~~~~~*~~~~~

It turned out Justin’s description of a ‘winter wonderland’ had been right on the money.

As soon as they drove through the wrought iron gates that signaled their arrival at the resort, Maggie could barely believe her eyes. There wasn’t a building, a tree, or even a rock, it seemed, that wasn’t dressed in festive holiday lights. She squinted her eyes closed a little like she used to do as a small child until all she could see was a horizon of soft, blurry warm-yellow circles of varying degrees of intensity.

“Wow,” she gushed as Justin expertly drove the black four-wheeler he’d rented along the road that led to the main complex. According to his memory, that was where the large outdoor ice rink was, and the mini ‘Christmas market’ that was a mini American version of the famous German Christmas markets. He didn’t sound as impressed by this as he had the ice rink, but Maggie was adamant that there was no way she would be lacing up a pair of skates in this, or any, century. Not that she was ready to tell him that, of course.

“Pretty impressive, huh?” Justin said, chuckling at her expression. She looked like a little kid about to see Santa for the first time, and he loved being able to do that for her.

“It’s…” she said, her voice trailing off as she stared out the window at the illuminated buildings they were passing by. Already she’d counted at least five lit Christmas trees through the windows of the hotels they were passing, each decorated in opulent, rich colored decorations. Maggie reached out and tugged awkwardly at the trim on her hand-knitted scarf. The resort certainly was beautiful, but she had the niggling feeling she wouldn’t fit in with the skiing crowd. No wonder so few of them found their way into Silverwood, she thought glumly. She doubted there was anything they might need outside the resort, which made Justin’s appearance in the bakery that day even more surprising. “…beautiful.”

At the sound of the awe in her voice, Maggie cleared her throat and glanced over at Justin to see if he’d noticed. He took his eyes off the road to grin at her. “You sound impressed.”

“I’m trying not to be,” she chuckled before glancing back out the window. “It kinda takes your breath away, you know? I don’t think I’ve seen this many lights, well…ever.”

“I know,” Justin agreed, nodding once. “See what I mean about Santa and his reindeer?”

“Uh-huh.”

“So what do you fancy doing first?” he asked as he steered the car off the main road and along a separate track that led to the first of many large parking areas. He’d been staying in the area now for only a few days and yet he already had the place completely mapped out in his head. He didn’t even need to check the signposts to direct him, and although Maggie said nothing, she was secretly impressed. She wasn’t the best with directions, and consequently she couldn’t help admiring anyone who seemed to be fitted with their own personal GPS. Hers, if it had ever been installed, was definitely broken.

“First?”

“Yeah,” he said, glancing across at her quickly before returning his eyes to the road. As much as he wished to keep studying the shy smile on her face and her glowing eyes, he had to remind himself that it was dark out and the roads could well be icy. He couldn’t afford to not give his attention one-hundred percent to the road. He wouldn’t win her favor by getting them both into a nasty car wreck. “I was thinking we could do something before we have dinner somewhere.”

Maggie wanted to chuckle. He didn’t sound too sure of his plans himself. “That sounds nice,” she said, quietly fiddling again with her scarf. He was unbelievably cute, and it was only making her more bashful. She didn’t know what she was supposed to do or say to such a man, and so she automatically became more introverted. It was a nasty habit, especially as she didn’t want him to think she wasn’t interested in him. She was very interested, although she knew it was common practice to play it cool at this stage.

“Yeah?” Justin asked meeting her eyes once again. He maintained eye contact until he absolutely had to look back at the road and then cleared his throat as he clutched the steering wheel tighter. It was another forget to breathe moment for Maggie, and her stomach flipped as she noticed a tinge of red coloring the tips of his ears as she gazed at his profile. It was the first indication that he, too, was as caught up in the moment as her, and she wasn’t quite sure how to handle the information.

An unstoppable grin crossed her lips, and she quickly tucked her head down so that the lower part of her face was covered by a loop of her scarf. She didn’t want him to glance over and see her grinning like a loon.

Could she really believe that he might like her? It was almost too good to be true. What could she possibly offer him that he couldn’t find in one of the women on the ski slopes? Other than showing him how to make gingerbread, of course, which now she’d seen him in his natural environment she was regretting. What he must have thought of her prancing around the kitchen like she was the Queen of Sheba, she groaned inwardly. It was thoroughly embarrassing.

“What kind of things do you like to eat?” Justin asked, having racked his brains to think of something clever to say but come up short. He was never nervous around women, but there was something about Maggie that seemed to knock him off his game. She was different, that was obvious, but there was something else there. A vulnerability that stopped him from pursuing her in the regular way. She bought out the tom cat feelings in him he usually kept suppressed and he found himself wanting to protect and defend her against anything that kept the dazzling smile from her face. It was a brand new experience for him.

“Anything really,” she said, giving the standard polite answer that gave him practically no information. He glanced at her and raised an eyebrow that made Maggie laugh. It was obvious he wasn’t going to settle for a vague answer. “Okay,” she said, letting out a nervous chuckle. “I like Italian, Mexican… American, of course…”

“Great,” Justin said flashing a winning smile. “Leave it with me.”

Maggie tucked her chin in her scarf once again as her eyes sparkled with delight. She liked him taking charge even though it woke the anxiety monster that resided in her gut. Letting go of control was an ongoing challenge for her, which she put down to the fact that generally in her life she had control over very little. Whatever she could control she clung onto for dear life. Still, even in the short time she’d known Justin she’d come to believe that he was worth trusting, and she was willing to put her faith in him.

“There must be so many people staying here,” Maggie observed as they passed yet another several-story tall hotel on their way to the parking lot.

Justin nodded and muttered a general affirmative as he steered the car in a wide loop and backed into a free space at the far end of the lot before shutting off the engine and turning to her with a wide grin. “You ready?” he asked.

Maggie giggled at the childish grin on his face and her stomach flipped in anticipation. She was so ready.

