He pulled his coat closed and shivered. “It’s definitely a lot colder here. But I like it. Where you guys headed?”
“We were just…”
Tish yawned loudly, stretching her arms. “Would you look at the time! I didn’t even realize it was that late.” She patted me hard on the shoulder. “I’m just gonna head out of here. She was really wanting some ice cream, the place is right down the street.”
I stared at her with narrowed eyes, and slowly turned toward Christian forcing a smile. He looked down the street and then back at me. “I could go for some ice cream. Would you like to join me?”
Before I could say anything Tish of course butted in. “That sounds great! You two have a great time, call me later.”
She started to walk away and I turned to look at her, catching her snide smirk and a wink. I rolled my eyes and turned back to him shrugging my shoulders. “She’s not very obvious or anything.”
Christian laughed, and a tingle went through my belly. “That’s all right. She saved me from a further lashing this afternoon so I don’t mind it much at all. I owe her. Shall we?”
I grinned, putting my hands in my pockets and walked next to him. I wasn’t sure what I was getting myself into, but I was really glad I wasn’t wearing reindeer pajamas.
Chapter 4
Christian
My mood right before running into the cookie lady had been the same as it was all evening, stressed out and bitter. But for some reason, when I saw her face, I couldn’t help but joke around and smile. She definitely looked a lot less stressed out walking with her best friend, and I was just glad that she laughed at my joke instead of letting me have it. A little bit of company was good for me, and she was definitely intriguing.
“You know, I don’t think I ever actually got your name,” I said, slightly embarrassed.
She glanced over at me and chuckled. “Sorry about that, I was too busy chewing you out to tell you my name. Rory, my name is Rory.”
“Nice to meet you Rory, you already know who I am and already have your feelings about me and my career, so at least that’s all out of the way,” I laughed.
Her shoulders went up and her face scrunched. “It’s not as bad as you think.”
We stopped in front of the ice cream place and I opened the door, holding it for her as she walked through. Strolling up to the counter I grinned, bumping her with my hip. “I kind of deserved it. I’m sorry I was a jerk earlier when I came into your shop. I didn’t mean to be.”
She shook her head. “It wasn’t like I was being the sweetest person on earth. I think we both had clashing personalities this morning. I was just having one of those days where nothing was going right, everything was burning, including my own self-esteem.”
I chuckled as we stared over our options. “I almost feel bad eating frozen yogurt or ice cream when your cookie was probably the best thing I’ve ever had.”
She glanced over at me. “Really? Well… I appreciate it, even if you don’t mean it and you’re just saying it to be nice. People in this town do like my cookies. It’s really the only thing I’m good at.”
I scoffed. “That cannot be true. You happen to be very, very good at putting me in my place.”
She smiled with an embarrassing glow, her cheeks beaming bright red. “I’m so sorry.”
“Hey! What can I get you guys?” The young girl behind the counter asked.
Saved by the fro yo from an awkward silence. We both ordered our ice cream, getting much more than we probably had intended, but it felt like neither one of our minds were on what we were doing. I knew mine wasn’t, I couldn’t help but stare at her radiant smile. She was so tough in the cookie store, but there, standing next to me I could see an innocence and vulnerability to her. It was endearing. And the way she tried to hide those bright red cheeks against that pale skin made me smile. She was beautiful, and she was real, unlike most of the women that I was surrounded by back home.
We took our ice cream over to a table in the back corner and sat down, opening it up. I could tell she was still slightly embarrassed, and I wanted to make her feel comfortable. “So, you own a bakery and Café, your best friend works with you, and you spend your evenings eating frozen yogurt and laughing with strange men in your town. Sounds like a pretty good life to me.”
She smirked, a small chuckle coming from her chest. “Yeah, until you lose your motivation.” She rolled her eyes, realizing she was going to have to tell whatever story was behind her obvious unhappiness toward her life at the moment. “I just got out of a relationship, a long one, and he ran off with a fashion buyer that lives in town. By run off with I mean moved down the street into her place.”
I grimaced. “That’s rough. Well, he obviously wasn’t good enough for you. So, it’s his loss and the rest of our gain.”
She smiled as I lifted up my container of ice cream and tapped it against hers. “What about you? Obviously, you’re not from here. What are you doing in this small town?”
Pursing my lips, I took a deep breath, steadying myself for whatever explanation I was going to give her. I didn’t mind talking to her about it actually, she had been the first person I had met in a long time that I felt really comfortable around, despite our beginning. “I’m not sure what you would call it. Maybe writers block? No. That’s not it. I needed… Magic.”
Rory lifted an eyebrow. “Are we talking wizard type of magic or Christmas magic? Or did you just get lost on your way to Las Vegas and end up here?”
I laughed shaking my head. “None of the above. I’m looking for some sort of inspiration to help me finish my book. This may come as a complete shock to you but you were not the only one to react the way you did to the television show.”
Dramatically, she faked shock, gasping loudly and putting her hand to her chest. “What? You’re lying!”
