“What?” he asked, dropping my arm. “I’m not leaving yet.”
I could hear the defensive edge to my tone. “Not that it would bother me if you did. I was just guessing.” I sounded like a six-year-old kid who had lost at Chutes and Ladders.
His eyebrows drew together.
“I mean, I will be sad to lose the rent. I’ve got a good thing going here.” I tried to sound super chill but judging by his amusement, I wasn’t succeeding. “Right. So, I’m going to go.”
I left the diner, shaking out my hands.
The bell dinged twice behind me and I forced myself not to glance over my shoulder to see if Jake was following me.
“Hey,” he called.
Was it rude to ignore him? I’d kind of made a fool of myself in there and I really didn’t want to jump the first time he called to me. Of course, he hadn’t said my name, so it was reasonable to pretend I didn’t know it was me he was yelling for.
“Madison!”
Okay, now I had no excuse. I turned around and he had to skid to a stop to keep himself from running into me. “You forgot this, I think,” he said, holding up the clear snowflake ornament I’d left in the diner.
“Oh, thanks.”
He smiled and turned back to go the other way while I stood on the sidewalk and watched him. His swagger was confident and clear; he carried himself like a man who knew who he was and what he wanted. That I had let myself think, even for a split second, that he was interested in me was embarrassing.
I groaned. Good thing I hadn’t told anyone what I thought.
I could never tell anyone what I’d been thinking. Patrick had only broken up with me twenty minutes ago and I was already looking at another guy.
What kind of horrible person was I?
“Hey, girl,” Britney said, coming up beside me on the sidewalk and hip-checking me. “Ready to hang your ornament?”
I nodded and fell into step beside her. She had on a fuzzy red sweater with jingle bells all over it, her hair was massive and curly, and she had little reindeer earrings hanging from her ears. If I donned that outfit, I would look like I was headed to an ugly Christmas sweater party. Britney simply looked cute.
“Hey,” she said, glancing over her shoulder. “Where’s Patrick?”
“Actually, we just broke up.”
“What?” she yelled, stopping in her tracks. “Who did? Where? How did it happen?”
“Like twenty minutes ago. It was him. I’m not ready and he doesn’t deserve to wait around until I am.” I shrugged. “I don’t really blame him.”
Her nose scrunched up and she rested a hand on her hip. “I do. What an idiot.”
I lowered my voice, stepping closer. “Brit, seriously. How bad of a person am I?”
“You cheated.”
“What? No!” I rolled my eyes. “Of course not. Where did that come from?”
“Hot new guy in town,” she said, her voice all sing-songy. “Cute little diner girl. He’s staying in your apartment. It’s not really that crazy.”
I sucked in a breath. “Do you think Patrick thinks the same thing?”
She scoffed. “What? No. He wouldn’t notice if you guys made out right in front of him. He’s completely oblivious.”
“Well, we didn’t,” I reiterated. “Yuck, no. Nothing like that.”
“Then what makes you such a bad person?”
I sighed. “That I’m not sad.”
She watched me a moment too long, scrutinizing me with her gaze. I straightened my shoulders. Britney had known me longer than anyone else in town and I couldn’t hide how I felt from her if I tried. “Patrick is giving me time to focus on me, since that’s all I’ve been doing anyway. And I know it’s bad, but my first reaction was relief. I’m sort of over trying to balance his feelings with my own when my life is so uncertain right now.”
“The last thing you need is more time alone with your problems, Mads. Seriously? Of course this is going to be a tough month for you and no one would argue that you aren’t handling it well, but you also need to be careful not to let your grief control you.”
I wanted to argue that she had no idea what she was talking about, but Britney lost her mom right after high school. She understood how it felt.
“Come on,” she said, stringing her arm through mine, “let’s go hang these ornaments.”
We weaved through the crowds, smiling at people we knew.
“Great cake pops!” someone shouted. I lifted my arm up in acknowledgement, though I had no idea who had said it.
