Page 6 of A Second Chance Christmas Kiss

Later that day, Mandy showed up to cover the rest of the shift, and I got my things together to head to class. Luckily, it was just down the street.

As I was walking out, my friend Gretchen hurried toward me. She ran the little bookstore next to the doll shop. She had married her high school sweetheart, and they ran several businesses in town; the bookstore was just her baby. “Are you headed to class?” she asked, falling into step with me.

I nodded. “Yep, learning how to crunch numbers properly. Maybe one day I can have a job that pays.”

Gretchen looped her arm through mine. “How was your day?”

I wasn’t going to hide anything from Gretchen. She would find out anyway. “Charles King showed up in my shop today.”

She yanked me to a stop. “Are you kidding me?”

I couldn’t help but laugh. “Keep walking with me so I’m not late. He showed up to buy a doll his grandmother had ordered.”

Gretchen let out a low whistle. “Wow. Charles King. He is a handsome man. I see him every year at the Christmas charity gala, but he usually shows up, sits at his grandmother’s table with his siblings, then leaves right after the program. Last year he sort of ran things, but he was so busy I didn’t try to talk to him.” She snapped her fingers. “But the last time I ran into him was before your wedding.”

I knew what she would say. “I know. Since he tried to stop my wedding, and you ran into him and told him where I was.”

She nodded. “Sorry about that.”

I scoffed. “I guess I should have let him talk me out of it.”

Gretchen raised her eyebrows. “Are you serious?”

“No.” I thought of his handsome looks and the attraction that had always been between us. “I have Will, and I’ll always be grateful for that, even if his father … is an idiot.”

“Charles is divorced. Maybe you guys …”

I shook my head. “That ship sailed a long time ago.”

“But ships set sail again if you put them in the harbor.”

I felt my cheeks flush. “Wait, I’m the ship being put back in the harbor?”

She laughed. “Sure, why not?”

“I’m too old for … the harbor.”

“No, you’re not.”

I shook my head. “You and your romances. Are you reading a romance right now?”

She shrugged. “Of course. A man is stuck on an island, and a pirate ship just arrived with a castaway that they thought was a boy, but it’s a woman.”

I rolled my eyes. “Nice.”

She giggled. “What are your plans after class tonight?”

I shrugged. “I’ll close the shop, go for a run, and then go to bed.”

“Why don’t you come out to the house for dinner? Kent is smoking a brisket, and my parents are coming. Of course, the kids would love to see you. Plus, there’s the movie tonight. You could go with us.”

I knew she was lying about the kids, because they were teenagers, and teenagers didn’t love to see anyone. Still, I appreciated the gesture. “No. But … thank you.”

She sighed. “Fine. Keep running and making me look bad.”

I rolled my eyes. “You look beautiful.”

She let out another low whistle. “You should come to the Christmas Charity Gala on Christmas Eve. Kent bought a table, and we’d love to have you sit with our family.”

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