Snow Angel Cove: An uplifting, feel-good small town romance for Christmas 2018. RaeAnne Thayne

ever shared that with another human being on the planet. Or articulated it so clearly, even to myself.”

      She knew perfectly well she shouldn’t find the man appealing here in the quiet hush of the night when the rest of the world slept, but this evidence of past vulnerability made him seem less like a mythical, larger-than-life personage and more like someone who had weaknesses and insecurities.

      “Don’t worry, Mr. Caine. I’m good at keeping secrets.”

      He made a face. “I told you to call me Aidan. When I divulge embarrassing secrets to somebody, I usually insist they call me by my first name.”

      It felt strange but she did her best. “Aidan, then.”

      “Eliza,” he mused. “It’s not a very common name anymore.”

      “My mother’s name was Elizabeth and everyone called her Betsy. She wanted to be called Eliza but nobody ever did so she decided to give the name to me. I always thought it was old-fashioned. My friends in school called me Ellie but it seemed a little young-sounding as I grew up.”

      “I like it. Eliza. It fits you, somehow.”

      They lapsed into a not uncomfortable silence. She knew she should probably muster the energy to go back to her bedroom but she couldn’t quite manage it. She found something strangely appealing about sitting in this darkened hallway with him, talking softly about nothing in particular while the storm raged outside.