Debbie Macomber - On a Snowy Night - The Christmas Basket / The Snow Bride

“I’ve done business with the Suttons. They’re good people.”

“This feud between our mothers is ridiculous.” Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Kristen, who was dancing, too—her partner none other than Thom Sutton. It didn’t take a genius to put two and two together, especially when she noticed that Kristen was steering Thom in her direction. Noelle marveled at her sister’s courage in asking Thom to dance with her. And of course she had. Thom would never have sought Kristen out, especially for a dance in the Women’s Century Club Ballroom with both mothers present.

The two couples made their way toward the center of the polished floor. When they were side by side, Jonathan stopped.

“I believe you’re dancing with the wrong partner,” he said.

Noelle didn’t need to look over her shoulder to guess Jonathan was speaking to Thom.

“I believe you’re with the wrong woman,” Noelle heard Kristen tell her partner.

Jonathan released Noelle, and Kristen stepped out of Thom’s embrace and sailed into her fiancé’s waiting arms, leaving Thom and Noelle standing alone in the middle of the crowded dance floor.

Slowly, dread dictating every move, Noelle turned and came face-to-face with Thom. He didn’t look any happier than she felt at this sudden turn of events. “I didn’t plan this,” she said in clear, even tones.

His expression implied that he didn’t consider her comment worthy of a response.

“Are you two going to dance or are you just going to stand there and stare at each other all night?” Jonathan asked.

Thom shrugged, implying that he could do this if he had to. Reluctantly Noelle stepped into his arms. She wasn’t sure what to expect. Actually, she hadn’t expected to feel anything, certainly not this immediate deluge of emotion. He kept her at arm’s length and gazed into the distance.

To Noelle’s horror, tears filled her eyes as all the old feelings came flooding back. She was about to turn and walk off the dance floor when his fingers dug into her upper arms.

“You’re not running away from me again.”

“Me?” she cried, furious at the accusation.

“Yes, you.”

His words made no sense, she thought grimly, but said nothing. The dance would be over soon and she could leave him behind. Or try to. Kristen would answer for this.

No, she decided, she had only herself to blame. Over lunch, Noelle had confided in her sister. Kristen, being idealistic and in love, had plotted to bring Noelle and Thom back together. She didn’t understand that reconciliation wasn’t always possible.

“I’d like to ask you a question,” she said when she could tolerate the silence no longer.

“Fine.”

“Why’d you do it? Did you want revenge for your mother so badly it was worth using me to get it?”

He stopped dancing and frowned at her. “What?”

“You heard me.” She couldn’t keep the pain out of her voice.

He continued to frown, as if he still didn’t understand the question.

“Don’t give me that injured look,” she said, clenching her jaw. “Too many years have passed for me to be taken in by that.”

“You were the one who stood me up.”

“Yeah, right,” she said with a mocking laugh. “After I made an idiot of myself in front of my parents, too. That must’ve given you a real kick.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Thom, I waited in that park for two miserable hours and you didn’t show.”

Not an inch separated them now as his icy glare cut into her. Dancing couples swirled around them, but Noelle was barely conscious of anyone else. For all she knew or cared, they were alone on the dance floor.

“I waited hours for you, too.”

His lying to her now was almost more than she could stand. “I beg to differ,” she said stiffly.

“Noelle, listen to me! I was there.”

“You most certainly were not.” Then, to prove that she wasn’t going to accept a lie, no matter how convenient, she added, “You think I just waited around? I was sure something had gone wrong, sure there was some misunderstanding, so I phoned your home.”

“I wasn’t there because I was waiting for you!”

He persisted with the lie and that irritated her even more.

“You were gone, all right,” she said, spitting out the words. “You were with your buddies bowling.”

His eyes narrowed and he began to speak.

But the music stopped just then, which was all the excuse Noelle needed to get away from him. He reached for her hand and pulled her back. “We need to talk.”

“No. It happened years ago. Some things are better left alone.”

“Not this time,” he insisted, unwilling to budge.

“What do you hope to accomplish by going through all of this now? It’s too late.” They’d gain nothing more than the pain of opening old wounds. Any discussion was futile. It’d been a mistake to let herself get drawn into this silly drama—just one very big mistake.

“I’m not hoping to accomplish one damn thing,” he told her coldly.

“I didn’t think so.”

Thom released her hand. “Just a minute,” he said as she turned from him.

Noelle hesitated.

“I was there. I stood there for two hours and waited. You were the one who never showed.”

“That’s not true!”

They stood glowering at each other, both refusing to give in. Noelle wasn’t going to let him lie his way out of this, though—not after what his deception had cost her.

“Hey, you two, this is Christmas,” someone called out.

The voice ended Noelle’s resolve. Whatever had happened in the past didn’t matter anymore. Certainly not after all these years.

“If you find comfort in believing a lie, then do so,” he said, “but don’t involve me.” He walked away, his face hard and impassive.

Left alone in the middle of the dance floor, Noelle stared at him in amazement. Of all the nerve! He’d stopped her from leaving and now he’d taken off!

Picking up her skirt, she raced after him. “All right! You want to talk this out, then we will.”

“When?” He continued walking, tossing the question over his shoulder.

With Christmas so close, her time was booked solid. “I…soon.”

“Tonight.”

“All right.” She swallowed hard. “When and where?”

“After the dance. In the park, same place as before.”

That seemed fitting, since it was where they were originally going to meet the day they’d planned to elope.

“What time is the dance over?”

“Midnight.” He glanced at his watch. “So make it one.”

“I’ll be there.”

He shot her a look. “That was what you said the last time.”

December 21

5:00 p.m .

Everyone’s getting ready for the big dance, but my head’s still spinning and I’ve learned that it helps me sort through my emotions if I write everything down. I ran into Thom again . It’s as though we’re being drawn together, as though we’re trapped in some magnetic field and are being pulled toward each other from opposite directions. I can tell he doesn’t like it any better than I do .

It happened yesterday when I met Kristen for lunch at The Rose Garden. No sooner had our order arrived when in walked Thom and his mother .

Try as I might, I couldn’t keep my eyes off him. He apparently suffered from the same malady. Every time I glanced up , he was staring at me—and frowning. His mother was with him and I could see that he was trying to keep her distracted so she wouldn’t notice Kristen and me. I didn’t completely understand why until we arrived home and discovered that Mom and Mrs. Sutton had had another run-in while shopping for the Christmas baskets. That must have been something to see, although I’m grateful I didn’t!