Melinda wasn’t quite sure how she felt about it all the following morning. Last night seemed very distant in the blustering, rainy light of day. The temperature had risen overnight and with it the breeze. The ancient and mysterious feeling of the midnight service...the starlit walk on the beach...she might even have dreamed them.
And the soft brush of Rowan’s lips against her cheek on the doorstep as she’d held both her hands in her own and leaned up to reach Lin. The whispered “Merry Christmas, Lin,” in her ear, and the squeeze of her fingers as she stepped back slowly, that seemed dreamlike, too.
Lin had smiled down at her. “Merry Christmas, Rowan,” she’d replied softly. “Thank you for inviting me tonight.”
“I’ve had a lovely evening,” Rowan had said, not releasing her fingers. “Thank
