’d like to visit?”
She shook her head. “I think we made it through most of Jewell Cove already.”
“That’s too bad.”
“It is?” She turned on the seat and looked at him. His gaze caught hers and she was momentarily spellbound as the seconds drew out.
“Charlie,” he whispered, leaning forward.
She caught herself leaning in too, her heart pounding like crazy as he kissed her, the baby between them. Nothing major, just a soft, sweet, mingling of lips before he sat back again. She was sure there must be stars in her eyes when she looked at him, but she couldn’t help it. That was possibly the sweetest, nicest thing to happen to her, maybe ever.
“I don’t want the day to end so soon,” he said quietly, “and I’m trying to come up with something to do.”
She was feeling the same way. There’d been no pressure in that last kiss, just a really nice moment between two people who were enjoying each other and their date. The whole day had put her in the holiday spirit, far more than she’d expected. “Well, you do have the SUV. There is one thing we could do this afternoon.”
“What’s that?”
“Have you bought a Christmas tree yet?”
He leaned against the back of the bench. “I wasn’t actually going to put one up.”
“You have to.” She put her hand on his knee. “It’s not Christmas without a tree. I wasn’t going to either, but I changed my mind. It seemed pointless if I were going to be by myself, but if I have Daniel much longer … it’s his first Christmas. All kids should have a Christmas tree, no matter how old they are.”
He laughed. “You’re sentimental. Go figure.”
She smiled at him. “Maybe I am.”
Daniel started to squirm and she knew she’d been lucky for him to stay this quiet for this long. “Someone’s selling trees in the gas station lot. Do you want to check it out? I need to change the baby too. Give him a bottle before he turns into Mr. Crankypants.” In some ways this was the strangest date she’d ever been on. How many people took a newborn on a first date?
“Okay, but there might be another problem you haven’t thought of.”
“Oh?”
He tilted his head and regarded her lazily. “Sugar, if I wasn’t going to put up a tree, chances are I don’t have any decorations to put on it.”
Right.
She looked at her watch. “We could hit the department stores in Rockland first. Stock up on lights and ornaments and pick up the trees on the way back.”
“I dunno. That seems like quite a commitment.”
She laughed. “The afternoon, or the tree?”
“Both. You sure you’re both up to it?”
She raised an eyebrow. “Seriously. What else are we going to do this weekend? A pit stop for some hot water to heat a bottle and we’ll be good to go. Consider this me, learning to do something on a whim.”
He grinned. “I’m game if you are.”
“Let’s hit the road then. I’m betting the tree guy packs up by five.”
Chapter Eight
As a rule, any big chain department store was a cacophony of Christmas music, impatient children, and intercom announcements this close to the holidays. Today was no exception. Charlie stepped inside and immediately felt overwhelmed. There was a reason she did most of her shopping in small specialty stores or before the Christmas rush. Right now it felt like everyone on the midcoast was crammed into this one store, hungry for bargains and frantic for deals and short on patience and goodwill toward men.
“It’s Saturday,” Dave remarked, grabbing them a metal cart. “And you thought the crowds at the festival were bad.”
“Then we need to be strategic.” Charlie adjusted the straps of the Snugli and looked down into Daniel’s face to be sure he was okay. His eyes were alert but he was content after his bottle and changing. They started down the widest aisle as Charlie began ticking items off on her fingers. “You need a tree stand, skirt, lights, and ornaments at the very least.”
“That sounds like a lot.”
“Just think how much money you’ll save next year.” She smiled up at him. “Anyway, if we head to the seasonal section, we should be able to find everything we need there.”