His eyes locked on hers and she didn’t know if she could breathe. There was clapping and whistling coming from the crowd, but for a second all she could do was stare. Stare into the eyes that held so much from the past.

Ten minutes ago, Cami had been trying to get the ovens working in The Sweet Treat, when Claudine and Georgia burst in pleading with her to help with a town emergency.

She didn’t have time to change or even brush her hair. She grabbed her coat and ran out of the shop as they explained they needed her to sing. Sing? Her palms were instantly sweaty and her throat clamped shut. They tugged on her wrists while she tried to catch up to what was going on. Something about strep throat and O Christmas Tree. She heard the ooos and ohhs as she sped through the crowd. Everything inside her told her to make a break for it and run back to the warm kitchen of the candy shop. She didn’t belong in the center of town. Maybe if she stared hard enough, Evan would see that story in her eyes. He would know what she was feeling. She didn’t want to be on this stage any more than he wanted her to be here. But they had hurried her toward City Hall before she could adequately protest.

And now she was facing the town and facing the man who could still steal her breath with a single look.

Someone nudged her forward and she jerked off balance.

Evan grabbed her elbow before she completely fell. “Thanks,” she whispered.

He was stiff as he handed her the microphone. “Would you do the honors?” he asked.

She leaned to his ear, catching a whiff of his cologne. Her eyes closed. “What am I singing?”

He looked puzzled. His hand covered the mic. “O Christmas Tree, and then I’ll push the button to light the tree,” he explained. “Got it?”

Her stomach flipped as she nodded. “Got it.”

She knew he was still angry with her, but she wished for now, during this moment he wouldn’t such an asshole. She was nervous enough as it was.

They turned to the crowd, plastering fake smiles on their faces.

“Let’s kick this night off,” Evan announced. “We have a special treat. Cami Addison is going to sing for us. Our hometown star.” She wasn’t sure if he meant that as a compliment or a snub.

Everyone clapped and Cami saw a few phones pop up to record the song.

Evan stepped back, leaving Cami at the front of the stage by herself. To her right, a teenage boy gawked at her until Claudine Francis poked him. He hit play on the sound system and the town square was filled with music.

She was suddenly filled with panic that she wouldn’t remember the words to the song. But after the intro, they came to her. It was like riding a bike. The words were there in the back of her mind and then on her tongue. She saw the smiling faces filling the square. People she hadn’t seen in years.

People who used to be her neighbors. Kids she went to school with. Friends of her aunt. Customers at the shop. And their voices echoed in the air. When she looked out into the crowd they were all singing.

When the last note faded, their eyes turned to the tree. It was on her left, along with Evan and an enormous block with a gold button on top. Did that thing really light the tree?

It was impossible to escape from his eyes. They caught hers just as the crowd counted down.

Ten. Nine. Eight. Seven. Six. Five. Four. Three. Two.

Cami realized she was holding her breath as if that would somehow hold the moment between her and Evan.

One.

He pressed the button, as the crowd hollered and cheered. The lights sparkled on the branches, starting at the bottom and spiraling to the star at the very top. Cami remembered when she was a little girl, she thought the Harpers Point tree had to be the tallest Christmas tree in the world. There was nothing as magical and beautiful as watching the lights come to life.

As soon as she glanced back from the star the moment was gone. Evan looked away and started shaking hands with the people next to him. Someone patted him on the back and he turned away from her. It was hard not to feel like he meant something by the gesture.

“Miss Addison, can I take that?” The boy had returned to pack up the microphone.

“Oh, of course.” She handed it to him and slowly walked down the stairs as if in a daze.

“Can I get you some cocoa?” he offered.

“No thank you. That’s sweet.”

She passed through the crowd, the lights on the tall tree twinkled behind her. She stuffed her hands in the pockets of her red wool coat. She hadn’t even had a chance to grab gloves before she ran out. Now that she was no longer nervous, she felt cooler, even cold. Cami walked the two blocks back to the shop toward the water. She could see a few boats bouncing in the harbor. Some of them were already decked out with a few decorations for the flotilla. Wreaths made from fresh greenery. Big red velvet bows tied on the handrails.

She paused on the sidewalk under The Sweet Treat’s sign. The door was cracked open and the lights were still on. Behind her, the town was celebrating the kickoff of the season. They celebrated being together. They celebrated the excitement and the joy of what the next few weeks would bring.

She pushed the door ajar and walked in the shop. It didn’t feel right to stay. She walked behind the counter, hooking her coat on the knob where her aunt used to hang the aprons.

She’d been back a week. In that time she had managed to unpack most of the boxes in her apartment, clean the open space connected to the candy shop, and make a decision about The Sweet Treat. She was going to get it running for Christmas.