I gave her a look and she giggled. “It’s not fun like it used to be. When I wrote the first books nobody knew who I was, and I put my soul into them. Now, especially after the show and how it ended, everyone is watching me. They’re waiting to see what I do. Even the people that hated the way the show ended are looking to read my book. They have these high expectations of me, and I just don’t know if I can fill them or not. I didn’t know that it would be like this. Every author dreams of selling millions of copies of their book and being famous for their work, but they never think they’re going to have to answer to all those millions of people when they write the book the way that they want to.”
My eyes shifted up towards hers, realizing that I had just pretty much spilled my guts to a woman that was not much more than a perfect stranger. The look on her face though, it wasn’t overwhelmed or uncomfortable. She looked at me as if she actually cared, and was really listening. I didn’t get that kind of response from anyone anymore.
The pity on her face turned to a smile, and she patted my hand. “I really feel like the two of us are being extremely depressing. We’ve either got to find something happy to talk about or both of us are going to leave here feeling like we’ve been trampled on all over again. You were stampeded by the whole of reading society, and me by a vicious ex-boyfriend. Personally, I’ve had enough of being trampled on.”
I pointed at her. “That definitely sounds like a good idea. I don’t think either one of us need any more depressing things in our life right now.”
I watched her as she ate some of her ice cream, having a sudden urge to figure out a way to make her feel as if she was worth my time. Of course, I thought she was, but I had a feeling that she was used to being pushed to the side, especially when it came to men. I didn’t like that, not at all. I’d only known her for part of the day and I could already tell she was worth way more than that. There was a fire inside of her, I could feel the warmth, but she held it back for some reason. I was becoming increasingly more curious as to who she was deep down inside.
“You know what we should do after this?” I asked.
She looked down at her ice cream wi
th big eyes. “Liposuction?”
I laughed. “No, I was thinking of something a little bit less invasive. I was thinking maybe, I’m renting this house down the street, and if you wanted to you could come back to my place and we can get out a notebook, and you can tell me everything that was wrong with the show. It’ll give me ammo when I’m going up against the TV execs if they ever want to have a series with me again.”
She smiled sweetly, putting her lid on her ice cream, and looking around the room. I suddenly got a sneaking suspicion that I had said the wrong thing. She no longer made eye contact with me and was looking pretty nervous. “I have to admit I’m flattered by the opportunity or the invite, or whatever you want to call it. I just… I don’t think I’m ready for that kind of step. I’m sure most girls that are around you are super excited to be invited back to your place but, I’m not really even down for a one-night stand. It’s just not really my thing.”
I opened my mouth to protest, realizing that she had completely misunderstood. It wasn’t that I wasn’t attracted to her, but I genuinely just wanted to spend more time with her. I wasn’t trying to sleep with her. Before I could say anything though, she had gotten to her feet and smiled at me brightly before hurrying out of the ice cream store. I glanced back and forth, slightly bewildered by how fast everything had just fallen to pieces. One minute I was really starting to get to know her, and the next minute I was sitting alone in an ice cream shop in a tiny little town in the middle of nowhere, left with nothing but a bucket of ice cream and my feelings.
Glancing across the table I realized that Rory hadn’t even finished her own ice cream, much less taken it with her. I slapped my hand to my forehead and shook it. “Idiot.”
I put the lid on my ice cream, picked hers up, and walked back up to the counter. The girl bounced over and smiled at me sweetly. I gave her an awkward grin back, feeling like a moron. “You guys don’t happen to deliver, do you?”
Maybe along with the ice cream, they could deliver my common sense back to me as well with a sprinkle of my dignity on top.
Chapter 5
Rory
The alarm was loud, blaring in my ear as I lay there in bed, still feeling completely embarrassed about running from the ice cream shop the night before. It was true, one-night stands weren’t my thing, but I wasn’t even fully sure that he was asking to sleep with me. He could’ve literally just wanted to hang out and I acted like a crazy person and went running from the shop. I hoped that he took it as me being respectful of myself more than a crazy lunatic again. He had seemed more crazy lunatic emotions from me than he had seen a normal person. Then again, I hadn’t been a normal person my entire life, and especially not the last few months since the dirt bag broke up with me.
I sat up in the bed and swung my reindeer pajama clad legs over the side, rubbing the sleepiness from my face. I hadn’t slept very well, having nightmares about my ridiculous conversation. If it was any kind of look into what my dating life would be like in the future, I was pretty sure it was time for me to just accept old cat lady status. A knock on the door stole my attention from my self-loathing and I narrowed my eyes looking over at the clock. It wasn’t even light outside yet, who could possibly be knocking on the door?
Dragging myself out of the bedroom and down the hall, I lifted up on my tiptoes and peeked out of the small window at the top of the front door. Standing on my porch was Randy, the owner of the ice cream shop. I furled my brow, thinking back to the night before and wondering if I had left my ID or wallet there. I was pretty sure I had tossed it on my dresser when I got home. I cracked open the door and peeked through, grinning at him. “You’re up early.”
Randy chuckled. “Going fishing. I know that you’re up super early every morning, so I figured I’d bring by the ice cream order that was left for you.”
I tilted my head to the side, opening the door the rest of the way. “I didn’t make an ice cream order.”
