“What are you doing here?” Sarah asked.

“Same as you, I imagine. Looking for a tree,” the woman, Rosie, said from deep wine-painted lips that stood out sharply in comparison to her neon green ski pants and pea-colored jacket.

“Mr. Lewis, too long no see.” She held out her gloved hand. The green of her gloves matched the deep olive of her scarf and hat, but that was all that matched about her ensemble. She was like fifty shades of green.

He straightened and took the woman’s green glove, meaning to give her hand a quick shake.

“Oh,” Rosie exclaimed as she grasped his bare hand and didn’t let go. “So big and strong.”

As delicately as it was possible to wrench your hand free from a very green older lady, Bodie pulled his hand from her gloved one.

The woman batted her eyelashes, looking overly impressed. “Have you noticed how big and strong his hands are, Sarah?”

Sarah made a noise that went from sounding as if she were clearing her throat to an outright cough.

Bodie winced. An awkward situation was growing more and more awkward by the second. He’d had enough.

“Sarah must’ve been out here too long,” he told Rosie, injecting a lot of concern into his voice and keeping a tight hold on Harry’s leash as the dog still hadn’t decided if Rosie was friend or foe. “I’m going to find someone to let them know we want this tree so we can have it loaded onto the truck, and I can get Sarah back home before she catches a cold.”

“I saw that,” Rosie accused Sarah the moment Bodie walked away. The older woman did an excited little green shimmy as she gave her an I told you so look.

Still a bit dazed from what had almost happened—from what she’d wanted to happen—Sarah fought to keep from going after Bodie to demand answers.

What had it meant, that almost-kiss they’d almost shared? Anything? Had he gotten caught up in the magic of this place, or did he truly feel something for her?

“Saw what?” she asked Rosie, trying to keep her voice calm and casual, even though she knew the odds were against her. Especially when she turned to see Maybelle and Claudia had joined them.

“Phew!” Claudia seemed a bit breathless beneath the green floral scarf she had tied around her head. “I didn’t think we were ever going to find you.”

Maybelle elbowed Claudia, then smiled at Sarah as if their being there was nothing out of the ordinary.

Both women also wore multiple shades of green—all of them either ugly all on their own, or never meant to be matched together. Usually the women were decked out in full style and never dull, but today must be Ugly Green Outerwear While Tree Hunting Day. Sort of like an ugly Christmas sweater party. If so, the trio were shoo-ins for a three-way-tied win.