Page 4 of A Second Chance Christmas Kiss

I was jolted back to the task at hand. “Of course.” I pulled out my wallet and handed over my credit card. Our fingers brushed as she took it, and I felt the same sensation as when I’d shaken her hand earlier. All that old chemistry and attraction came rushing back.

She typed in the credit card number, leaving us in awkward silence. I searched for something to say.

“You’re back here?” I finally asked. “Full time?”

“Oh, yeah. A couple months now.” She kept her eyes on her work. “I was going to sell the store, but then decided to keep it.”

My heart raced. I wanted to ask more about why she was keeping it, but how could I do that without sounding like a jerk?

She completed the transaction, printed off my receipt, and offered it to me along with a pen. “You still have to sign it. I’m not that advanced.” She smiled briefly.

“That’s okay.” I signed the receipt and handed it back.

She took it, frowning when I didn’t let it go right away. Her eyes held mine.

“Melody, what happened?” Maybe it was the wrong question to ask. Maybe I would regret it. Whatever the case, I couldn’t leave without knowing.

She took the receipt and stuck it in the drawer, then printed the copy and stuck it in the bag. “I’d rather not talk about it. It’s been good to see you, Charles.” The fake smile was back. “Merry Christmas. Don’t hesitate to come back if you need another doll.” The smile flickered, replaced briefly by that genuine grin I’d known my whole life. “Because I’m sure you need another doll.”

If someone had gut-punched me, I would’ve been better off. Her smile affected me way too much. I wanted answers, but I could tell she was trying to keep it together.

I took the bag and nodded. “Okay. It was good to see you. Merry Christmas.”

I started to move toward the door, noticing again that it opened easily. If things were less tense, I would’ve commented that the door handle was nice. I turned back, and she was staring at me with a look I didn’t recognize. Somehow, I sensed that it meant she wanted me to leave.

I walked out the door and shut it behind me. Part of me wanted to walk back into that store and demand answers. The other part wanted to walk away and forget about Melody Harris … now Paine. I choked out a laugh, thinking that her new last name was fitting; she’d sure caused me a truckload of pain.

Having lost my appetite, I skipped the bakery and went straight to the parking lot. I got into my truck, determined to get answers from Grandmother at least.

Chapter Three

Melody

I stood behind the cash register and tried to settle my racing heart. Seeing Charles had taken me by surprise. I knew his grandmother was still alive, although it’d been a long time since I’d seen her. I hadn’t seen her order come in, which was concerning. It must have come through Mandy, the high-school girl I’d hired to work in the afternoons.

Maybe it was vain, but I picked up my cell phone and went to my camera app. I turned it around as if I were about to do a selfie, using the camera as a mirror. Thankfully I had taken the time to pick out the perfect Christmas dress this morning. The funny thing about divorce was that all my clothes fit better. I’d lost about eighteen pounds since last Christmas, and it was like I had a new wardrobe.

I blew out my breath and thought about the man who’d just walked out of my store. Charles King. The last name fit his family. How many times had I teased him about that last name, and that he was way too rich for me? He’d hated it, but I couldn’t help it. Teasing him had somehow made it seem untrue, though it wasn’t. He came from old money.

My mother always liked to say the money would eventually come between us. I would protest, but she would simply shake her head and say, “Time always tells that story.”

It had.

I glanced down at my hand, reliving our brief handshake. How had nineteen years gone by? And why was I experiencing that same twitterpation the teenage version of me had once felt about Charles King?

Charles hadn’t lived in Jewel Cove full time. His parents had passed away when he was a sophomore in high school, so he and his brothers had come to Jewel Cove for almost a year. Then his grandfather had sent them all away to boarding school until college.

Before that, his family had lived in New York and come for the summers. We’d been best friends, finding each other every time he was in Jewel Cove. We’d had a group of beach friends that had always felt comfortable and easy to be a part of.

Where had all those summers gone? I knew where the beach crew had gone. Most of them had been my friends during school as well as the summer. Most had moved away, except for Gretchen and Kent, who were married and owned the bookstore next door.

I had heard that Charles’s brothers were serving in the military. They were all close in age, each only a year apart from the next, and we had always hung out as a group. Where were they all this Christmas?

When I was young, I hadn’t cared about the discrepancies between the uber-wealthy and me. It was only my mother that had made sure to tell me.

I’d heard Charles had been married, then divorced. I stared out the window and wondered what had happened with his wife. I knew the general picture. My mother had told me some things. It was like she’d wanted to make sure that I knew we’d all madethe right choices so long ago. Her implication was that no one could make it work with Charles King. At least, no “commoner” could. Apparently, Charles’s ex had been a secretary at a bank before marrying him.

I’d mostly tried to ignore my mother then. Now I wanted to know more.

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