“You and Adeline seem to have gotten off to a good start,” Trent said, grinning wide. “What’d you think about her?”

So many things ran through my mind at the thought of her. She was beautiful, with a set of deep, emerald eyes I didn’t want to look away from. When we shook hands, I felt something I’d never felt before—familiarity. I didn’t want to let her go.

“I think she’s beautiful,” I said. “Other than that, I don’t know much about her. I plan on talking to her more tonight.”

Caleb chuckled. “She’s easy to talk to. I spent time with her at the rehearsal last night.”

A pang of jealousy tightened in my chest. I wished I’d been there. “What all did you two talk about?”

Caleb shrugged. “I told her about my fiancée, and how we live forty-five minutes away from you in California. Other than that, we mainly talked about you.”

“Me? What did you say?”

A sly smile stretched across his face. “Oh, just how much of a scrooge you are. When Jessica told her she wanted to set you two up, Adeline wanted to know more about you.”

“Great,” I groaned. “What better person to ask than you. What kind of crap did you say?”

He burst out laughing. “I just said that you haven’t been home in over seven years, and that every time I ask you to come over for Christmas dinner, you turn me down.”

“She’s seriously going to think I am Scrooge. Thanks for nothing, Caleb.”

He snorted. “What? It’s the truth.”

“Things change. I’m not like that anymore.”

Trent jerked his attention to me. “Since when?”

“I don’t know,” I whispered, not exactly sure where those feelings came from. I couldn’t explain it. Deep down, I knew I hadn’t cared about celebrating Christmas in years, but it was as if something had changed overnight. Suddenly, I wanted to enjoy the holidays.

A knock sounded on the door, and a short woman with curly brown hair stuck her head in. “It’s almost time, gentlemen.” Her focus landed on me and she beamed. “You must be William,” she said, opening the door wide. She held out her hand. “I’m Margaret Grant, the wedding planner.”

I shook her hand. “It’s good to meet you, Margaret.” Her pantsuit was bright red, and there was a piece of mistletoe pinned to her jacket. She patted it with her hand when she saw me staring at it.

“Mistletoe is known to bring happiness. I’m a wedding planner, so I find it to be good luck. So far, none of the weddings I’ve planned over the years have turned into divorce.”

“Then I’m calling you,” Caleb blurted. “I’m getting married soon too.”

Margaret chuckled. “I’d be happy to oblige.” Her gaze met Trent’s and she tapped her watch. “Five minutes before you need to be in the ballroom.”

Trent took a deep breath and nodded. “I’m ready. Let’s go, guys.”

The ballroom was filled to the brim, and once all the family members had been escorted to the front row, it was time to take our places. The music began to play, and Jessica’s sisters both marched slowly down the aisle. Once they were up front, I knew who was coming next. Adeline appeared at the entrance, dressed in her purple gown, holding her flowers. My heart raced, and I couldn’t take my eyes off her. Another feeling of déjà vu swept through me. It was as if I’d seen her before somewhere, and not just in a picture.

“Ladies and gentlemen,” the DJ announced. “It’s time for the bride and groom’s first dance as husband and wife.”

The crowd cheered as Trent and Jessica took the floor. After the ceremony, every time I tried to speak to Adeline, something always got in the way. She would either be pulled away by someone, or I would. Now, she was across the room, watching the dance, and I was nowhere near her. Trent’s friend, Derek, was trying to flirt with her, and I didn’t like it. I’d never been this way over a woman before, especially one who I barely knew.

“Why don’t you go over and talk to her?” a voice called out.

I looked over to see Margaret standing beside me. “To who?”

She giggled. “You know who. I’ve watched you stare at her for the past hour.”

My gaze instantly found her again. “She reminds me of someone. I’m trying to work out who.”

“She has that kind of face, doesn’t she? Almost like an angel. If I were you, I’d go over and rescue her from your brother’s friend. She doesn’t look very happy.”

“I just might do that, thanks.” I turned to nod at her, but she was gone. Looking back to Adeline, she had also disappeared. Weird. Cutting through the crowd, I made it over to Derek. “Hey, where’s Adeline?”

He shrugged. “Don’t know. She just up and walked off while I was talking to her.”

Jessica’s sister, Alexis, pointed at the patio door. “I saw her go outside.”

“Thanks.” Looking out the door, I found her off to the side, almost out of sight. I walked outside, and she didn’t see me, as her focus was on the snow-covered mountains. The sun was almost gone, but it still shined in her golden blonde hair. “Adeline?”

Gasping, she jerked around and grabbed her chest. “Geez, you scared me. What is it with you Blair men and sneaking up on people? Caleb did it yesterday and I spilled wine on my dress.”

I held up my hands and laughed. “Sorry. My plan was to save you from Derek, but it looks like you didn’t need me.”

She snorted. “Derek’s fun to talk to in small doses. I just wasn’t in the mood for his flirting tonight.”

“Yeah, that was hard to watch.” Closing the distance, I walked up to her and leaned my elbows on the rail. She smelled sweet, like raspberries and sunshine. “So, what do you do, Adeline? You don’t work at the hospital, do you?”