“I’ll grab us some hot chocolate,” Britney said. She hung her ornament on the tree and went off to find the line for concessions.
I glanced up to the star-glittered sky. Where was the snow? It wouldn’t feel like Christmas until we got snow, regardless of what I’d said to Jake. Maybe it was the weather’s way of helping me through this rough time. I wasn’t ready for it to feel like Christmas, anyway. Not really. Every little reminder of the holidays felt like a small knife in my heart.
I circled the tree, looking for a good place to hang dad’s snowflake. I wanted it somewhere it wouldn’t be too crowded by other homemade reindeer or crocheted Santa faces. A spot just under eye level appeared further down the tree.
Perfect.
I made to step toward it when an older man in a brown tattered jacket stepped in front of me. Weird, I’d never seen him before. He had circular, wire-rimmed glasses and he put his ornament directly in the spot I was going for.
Would he notice if I moved his after he left? I stood there a moment longer, waiting, but when the man turned to go, he shot me the faintest wink and I felt my breath woosh from my lungs.
Had he read my mind?
I glanced to the ornament he’d left behind. It was a wooden hourglass with intricate brass accents and sand running from the top through to the bottom. It had to be an antique of some sort; the thing looked positively ancient.
There was no way I could move the thing now. Not after that wink.
I turned and held up my snowflake. It shone from the lights twinkling behind it on the tree. Shutting my eyes, I made a wish, as was my tradition since I was a little girl.
I wish I had my dad with me this Christmas.
I reached up and hung my snowflake on a higher branch, shaking out my arms as I walked from the tree. Britney approached me with two steaming to-go cups and offered one while sipping the other. “How’d it go?” she asked.
“Fine.” Temptation filled me for half a second and I almost told her about the old man and the hourglass, but something held me back.
It was nice to have some things to myself.
“Good,” she said. “Should we go sing with the carolers?”
“Definitely not.”
“Good.”
I laughed and followed her from the crowds near the tree. “Hey,” she said, stopping suddenly. “What about the hot new guy? Maybe that’s the kind of distraction you need to get you through the holidays.”
“Patrick and I just broke up.”
Britney grinned. “Exactly! Rebound.”
“Not what I need now, but thanks for the idea.”
She elbowed me in the side. “A little no-strings-attached never hurt anyone.”
“On the contrary,” I argued, “it’s hurt a lot of people.”
She shrugged. “Well, whatever. Just trying to help you out of your slump.”
I hugged her. “I know. But maybe I’ll throw myself into a little Christmas charity instead of at another guy. It feels a little healthier.”
“Healthier, maybe,” she conceded. “But a lot less fun.”
8
Jake
The small apartment wasn’t too bad, but the microscopic bathroom made me miss my nice marble walk-in shower back home. If nothing else, I knew I could rely on the temperature of the water to remain where I set it in my LA loft. This shower had to be connected to the diner in some way, because it went from scalding hot to icy cold in two seconds fl
at. There didn’t seem to be a rhyme or reason to it, either.
I hopped out and dried off, toweling off my hair before throwing on some clothes. I couldn’t stay in Holly Springs forever, and I really did need to give Mark something to work with or he would probably get on a plane and come do my job for me. He liked to show his authority and he didn’t like being patient. But if I could get a little more information today, maybe I could put him off a little longer.
This little town did not need a flower shop. And I knew that’s what Mark was pushing for.
Chatter from the diner made its way up the stairs and met me at the landing. The Bell seemed to have picked up pretty well in the last few days. The scattered occupants had quadrupled since the first day I’d arrived.
Maybe I could help Madison pinpoint the cause and we could replicate it. I’d heard Patrick give her the same idea, but it really was a good idea and she’d seemed to write it off.
Joey was cooking eggs on the stove behind the bar while the sassy waitress chatted with a booth of men on the far wall. No woman with long dark hair to be seen. I tried to swallow my disappointment.
“Maddie’s in the back,” Joey said.
How’d he know I was looking for her? “Cool.”
