Page 21 of A Second Chance Christmas Kiss

It was barely seven in the morning when I hopped off the treadmill, deciding that if Melody wanted coffee early in the morning, she would get it.

Half an hour later, I was outside of her doll shop, freshly showered with two cups of coffee in hand. I’d also grabbed two chocolate muffins. Just in case.

I knocked on the door, wondering if she would be ticked off, but no one answered.

I backed up onto the street, gazing up at the window that used to be hers. Had she switched to the other bedroom? I was tempted to call the store. I hated that I didn’t have her number. There were so many things I wanted to know.

As I stared up at the doll store, wondering why in the world she would choose to live up there, I caught someone out of the corner of my eye, running down the street. It was her.

I took off to intercept her. She was punching in the code when I called her name.

She turned back with a stern look on her face. “It’s not even eight o’clock in the morning, Charles.”

I didn’t falter. “You said you like your coffee early, and I thought, ‘Hey, my friend wants coffee, so I should get it for her.’”

A small grin started to creep onto her face, but she visibly stifled it.

I held up the bag. “Look, it’s just coffee and chocolate muffins. I know you used to love a good chocolate muffin as much as I did. I took a chance and got them.”

She finally grinned. “You are just desperate, aren’t you, Charles King?”

It was something she’d said to me when we were teenagers, and I couldn’t help but laugh. “I guess I am. I want to talk to an old friend, but she has all of these stipulations.”

She shook her head. “If I recall, you used to only drink pre-sipped coffee.”

I held out both coffees. “Go ahead and sip both of them for us.”

She huffed out a laugh. “No.”

“Hey, you brought it up.” I beamed at the sound of her laughter. I hadn’t heard something so beautiful in a long time.

Giving me a reluctant look, she reached out and took one coffee. “I won’t pre-sip yours. I’ll just take one for me. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

She took a sip of the coffee.

I was glad she’d accepted something from me. “Can you talk?”

She sucked in a long breath and then let it out slowly. “I have a few minutes before I need to start getting the store ready. If we go back to the bakery and chat for a few minutes, asfriends, will you leave me alone?”

I had no intention of doing so, but I nodded. “Okay.”

We fell into step as we walked to the bakery. I grimaced at the nerves fluttering in my gut. We were both … much older and had lived full lives. Maybe that was the problem. It had taken me a lifetime before I could talk to the woman who had turned me down in a very major way.

We got to the bakery, and I opened the door. “Ladies first.”

She walked through, and I followed. The scent of a plethora of baked goods washed over me, but the best was the chocolate.

She slipped into a booth with a window overlooking the ocean. I slipped onto the other side, relishing the fact that we were here together.

She took a sip of coffee and then met my gaze. “What are you thinking about?”

I shrugged and took both muffins out, sliding one toward her. “Nothing. Just how grateful I am an old friend will have coffee and a muffin with me.”

“Now you’re lying. Either you tell me what you are really thinking, or I’ll leave.”

I snorted and leaned back against the side of the booth, putting my feet up. “This is what you always did,Harris: add to the list of rules right in the middle of the game.” I used her maiden name like we used to.

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