When she went through her aunt’s things she had found her old wooden recipe boxes. She wouldn’t be able to fill the shelves with everything that used to be in the glass cabinet, but she had a handful of recipes that would bring in customers, starting her aunt’s famous fudge.

First, she had to get the damn ovens working. If she couldn’t figure out what was wrong on her own, she was going to have to call an appliance repair man, and that was out of her budget. She was barely stringing enough money together from her song royalties. There wasn’t room to afford setbacks. Non-working ovens, was a huge setback.

Cami pulled her ponytail, straightening it on her head and sighed. She opened the industrial oven door and looked inside. She couldn’t see anything blocking the burners. She touched all the pieces to make sure nothing was loose. It seemed fine.

She closed the door, set the temperature, and shoved her index finger on the ignitor. The button slid all the way in. Nothing happened. Her shoulders slumped. There wasn’t a spark, not even the slightest hiss of gas. Cami groaned.

She moved on to the second oven, going through the same routine. She pressed the ignitor twice, more irritated this time.

“Ugh, why won’t you work?”

“Something wrong?”

Cami’s head whipped around at the sound of Evan’s voice.

“Wh-what are you doing here?”

He closed the door and walked toward the counter. “I didn’t get a chance to say thank you for singing at the tree lighting. You were gone by the time I broke away from the crowd.” He paused at the curved brick archway. “You didn’t want to stay?”

“It’s not that.” She looked at the ovens, as if that explained everything.

“They aren’t working, huh?” Evan shirked off his coat and hung it next to hers.

She had to blink to stop from gawking at how his arms strained against his dress shirt. He rolled up his sleeves. “What’s the problem?”

Cami stepped out of the way. “I don’t know. Neither one will turn on, and I can’t bake any of the candy without them. I’m not sure I can afford an expensive repair right now.”

He looked at her, then knelt on the floor. “Let me take a look.”

His brows knitted together and then he stood. He placed one hand on the back of the oven and one of the front, yanking it from the wall. He leaned over. Cami’s eyes followed his movements. He stooped, started twisting something, and then knelt in front of the door again.

Within seconds of pressing the ignitor, the flames spread across the floor of the oven.

“How did you do that?” Cami gasped.

He grinned devilishly and followed the same steps with the second oven. He faced her. “Your gas lines were disconnected and the valve was shut. Easy fix.”

“I should have been able to figure that out.” She stared at the temperature gages, racing to high temperatures.

“Not your fault. Music is your thing, right? Not mechanics.” Evan leaned against the baking counter. It was where the dough was rolled and the icing was swirled. “There were some people back there who wanted to say hi. Wish you a Merry Christmas.” He eyed her. “Why did you run away like that?”

Her lungs filled with air. “I needed to fix the ovens,” she lied.

He folded his arms across his broad chest. “I don’t believe that.”

She bit the inside of her cheek. “I just needed to leave. I had to go.”

“So I was right about you not really being back, wasn’t I? You don’t have any intention of staying.”

Her eyes flared. “Of course I’m back. I’m trying to re-open The Sweet Treat. You’re standing in my kitchen.”

He huffed. “Until something better comes along, you mean. Or until they call you back to Nashville.”

“That’s not true. You don’t know that. You don’t know what you’re talking about, Evan. You haven’t known me for a long time.”

His dark eyes, were instantly darker like swirls of rich chocolate. “That’s something we can agree on. I don’t know you anymore. The girl I knew never would have left Harpers Point in the first place.”

“I’m not the only one. You left too,” she blurted.

“What else was I going to do, Cami? You were gone.”

The air was hot and silent between them. The ovens were on full blast. Cami wiped the side of her forehead with her palm, smoothing her hair in place.

“It was a long time ago,” she whispered.

“Yeah. It was.”

He pushed off the counter. “Looks like you’re in business with the ovens. I’ve got to get back to the square.”

“Evan, wait.” Her hand landed on his wrist before she had time to think about what she was doing.

His eyes darted to hers. They held her in that moment. A moment of longing and regret. Regret that she had ruined the most precious gift of her life. They pinned her to a time when they didn’t need words to talk. When their connection was like the lyrics of a love song. When Evan looked at her as if she was his entire world.

Where had those people gone? Who were they now?

He looked down at her fingertips. She pressed into the flesh below his palm. She knew she should let go, but she couldn’t. She was afraid if she broke the connection, she’d never get it back. Evan would never stand in the kitchen again. He’d never seek her out in town. He’d never look at her the way he did at the tree lighting. She couldn’t let go. Not now.