“Resolved them, did you?” Suzanne raised her eyebrows.

“I love Noelle.” There, he’d said it.

“Who’s Noelle?” Rob asked as he walked in through the kitchen door, shedding hat, scarf and gloves.

“I’ll explain later,” Suzanne promised, ladling a cup of cider from the pot on the stove. “Here, honey.”

“Our families don’t get along,” Thom explained.

“Do Mom and Dad know?” his sister asked.

“Not yet, but Mom got wind of me going to Mendleson’s. She must have her suspicions, since she left a message on my machine practically begging me to tell her I’m not seeing Noelle.”

“Did you buy a ring?”

“That’s not the point.”

“Okay,” his sister said slowly. “What do you plan to tell Mom and Dad?”

“I don’t know.”

Suzanne sipped her cider, then put down the mug to focus on him. “You’re going to wait until Christmas’s over before you say anything, right?”

Thom didn’t know if he could. His mother was already besieging him with questions and she’d keep at him until she got answers—preferably the answers she wanted. He needed an ally and he hoped he could count on Suzanne.

“Let me play devil’s advocate here a moment,” his sister suggested.

“Please.”

“Put yourself in Mom’s place. Noelle’s family has hurt our family. And now you’re asking Mom to welcome Noelle into our lives and our hearts.”

“Noelle is already in my heart.”

“I know,” Suzanne told him, “but there’s more than one person involved in this. How does her family feel about you, for instance?”

That was a question Thom didn’t want to consider. This wouldn’t be easy for Noelle, either. Kristen and Carley were obviously supportive, but Sarah McDowell—well, she was another matter.

“We were ready to defy everyone as teenagers,” he said, reminding his sister of the difficult stand he’d taken at eighteen.

“You were a kid.”

“I was in love with her then, and I’m still in love with her.”

“Yes,” Suzanne said, “but you’re more responsible now.”

“I can’t live my life to suit everyone else,” he said, frustrated by her response.

“He’s got a point,” Rob said. “I don’t understand the family dynamics here, but I have a fairly good idea what you’re talking about. I say if Thom feels this strongly about Noelle after all these years, he should go for it. He should live his own life.”

Thom felt a rush of gratitude for his brother-in-law’s encouragement.

“That’s what you wanted to hear, isn’t it?” Suzanne said, smiling. “For what it’s worth, I agree with my husband.”

“Thanks,” Thom said. “That means a lot, you guys.” He shook his head. “Noelle and I are well aware of the problems we face as a couple. We’d hoped to come to our parents with a solution.”

“What kind of solution?”