The Winter Wish by Jillian Eaton Page B

accept the attentions of
anyone less Sarah be courted as well. Since that had yet to happen, they were
both very much ‘on the shelf’ which was not a place any woman under the age of
sixty desired to be.
    “I
wish…” Sarah began, but she stopped herself short, unable to give voice to the
secret desire that burned within her.
    “You
wish what?” Lily prompted.
    Sarah
nibbled on her bottom lip before she said, “I wish Devlin would simply notice
me. I wish he would look up and see me, as he sees those other women. As he saw
you. As I see him.” Sighing, she shook her head. “I know it is folly, but there
it is.”
    Drawing
back her shoulders so that she stood at her full height of five feet, three
inches Lily pinned her hands to her hips and drew her eyebrows together over
the bridge of her nose. “I think that is a fine wish, Sarah Emily Dawson, and
you should not think otherwise, do you hear me?”
    “Perhaps,”
Sarah allowed softly. “But it will never come true.”
    “You
never know,” Lily said, smiling mysteriously. “’Tis the season for miracles…
And I think we are both due for a little magic.”   

 
     
     
    CHAPTER TWO

     
     
    The
next afternoon Lily called on Sarah for tea, and after sating their hunger with
crumpets drizzled in honey the two women dressed in their warmest cloaks,
complete with fur lined hoods and cozy matching muffs, to brave the winter
chill.
    It
had snowed overnight and everything, from the dormers on the rooftops to the
lamp posts that guarded every street corner were blanketed in a soft, pristine
white. Carriages pulled by prancing horses flew past, while children armed with
snowballs waged war and a group of carolers made their way from house to house,
singing merrily of silver bells and Old Saint Nicholas. 
    “I
love this time of year,” Lily sighed as she neatly sidestepped a pile of
discarded soot. “It is so filled with hope and promise. Why, it feels as though
anything is possible!”
    Sarah,
who tended to be much more practical minded than her friend, tried not to
scowl. Her toes were freezing and she was fairly certain her nose was about to
fall right off her face despite the three separate scarves she had wrapped
around her neck.
    For
her, Christmastime invoked a very different response than it did for Lily. When
everyone else was coming together, she never felt more alone. Seeing men and
women arm in arm, their faces flushed from the cold and their eyes sparkling
with love, she was reminded of what she did not have: namely, Devlin
Heathcliff. And even though it was silly and ridiculous and she knew nothing
would ever come of it, she could not help but wonder what he was doing this
very minute.
    No
doubt he was wrapped in the arms of his lover. They would be in front of a
fireplace, Sarah decided. Quite naked, of course, with only each other’s bodies
and a shared glass of wine to warm them. It was a decadent scene for someone
with her limited experience to imagine, but imagine it she did: once, twice,
three times a day at the very least.
    What
would it feel like to have Devlin’s lips press against her throat? To have his
hands sweep down her body, lingering on the curve of her collarbone before
slowly going lower to cup her breasts and then lower still, to—
    “Sarah,
you are blushing,” Lily observed with great interest. “Why are you blushing?”
    “I…
I feel quite flushed,” Sarah lied. Oh dear. How dreadfully embarrassing.
    “You
do? Splendid!” Sliding her hands out of her fur muff and tucking it under one
arm, Lily reached up to secure her hood more tightly around her dark curls. “I
was afraid you were getting cold – you know how sensitive you can be – but if
you are feeling warm, we can continue on to the park. I even brought a few
crumpets along to feed the geese.” Reaching into the pocket of her cloak she
procured three pastries and held one out to Sarah, who took it with smile that
felt more like a grimace, but if Lily