Page 3 of Yule Love Me

I pass the Riverside Cafe which is bustling with business right now but I keep going. I’ve got a mission right now and no time to stop for a Three Way sandwich and some fries.

When I finally pass the newly renovated bed and breakfast that opened last month I can see that Kade has definitely been busy. He’s even got fall mums and some scary pumpkins on the front porch. Their little kitty Tigerlily refuses to stay contained anymore. She’s always sneaking out and I see that she’s lying curled up on the porch railing. One of her eyes sneaks open and she watches me cautiously.

“I’m not gonna tell on you, Tigerlily. Enjoy your sunshine.”

She huffs and yawns, her sharp teeth sparkling in the sunlight.

I chuckle and keep on walking. Hands of time rears up in front of me and I take a deep breath, walking in the door and wincing when the bells jingle above me.

“I’ll be right there!” Promise calls from the back. I’d think it was Petra except I hear a deep rumble and groan, turning my back towards the rear of the store. No way in hell do I want to catch even a glimpse of the shop owner’s extracurricular activities with her fiancé. They haven’t even slowed down since they found out they were pregnant and they’re quite the talk of the town.

A piercing whistle behind me makes me turn around and I flush when I see Kade’s possessive smirk as he walks past me.

“Howdy, Jeremy! Hope you’ve got a cup! She doesn’t really care for you, man. You’re either really brave or really stupid.”

With a happy smile back at his woman, he backs out the door, blowing Promise a kiss.

She smiles for about one second until she gets a look at me. She huffs and turns towards her desk on the far wall.

“What the hell are you doing here, Jeremy?”

I cringe. I hope this goes better than it sounds. I was hoping to at least only have to deal with friendly fire not outright warfare.

“I was hoping I could talk to you. You know I’ve been trying to talk to Petra. But she’s being kinda difficult about it.”

She grins. “Bit of a blast to your fancy image and ego, isn’t it?”

I grit my teeth and ignore her digs. “That’s not the problem here. The problem is that I know Petra loves me. She just doesn’t want to admit it because she’s upset about being fired.”

An auburn brow lifts and Promise glares at me. “Yeah. I’m with her.”

“Look, she doesn’t need to be upset about it. I’m not mad at her. These things happen. But I really want to kiss and make up.”

Promise chokes on a snort and her finger points at me. “Dude, if you try and kiss her, you’re gonna be picking yourself up off the floor and crawling away because she’s gonna neuter you.”

“I was hoping maybe you could help me try and work things out with her.”

She shakes her head, her red hair like fire in the bright sunlight. “I’m not helping you with a damn thing, Jeremy. If you want to make up with Promise, do it. But it’s up to her whether she wants to or not and so far….she’s not even remotely interested in letting you off the hook for firing her.”

“I had to. She lied to me. And she told the whole town. The paper would have been implicated in any lawsuits and bad press. I couldn’t let that lie go by without dealing with it. Maybe a little harshly.”

Promise eyes me closely. “And you’ve told her everything, haven’t you, Jeremy?” Her soft voice slithers over my skin.

“What do you mean?”

But we both know.

And I nod my head, hoping that she keeps my secret as well as I keep all of hers.

CHAPTER 3

Petra

Itype a short article into my computer. A quick update on the app that doesn’t exist and the results of my research into matchmaking.

I’ve always been good at it.

But the one person I’ve never matched is myself. I chew on my lower lip and eye the blinking cursor.

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