Why did he have to be so damn sweet? Couldn’t he be a jerk every now and then? He was making this so hard on her.

And that thought was simply ridiculous and set her off in a way that confused her.

Which was also ridiculous, but there it was.

“Carter,” her mother said, greeting him as he walked in and shed his coat. “I’m so glad to see you. Merry Christmas.”

“Same to you, Georgia.” He kissed her cheek. “Do I smell cinnamon rolls?”

Her mom smiled and slid her arm in his. “You do. And coffee. Are you hungry?”

“Well, my mom did fix breakfast early this morning, but I’ve had your homemade cinnamon rolls before, and I’m not going to turn them down if you’re offering.”

“I am.”

They headed into the dining room.

“Molly, pour Carter a cup of coffee, will you?”

Molly sighed. “Sure.”

Not at all the way she had planned the day, but whatever. He sat at the table downing two cinnamon rolls while he chatted with Luke and her dad, so she busied herself in the kitchen prepping lunch with her sister while her mom rested her leg.

“You seem . . . irritated,” Emma said.

“Me? Not at all.” She took out her non-irritation on the celery and onions she was slicing for the stuffing.

“Are you mad that Carter showed up?”

“We were going to have a mini-Christmas alone at his place tonight.”

“But he’s here now, Molly. Isn’t it nice that he took time away from his family to be with you?”

“Yes. It’s great.”

She had no idea what was wrong with her.

Then they all opened presents, talking excitedly over each other, looking to see what everyone got. Her mom had snuck out to go shopping and had gotten her a beautiful set of new luggage.

“Not that I want you to use them, mind you,” her mom said. “But that stuff you dragged in when you got here had seen better days.”

Molly laughed and hugged her parents.

Emma got her a pair of earrings with shiny blue sapphires.

“I love these, Em. Thank you.”

“I was going to wait for this until later when we’re alone, but I want you to open it now,” Carter said, handing her a gift bag.

“Okay. It’s not lingerie, is it?” she asked, eyeing her parents.

He laughed. “No. Definitely not lingerie.”

She sifted through the tissue paper, and pulled out an envelope, opened it up, then read the contents and looked up at him. “Airline tickets?”

“For New Year’s Eve. To Las Vegas. I booked us into the Venetian, and we’re going to see a show, then bring in the new year at one of the clubs.”

“Oh, Moll, that sounds like so much fun,” Emma said.

“What a wonderful gift, Carter,” her mom said.

Molly didn’t know what to think. New Year’s was a week away. But still, a trip? Together?

It was sounding more and more like something a couple would do. A couple in a relationship.

She looked up at him and forced a smile. “It’s great. Thank you.”

“You’ve been working really hard. I thought a getaway for both of us was a good idea. And we’ll take a couple extra days to hang out and have some fun.”

“Sounds . . . awesome.”

She brushed her lips against his. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

“I’ll give you your gift later.”

He waggled his brows. “It is lingerie, isn’t it?” he whispered.

She rolled her eyes. “No.”

They ate and talked and cooked, then ate some more. All in all, it was a perfect day. Even better, her mother was completely comfortable moving around the house now, since her casts had been shortened even more. She was doing so well, and Molly couldn’t be happier for her. In a couple of weeks she’d be cast free and starting a new form of therapy to work her muscles now that her bones were mostly healed.

While Carter, Luke, her mom, and her dad played cards in the dining room, Molly and Emma sat in the kitchen together.

“A trip to Vegas, Molly. Aren’t you excited?”

“Sure. Yes, definitely. I’ve never been there.”

“One of the few places you haven’t lived, right?”

She laughed. “This is true.” She took a sip of rum-spiced eggnog.

“I like you and Carter together. He’s good for you.”

Molly’s gaze drifted into the dining room, where Carter looked perfectly comfortable with her parents and her brother-in-law. “Yeah. He’s a good guy.”

“Even with everything that happened in the past, it looks like you and Carter have reconnected. You seem happy.”

She shifted her gaze back to Emma. “Do I?”

“Yes. Happier than I’ve seen you in a long time, Moll.”

She hadn’t taken the time to think about it, hadn’t allowed herself to dwell on how she felt about Carter—or about being back in Hope again. “Things have been going well, and mainly I’m just so relieved about Mom.”

Emma’s gaze turned to their mother. “Yes. I’m very happy Mom has recovered so well. But I don’t think Mom is the sole reason for your happiness, is she?”

Molly shrugged. “I don’t know. I haven’t given it a lot of thought.”

Emma slid her hand across the table and took Molly’s. “Maybe it’s time you started thinking about it. About you and Carter. Make some decisions about your future.”

She gently pulled her hand away. “I don’t know, Em. I’m pretty much a live-in-the-moment kind of woman.”

Emma frowned. “You’re not thinking of leaving, are you?”

“Today? Of course not.”

“You know what I mean, Molly. You’re happy here. And Carter? It’s obvious how he feels about you.”

Was it? She didn’t know. They’d been having fun together, but they shared a past that had been fraught with difficulties and hurts that Molly couldn’t forget about.

She had no crystal ball that could see into the future and guarantee she’d never be hurt again, that Carter would always be there for her.

For right now, everything was fine.

As far as tomorrow? Who knew? She certainly didn’t. She’d lived through enough pain and had no desire to go through it ever again. It was much easier to play it safe.