~~~~~*~~~~~

“Here,” Justin said, twisting around to hand Maggie a steaming cup of hot chocolate from the stand he’d just purchased it from. He’d noticed her shivering as they’d ambled pleasantly around the stalls at the Christmas market, and he’d insisted on finding her a hot drink to warm her through before they went any further.

Maggie lifted the cup to her lips and took a tentative sip even though she knew the steaming liquid would scald her lips and the tip of her tongue. She met Justin’s eyes over the rim of the cup and noticed he was staring at her intently, a concerned frown creasing his brow. He was so handsome she almost choked.

“Better?” he asked, the concern even hidden in the depths of his eyes. Maggie lowered the cup and held his gaze. Once again the warming sensation in the pit of her stomach returned, and it wasn’t just because of the drink. She wasn’t imagining things–the way he looked at her and took care of her. He liked her. Maybe a lot.

“Yes,” she mumbled, her voice coming out a little croaky. She lifted the cup and took another sip to fill the silence and find something to do with her hands. She couldn’t focus when he looked at her like that, and any conversation starters she’d had running through her head moments before simply vanished.

Maggie finished her drink in a few gulps and tossed the now empty container into the nearest garbage can. For all she could say about the resort it was certainly kept pristinely clean, and considering the large number of guests staying there she figured it would be a daily challenge for the grounds keepers. She inwardly groaned and wanted to smack herself over the head for automatically relating to the staff as opposed to the guests.

“You want to carry on or shall we get something to eat?” Justin asked, trying to read her expression but coming up short. Up until she’d begun to shiver he’d thought she’d been having fun. He’d certainly been enjoying getting to know her as they wandered between the stalls talking about everything and nothing like you did when you were first getting to know someone.

When he’d visited with his friends Justin hadn’t taken much of an interest in the market. It was the same old thing he’d seen lots of times before, but somehow with Maggie it was different. She was the difference, he thought with a smile. Her glowing face and the way she pointed out things to him to see his opinion grabbed his interest and kept him present.

“No,” she said, turning to glance behind at the row of stalls they had yet to visit. “I’m having a good time.” She met his eyes and smiled encouragingly. “You don’t mind, do you?”

Justin wanted to laugh. Mind? If only she knew how much he was enjoying being with her. She was a breath of fresh air to the kind of woman he usually spent his free time with, and not for the first time in the past few days he wondered what he’d been doing wasting his time with his usual ‘type’. There must have been lots of Maggies’ that he’d ignored over the years because they didn’t match up to his usual ‘type’, and he felt guilty thinking about it. But really, looking back, he’d been the one missing out.

“As long as you’re not too cold,” he said, reaching out to slip his hand around one of hers without even thinking. It was only as Maggie glanced down at their entwined hands he realized that till that moment he hadn’t touched her. Sure, they’d brushed hands several times in the bakery, but that had been accidental and had barely lasted more than a second or two. This was different, and she knew it too. It was written as clear as day all over her face. And her eyes, when they finally flicked up to meet his, were wide.

“You mind?” he asked casually, although he felt anything but. Her body language was telling him she was interested, but there was a chance he was wrong. She wasn’t as easy to read as other women he knew, but there was a certain excitement to that. It kept him guessing, and he liked having something to do in a relationship at last.

“No, I don’t mind,” Maggie said shyly, and she felt him squeeze her hand gently in response as he matched her stride and led her over to the next row of stalls. I don’t mind at all, she thought as her insides did a little flip at the feel of his warm thumb stroking the back of her hand.  

~~~~~*~~~~~