I slung my hands in my pockets and walked around the grinning cook, slipping through the doorway into the kitchen.
“Good morning,” I said. Madison glanced over her shoulder and I felt my stomach flip. She really was gorgeous. Patrick was an idiot.
“Hey,” she said. “Everything alright?”
Because something needed to be wrong for me to come and say hello? I guess I thought we were better friends than we were. “Yeah, everything’s great.”
“And no issues with the apartment?” Her eye had a defensive gleam and I swallowed a chuckle.
“I think you know that the apartment is fine.”
“Yes, I do.” She was so self-assured. She liked to act the epitome of the small-town girl, but she would hold her own in LA. I would put money on it.
Her hands hadn’t left the countertop and I stepped closer to see what she was doing.
A small two-tiered cake sat on a green colored stand, with columns rising around the perimeter and a larger column lifting from the center. She was painstakingly placing roof slats onto ice cream cones and securing them to the top of the columns.
“It’s a castle,” I said.
She nodded, pulling her bottom lip between her teeth as she placed another fondant tile on the cone.
“Done!” she said, jumping up. I’d leaned in to watch her precision and the back of her head came up and collided with my jaw.
I saw stars for a second there.
“Ouch!” she said, moving aside and rubbing the top of her head.
“Yeah,” I agreed. She had a lot of force in that little jump. Or a super hard head.
She eyed me. “What is it with you and causing me injuries? I haven’t so much as broken a nail in years and in my few days of knowing you, I’ve gotten hurt almost every time I see you. I really think you might be a hazard.”
“I’ve been called a lot of things,” I said, stretching my jaw, “but hazardous isn’t one of them. I don’t know whether to take it as a compliment or not.”
Her face clearly said it was not meant to be taken as a compliment.
“Maybe I can find solace in the fact that you’re basically hazardous as well. I mean, you almost ran me over with your truck.”
She scoffed. “That was an accident!”
“And slamming on your brakes?” I indicated where my forehead was still tender.
“Shock,” she defended.
“And standing in the doorway?”
“Okay, hold up.” She put her hands up. “That one was definitely not my fault. You could have slowed your roll, you know. I was just trying to leave my diner.”
“You were literally standing right in front of the door.”
She grinned. “And I got knocked down. So, yeah, that one is another point in my favor.”
“Maybe this shouldn’t be a competition.”
She glanced at her phone and sucked a breath through her teeth. “I really should add some more detailing to this cake.” Three half-full piping bags sat nearby with pink, white, and green frosting. She picked them up in succession and began piping flowers and vines along the castle walls. The detail was incredible and watching her slow concentration was soothing.
“You have anything better to do?” she asked quietly, her eyebrows drawn together while she focused on outlining a window on one of the towers and then surrounding it with ivy.
“I just thought I would come in here and watch you make tiny leaves all morning. What’s wrong with that?”
She cracked a smile and I wanted to fist pump the air. I was proud of myself for remaining cool and collected.
“Who is it for?” I asked.
“A birthday party. This cute little girl, Jenny, is turning three and she’s obsessed with Rapunzel. She’s bringing me a little figurine to add, too.”
“Jenny is going to love her cake.”
“All kids love cake.”
Couldn’t she just take the compliment? “Well, I think this one looks amazing. But I never saw cakes on your menu.”
“Yeah, well, that’s because they aren’t.”
Then what was she doing spending so much time on this cake and not focusing on her actual day job? “Seriously?”
A tiny girl with a huge purple tutu bounded into the kitchen. “Where is it? Where is it? Where is it?” Her hair was done up in two high pigtails and curled, bouncing along with her jumping. “I want to see my cake!”
“Jenny,” I said.
Madison shot me a grin and then leaned down, resting her frosting-covered hands on her knees. “You ready to see your Rapunzel castle, Jenny?”
She nodded exuberantly and Madison stepped out of the way, framing the cake with her hands. “Ta-da!”
