Page 4 of Blame It On The Carols

“Don’t be so sure about that,” Sam warned with a grin.

I rolled my eyes and tried to fight the corners of my lips as they turned upward—not because I found any humor in this, but because I was exhausted and his smile felt contagious.

“You can be a hopeless romantic all day if you want. But some of us live in the real world, which means we have shit to do. And that doesnotinvolve trying to reconcile broken things from our past.” I tapped the counter with my knuckles and stepped away. “I’ll see you tonight. It’s karaoke night, so come prepared.”

“Alright, but only if you sing with me.”

“You’re my best friend, but there ain’t no way in hell you’re getting me on stage to sing.” I raised my eyebrows at him and pointed a finger.

“We’ll see about that.”

By the time I finished running errands and got to the bar, Jackie was already there. She was the assistant manager and had been working for me for years, which meant she was a godsend for me on days like today when my mind was scattered. She would somehow just know to take charge and get things done without me having to be present.

“Hey, how’s it going?” she asked when I walked in.

“Fine,” I answered with a heavy sigh. I didn’t want to keep talking about Makayla, but I felt the stares from people in town as they whispered about how they’d heard she was back. It wasn’t like it was a big surprise that we had strong feelings about each other, given we had been high school sweethearts and the whole town assumed we would get married and start a family with the way things were going between us.

“There’s a fresh pot of coffee ready and I ordered lunch. It should be here in half an hour or so.”

I arched an eyebrow and caught her eye.

“What?” She lifted her hands in the air helplessly. “You look like shit for one, and two, the gossip mill has already started. I just thought food and caffeine might be a good way for you to get your night started since you know people are going to ask if you’ve talked to Makayla yet. I just wanted to get as far ahead of it as I could and maybe make your night a little easier.”

“I look like shit? Gee, thanks.”

“You know what I mean,” she replied with a laugh. “I’m not saying you won’t still have women throwing themselves at you after a few rounds. Just that I can see the dark circles under your eyes from here.”

“Maybe I should wear sunglasses and hide in the back?”

“No can do. You’re running the karaoke tonight.”

“Since when?” I frowned as I stepped behind the bar to pour myself a cup of coffee—not that I wasn’t already over-caffeinated as it was.

“Since Justin called in sick. I’ll cover the bar, and you can deal with the drunk women who think they can sing.”

“Why don’t I handle the bar, and you take over karaoke?”

“Because, you know no one does it when I try to run it. People look forward to interacting with you. It’ll go so much better if you do it.”

I rolled my eyes and took a sip, allowing the hot liquid to burn down my throat.

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