Randy handed me two bags. “No, someone else made it for you, asked us to deliver it to you. There’s a note in the bag.”
I lifted both eyebrows at him and shrugged. “I’m never going to argue about free ice cream from your place. Thanks for coming by.”
He tapped the bill of his hat, turning to walk away. “I’ll bring the kids by soon to have some of your cookies. And with the holidays coming up, there’s a good chance my wife will be ordering some so she doesn’t have to cook this year.”
I laughed and waved as he walked down the pathway to his truck parked out front. “I look forward to it.”
Closing the front door, I spun on my heels, staring curiously at the two bags. Picking them up with a grunt, I took them into the kitchen and started to unpack the ice cream so that it wouldn’t melt all over the counter. There was a collection of flavors, just about every single one that they had, all packed neatly in pints. I had to maneuver some stuff in the freezer since I wasn’t used to purchasing a year’s supply of ice cream all at one time. At the bottom of the bag, in a red and green festive envelope was a note.
I pulled the paper out and opened it up, reading it to myself.
“Rory,
Figured I would help with that creative block you’ve been having. It’s probably the least I can do after scaring you off last night. I was thinking, almost every single one of these flavors would go amazing with your cookies. Regardless of the cold weather, everyone loves an ice cream cookie sandwich. I’ll see you at your café, gotta have some coffee while I’m staring at a blank computer screen.
Sincerely,
The embarrassed guy, Christian.”
I glanced up at all the ice cream in the freezer and then back down at the note, reading it one last time to myself. Nothing like that had ever happened to me before, or anyone I knew for that matter. I lived in a tiny town and though romantically, the place had an appeal, men out there, they had no clue. I wasn’t even sure if I could call sending someone a dozen pints of ice cream romantic or not, but it was definitely creative.
I shut the freezer door and chewed on my bottom lip, leaning against the counter, staring at the note. On one hand, it was really sweet, and the flutter in my chest was signaling me to just go with it. On the other hand, I was frankly, very confused. The guys I had dated in the past were good-looking, but they were homegrown boys. Born and raised in the town, and probably would die there one day too. It wasn’t like I had any other plans either. Every time I saw the ladies from the senior home walk in, I imagined me and Tish taking their places not too long into the future.
Christian, he was different. He was incredibly handsome, cultured, worldly, and very rich. He was the kind of guy that could have just about any girl he wanted. Little old me? I was the girl that got dumped, living in a small town, owning the cliché small-town bakery. There was no way that I should have even been on his radar. In fact, when I had seen him on the street, I was surprised he even remembered me. Though, I did make it kind of hard for him not to considering our conversation earlier that day. Nonetheless, I never expected him to actually want to go and have ice cream with me.
As I stood there daydreaming about frozen treats and Christian, the main character of his book floated through my mind. I felt like her in that moment, contemplating the fiery flames that seemed to follow around my love life while simultaneously degrading my own self-worth thinking someone like Christian couldn’t possibly be interested in me. He did write that character though, and he did act as if he had a connection with her, so maybe that was why he had a connection with me.
I threw my hands up in the air, letting out a loud grunt. I didn’t know what I was thinking. I was standing around my kitchen when I should’ve been getting ready, daydreaming like a high school student. Whether he liked me or not, it didn’t matter, I had a life of my own and it would go on whether he was in it or not. I had my hands full though, trying to get myself back into a position where I wasn’t burning everything and cursing out customers. If I continued on that path the only people that
would come to the bakery would be the old ladies, and who knew how long they had left.
While my mind told me to get my butt in gear, obviously my subconscious was thinking something else. As I pulled the clothes from my closet to put on that day, I laid out my, “only for special occasion,” cashmere sweater, a pair of wide leg dress pants and my favorite kitten heels. Of course, when I got to the bakery, I would slip into my crocs, but the girl had to look good walking down the street… You know, just in case I ran into anyone… from out of town.
By the time I actually got to work, Tish was already there putting the place together. I tried to sneak past her, hoping she wouldn’t say anything, but come on, it was Tish. “So, I leave you alone with Mister handsome and then you come in late to work for the first time since… Well, I don’t think you’ve ever come into work late.”
Shrugging out of my jacket, I hung it on the rack beside the door and rolled my eyes. “No, there was that one time I had a dentist appointment.”
Tish crossed her arms. “That does not count. You had that dentist appointment scheduled for six months, and for six months I had you in my ear reminding me every day that you were going to be late by two hours to the bakery that day. And I’m sorry, when was the last time you wore your special occasion sweater and kitten heels to work at the bakery? While I appreciate you looking beautiful for me, I think it’s a little bit much.”
Narrowing my eyes, I stuck my tongue out at her. “Can a girl not feel good? And it has nothing to do with Mister… I mean Christian. I’ll have you know that we weren’t there for very long before he proposed I come back to his place.”
Tish whistled. I turned around and shook my head. “No, nothing happened. I got up and left. And it wasn’t in a mean way, I was very mannerly. You would’ve been proud of me.”
Tish scoffed as she set out an empty tray she had just emptied into the showcase. “No, I wouldn’t have. I would’ve only been proud of you if you had gone home with him.”
Promise Me Forever Page 3