No wonder Maggie had fallen in love with the house, Hannah thought, stepping out of the Jeep to stare through the swirling snow at the old mansion that had once been the Grainger family home. It was an imposing sight, and conjured images of a bygone era of grace and style.

“Hannah!”

Hannah blinked back into the present at the excited sound of Maggie’s voice calling her name. Her coatless friend was dashing down the veranda steps toward her.

“Maggie!” Hannah flung out her arms to embrace her friend. “Are you nutty, or what?” she asked, laughing, as she stepped back to gaze into her friend’s glowing face. “It’s snowing and freezing out here.”

“Yes, I’m nutty.” Maggie laughed with her. “So nutty and crazy in love, I don’t feel the cold.”

“Got your love to keep you warm, do you?” Hannah dryly teased.

“Yes…yes.” Despite her heartfelt assertion, Maggie shivered. “I can’t wait for you to meet him.”

“I’m looking forward to it,” Hannah said, grasping Maggie’s arm to lead her toward the house. “But meanwhile let’s get inside, where I hope it’s warm.”

“Well, of course it’s warm.” Maggie flashed a grin. “Even up in my nest on the third floor.”

Releasing her hold on Maggie’s arm, Hannah turned back to the car. “You go on ahead, I’ll just grab my bags and be with you in a minute.”

“Did you bring your dress for the wedding?” Maggie called from the shelter of the veranda.

“Of course I did,” Hannah yelled back over the open trunk lid, shivering as the sting of wind-driven snow bit into her face. “Now go into the house.”

A half hour later, her bags unpacked, the special dress she had frantically shopped for before leaving Philly hanging on a padded hanger to dewrinkle, Hannah sat curled on the cushioned seat in the bay window alcove in Maggie’s warm “nest,” her hands cradling a steaming cup of marshmallow-topped hot chocolate.