“They have classes for kids,” Henry said, setting the telescope in a corner where it wouldn’t get knocked over. “They look like fun.”

“I’ve always wanted to learn how to box, but my dad said team sports were way better.” Keaton inhaled deeply. “I smell chocolate.”

I laughed. “It’s on the table. Help yourself.”

While Keaton grabbed a mug from the tray, I turned to Henry. “Can you stay for something hot to drink?”

He hesitated, rubbing the back of his neck. “I should get back.”

“Come on. You have to try some hot chocolate—I made it from scratch.” I brought him a mug and he took it from me, his hands closing around mine all too briefly.

“Okay. But I can’t stay long.”

He lowered himself onto the couch opposite April, and I sat in between them. Keaton took the other end of the couch my mother was on and babbled excitedly about all the things he’d seen in the sky. The entire time, Henry seemed stiff and uncomfortable, and he barely touched his hot chocolate. If someone spoke to him directly, he replied, but other than that, he was silent.

After about ten minutes, he set his mug back on the tray and stood. “I really do need to get back. Thanks again for dinner.”

I rose to my feet and set my cup down too. “I’ll walk you out.”

“That’s not necessary,” he said.

“Goodnight, Henry,” called my mother from the couch. My father and April gave him a wave.

“Night.” Henry gave a wave to everyone. “See you all tomorrow.”

Despite what he’d said, I followed him to the mudroom, where we piled on all our cold-weather apparel in silence. I caught his eye once, and he shook his head like I was a hopeless case. The moment we stepped outside, he pulled me around the side of the house and wrapped me in his arms, crushing his lips to mine in the shadowy dark. Relief mingled with desire—I’d been a little worried that being around my family had made him too skittish. Like maybe he’d decided this was too much of a risk where his job was concerned and I wasn’t worth it.

His kiss tasted like chocolate, and he smelled like leather and winter and maybe a little like the oak barrels in the cellar. We stood in nearly a foot of snow, but I’d have stripped us both naked in a heartbeat just to feel his bare skin on mine. Our winter coats were cumbersome, our gloves annoying as we tried and failed to get close enough to satisfy the urge within us.

“Christ,” he muttered against my lips. “I’ve been telling myself all night I wouldn’t do this.”

“Why?” I asked.

“Because it’s not right. Your family is right inside. Your dad is my boss. And your daughter knows something is up.”

“You think?”