Anne cannot think of him without remembering how he used to hide frogs in her bed when they were children. He is her friend, not a suitor, and yet, lately, whenever she finds herself looking into those chocolate-brown eyes of his, Anne cannot help but wonder…
…what if he kissed her?
TOBIAS HAWKE, brother to Viscount Barrington, no longer sees the little girl he once knew when he looks at his childhood friend Anne Thatcher. To him, she’s no longer Little Annie, and the thought that she might still think of him as Little Toby disturbs him greatly. Yes, she is his confidante, his friend, the one woman who knows him like no other, but…
…what if he kissed her?
Neither one of them dares to risk the friendship that connected them since childhood…until Christmas arrives, and they find themselves pushed under a sprig of mistletoe.
What if?
Prologue
Somewhere in England, Winter 1790 (or a variation thereof)
Eleven years earlier
The snow crunched under her feet as eight-year-old Annie Thatcher raced across the white meadow after her best friend, Tobias Hawke, second son to Viscount Barrington. Small flakes clung to her dark curls peeking out of her hood and settled on the tip of her nose, making her sneeze. Still, Annie pressed on even though her legs began to ache as she fought to keep up with Toby.
When he reached the edge of the frozen lake, he jumped in the air, a wide grin upon his red face. He roared in triumph and pulled his woolen hat off his head, throwing it in the air. “Yes, I made it. I told you I’d be faster than you, Annie.” He gulped down a lungful of air. “You still have some growing to do.”
Pulling to a halt, Annie fell to her knees into the snow, panting. “But I wasn’t far behind. I almost had you.”
Walking over, Toby nodded, then held out a hand to help her up. “Yes, you did good. You’re getting faster every day.”
“You truly think so?” Annie asked, gazing up into his smiling face. “Truly truly?”
Toby laughed, and his chocolate-brown eyes shone with warmth. “Yes, Annie, truly truly.” He kept tossing his hat in the air, catching it a mere second before it hit the snow. “But why do you want to be faster than me?”
Annie shrugged. “It looks like fun.” She regarded him curiously. “Don’t you always try to outrun Phin? He’s older and taller than you, but still you race him. Why do you try if you know you won’t win?”
Toby shrugged at the mention of his older brother. “Well, I don’t know I won’t win. It’s unlikely that I will, but not impossible.” Again, he shrugged before once more tossing his hat in the air as high as he could. “So I keep racing him, and perhaps one day I’ll win. Perhaps one day I’ll best him.”
Annie couldn’t quite understand Toby when it came to this competitiveness between the two brothers; however, that didn’t matter. If it was important to Toby, it was important to her. It was as simple as that. “And that’s why I race you,” she decided. “To help you practice.”
A warm smile lit up his face. “That is so kind of you, Annie. Thank you.” Again, his hat flew up in the air, but this time a strong, icy wind caught a hold of it and carried it off.
Toby’s eyes widened as he stared at his woolen hat, dancing through the air until it caught on a barren branch of an oak tree high above the ground. “Oh, no.” His voice was faint as he trudged through the snow, closer to the tree. “Mother will be furious. She specifically told me not to lose this one, too.”
Indeed, Toby had lost, torn or otherwise ruined countless hats while Annie had lost, torn or otherwise ruined countless ribbons. “Then let’s get it down,” she suggested and marched closer to the tree, her eyes travelling upward along the branches.
“I can’t.”
Turning around, Annie saw Toby shake his head as he stared at the tree as though it were a giant meant to do him harm. His face had gone pale, and his hands balled into fists. “I can’t.”
“I’ll get it,” Annie offered with a shrug.
Toby shook his head. “No, you can’t.”
“Why not?”
“Because…because…” Toby’s mouth closed and opened a couple of times as he squinted against the brilliant winter sun, trying to figure out what he wanted to say. “My father always says a gentleman is to look out for a lady.” He glanced at the tree, and a shiver went through him. “You’re a lady. You’re not meant to look after me. I’m meant to look after you.”
Annie frowned, never in her life had she heard such nonsense. “I’m not a lady, Toby,” she told him, hands on her hips. “I’m your friend, and we look after each other.” She reached out and grasped his hand. “All right?”
Inhaling a deep breath, Toby once more glanced up at his hat, then nodded. “All right. But you need to promise me to be careful, Annie.”
“I promise,” Annie vowed and then turned to the tree. “Give me a hand, will you?”
Linking his hands, Toby gave her a push so Annie could reach the first, low-hanging branch, pulling herself up, feet braced against the trunk.
“Careful, Annie.”
“Don’t worry.” Pulling herself up onto the branch, Annie held on to the trunk and then pushed to her feet, reaching higher for the next. Step by step, she made her way up the barren branches, unobstructed by the tree’s usually dense foliage. “I’m almost there.” Only one more branch and she reached out her hand to grab Toby’s hat. Her fingertips were almost touching it. “Only a little farther.”
“Annie, careful!” Toby called the moment Annie tipped forward. Her feet slipped off the branch below as her right hand grasped another one higher up. For a heart-stopping moment, her feet dangled in the air, her body suspended by her right hand alone.
Below, she heard Toby suck in a sharp breath. He called out to her, but she couldn’t answer, her main focus on holding on as panic slowly snuck into her heart. What was she to do now?
And then her hand began to slip. “Toby!”
“Hold on, Annie!”
“I can’t!” And then she was falling, her eyes pinched shut in terror.
When the landing finally came, it was nothing as Annie had expected it. She’d expected a hard thud, perhaps even broken bones. What happened was a rather soft plop!
“Are you all right?” came Toby’s panicked voice a moment before Annie felt his hands on her shoulders. Then his pale face and wide open eyes appeared in front of her. Never in her life had she seen him look so terrified.
“I’m all right,” Annie confirmed as her eyes ran over her arms and legs, uncertain if she was speaking the truth. All seemed to be fine though.
Then she noticed the heap of snow she had landed in. “Did you do this?”
Still panting, Toby nodded. “I couldn’t think of what else to do.”
Annie smiled at him, then held out her hand so he would help her up. “This was brilliant, Toby!” She brushed some snow off her coat, then surveyed the heaps of snow Toby had pushed under the tree to soften her fall. “Thank you. You saved me!” Then she flung herself into his arms and hugged him as she had never hugged him before.