Jenny gasped. “Miss Bell, its beautiful!”
A woman with blonde hair and striking green eyes rushed into the kitchen. “Madison! Sorry! I told her to wait for me to get off the phone before coming inside.”
“She’s fine.” Madison shrugged. “Do you have the Rapunzel?”
“Yes!” The woman pulled a little figurine from her pocket and handed it over. She gave me a perfunctory, confused smile before stepping closer to see the cake. “Madison, it’s gorgeous!”
“I’m so glad you like it.” She placed the tiny plastic princess on the cake and stepped back. “Can I grab some photos before I box it up?”
“Of course.”
“Hey,” Madison said, hesitating, “what do you think about letting Jenny pose with it?”
“That’s fine with me,” the mom said.
“And I can post it?”
She nodded. “Totally.”
Madison whipped out her phone and angled the cake, taking a few different shots. “Okay, cute girl,” she said to Jenny, who kept sneaking licks of icing from the pink piping bag slouched on the counter. I sincerely hoped Madison was planning on tossing that icing after they left. “Can you stand right here next to your cake? Perfect.” She leaned forward and angled the child. “Now smile for me. Awesome. Now can you strike a pose?”
Jenny immediately leaned one hand on her hip and threw the other one up in the air like she was modeling in a pageant. Maybe she was one of those little pageant girls. I eyed up her mom, but she looked too normal and unstressed to be a pageant mom.
“Perfect!” Madison laughed, and Jenny did too. I glanced over her shoulder at the phone. The pictures turned out really well. “Let me just get you a box and I can help you walk it to your car.”
The women got to chatting about a big town event the mom was in charge of, and I slipped from the kitchen, grabbing a seat at the bar. It took Joey a minute to notice me, but I wasn’t complaining. I needed to grab more time with Madison and hovering in her kitchen didn’t seem to be working.
The alternative—going to spy on my grandma again—didn’t seem as appealing at the moment. I needed to figure out why my parents didn’t have a relationship with her, but breakfast first.
“What can I get you?” Joey asked.
“You have bacon?” I asked. He nodded. “Then bacon and eggs.”
I waited for my breakfast, catching glimpses of Madison talking to Jenny’s mom through the doorway like a creepy stalker. I tried to pretend I wasn’t watching her when they walked through the diner with the cake. My plate arrived and I ate it slowly, dragging out my meal while waiting for Madison to come back.
The sassy waitress came up beside me, leaning against the bar with her hip and crossing her arms over her chest. “Can I get you anything else? You want some orange juice to go with that?”
“No, thanks. I’m good.”
“You sure? I don’t mind.”
She shouldn’t mind. It’s her job. I smiled at the girl but shook my head. “I’m satisfied.”
Her pout was almost comical; I did my best to not pull a face. Madison passed us then and something innate made me want to move away from the waitress. But I had no reason to try and impress Madison anyway. She had a boyfriend.
Unless Patrick had followed through yesterday and broken up with her.
I wished there was a way to find that out without sounding like a creep.
Lucky for me, Madison seemed pretty distracted by her phone. She almost walked into the doorway but righted herself just in time. If I leaned a little to the left, I could see her through the doorway. She’d turned to lean against the counter beside her frosting mess and was engrossed in her phone. Would it be too much if I went back in there? Or would I start to make my interest obvious? I wouldn’t want her thinking it was the wrong kind of interest.
I tried to remind myself that this relationship was strictly professional.
I paid for my breakfast and left the diner, my nerves rising. Sliding into the front seat of my Audi, I drove the perimeter of town, observing the distance between houses and the vast amount of extra space. Mountains closed in around us and I felt claustrophobic in a way the city never made me feel. Pulling onto the dirt on the side of the road I got out and walked around the car, filling my lungs with fresh, crisp air. The smell of pines and earth filled my nose and I dropped my head back, finding sky intermingled with mountain peaks and white clouds.
Snowflake Wishes (Holly Springs Romance Book 1) Page 6