“Oh, good God, no,” she replied. “I’m not a big fan of blood.”

We had that in common. “Neither am I.”

She looked over at me, her eyes staring deep into mine. “I’m a high school history teacher.”

“Nice. Do you like it?” I asked.

Her eyes lit up. “More than anything. My grandfather was a historian. I couldn’t help but follow in his footsteps. Now I get to teach kids about it.” She shrugged. “I might not make a ton of money, but it’s what I love doing.”

“I don’t blame you.”

“What about you? Do you love what you do?”

“I do,” I admitted honestly. “It’s a family business; been around for over a hundred and fifty years.”

She nodded. “1866 to be exact, right?”

“How did you know that?”

Her smile was so beautiful. “I’m a history teacher and a die-hard historian, remember? Also, I’ve talked to Trent about it. He said your father wasn’t happy with him when he didn’t want to run the company with you.”

I blew out a heavy breath. “You’re right. It was a huge mess. Then again, Trent was always different. I knew he wouldn’t be happy in an office. Being a doctor is what he loves.”

“And Jessica likes being a nurse. They’re perfect for each other.”

I looked inside, and their dance had just ended. Everyone else was taking to the dance floor. “Would you like to dance?” I held out my hand, hoping she’d take it.

She stared at it and then lifted her gaze. “I’d love to. You can keep Derek away from me.”

And every other male in the room. Holding hands, we walked inside. Reaching the dance floor, I put my hand on her waist, pulling her in close. Her body fit perfectly against mine.

“Are you excited about moving home?”

“A few weeks ago, I would’ve said no, but now that I’m back, I realize California was never my home. I’ve missed this place.” We circled around the dance floor.

A sad smile spread across her face. “I know what you mean. I’ll never leave Asheville. I promised my grandfather I’d never sell Hamilton Manor.”

My eyes widened. “That’s where you live?”

She beamed, but I could still see the sadness in her eyes. “My grandparents left it to me when they died. It’s a huge place all to myself, but I love it. The Hamiltons used to have a huge party each Christmas day as a tradition. The townspeople would gather there, but that was back when Asheville was a lot smaller. Now we just invite our family and friends.”

“That sounds nice.”

She bit her lip. “Would you like to come? Jessica and Trent will be there.”

“I’d love to.” The words came out before I could even think about them.

Her eyes narrowed. “I thought you didn’t like Christmas.”

I looked over at Caleb and glared at him, but he wasn’t paying attention to me. “Caleb told me he said that to you. He’s right, I used to be a little bah-humbug, but lately, it’s growing on me.”

“Why don’t you like the holidays?”

The song stopped and turned into an upbeat one. We cleared the dance floor and sat down at one of the tables. “It’s not that interesting of a story. I don’t want to bore you with it.”

She placed her hand on top of mine and squeezed. “Nothing you could ever say would bore me.” Her eyes looked at our hands, then widened, before she moved her hand away, laughing nervously. “Where will you be staying when you move back?”

“Do you know the house off Malvern Street? It’s an old one, built in 1929.”

“Yes,” she replied excitedly. “It’s an amazing house. The area out there is gorgeous. Not to mention, the acreage. It’s almost as much as mine. In fact, if I’m not mistaken, I think your property runs up next to mine.”

I nodded. “I believe it does. I haven’t had the time to explore everything around there yet. Trent said you have some of the best views.”

“Including a lake and a pond,” she added. “There was always an adventure growing up. I have thirty-five acres of land all to myself. As a child, I used to explore and pretend I was somewhere else. If you want, I can take you for a tour. I know every square inch of it.”

“I’d like that.”

“Good. When you come back into town, I’ll show you around.”

“Sounds like a plan. Do you know how to ride? We could probably see more if we took horses.”

Her mouth gaped in surprise. “You ride?”

“I grew up riding,” I answered with a laugh. “I bought two horses the other week. I was going to say, if you knew how to, you could take one of mine.”

“I do,” she murmured. “In fact, I have my own horses. I’ve ridden all my life.” Her gaze focused on something over my shoulder. That was when I heard my mother’s voice.

“Will.” I turned around and she grabbed my arm. “Want to twirl your mother around the dance floor?”

“Of course. Hey, Mom, you know Adeline Hamilton, right?” I asked, nodding toward her.

My mother’s face brightened. “Of course! Jess has brought her around many times.”

“It’s always a pleasure,” Adeline added as my mother hugged her. “You’re coming to my party on Christmas day, aren’t you?”

My mother winked at her. “Wouldn’t miss it. I’m bringing a pumpkin roll and snickerdoodle cookies.” Then she elbowed me in the side. “The snickerdoodles are his favorite.”

Adeline froze, as if she’d just seen a ghost. “Snickerdoodles?” Her focus landed on my mother. “Let me guess, you colored the dough when he was child, to make them more Christmassy?”

My mother gasped. “Yes, he used to love them. How did you know? I don’t think I ever told you.”

I stared at Adeline and the way she fidgeted with her hands. She cleared her throat and gave a tight smile. “It was just a guess. If you’ll excuse me, I just have to . . .” her words trailed off, and just like that, she disappeared in the crowd.