Page 7 of Mistlefoes

Man, she was beautiful with her cloud of blonde hair falling around her slim shoulders. Beneath her red puffer jacket, her jeans hugged her legs perfectly, highlighting her shapely figure. I could easily imagine a wedding dress formed around her. I could even more easily remember what that body had looked like naked beneath me. I wanted that back. Now.

“Good morning,” I called, raising my hand in a casual greeting, steadfastly pretending nothing was amiss.

“Morning.” She ducked her head, and I suspected it was to hide her mirth. Little did she know I’d grown up with three mischievous siblings, who’d learned everything they knew from me. Even though Jill and I had dated for a year, she’d only met two of them and they hadn’t shown their true colors. She’d fit right in with them, though, and I loved her for it.

“Do you think we’re going to get more snow today?” I asked conversationally. I stepped past the snow mountains, planning to walk in the street, so I could chat with her since she seemed communicative that morning. Hopefully, she wouldn’t shut down on me.

Jill snorted and covered her mouth with her gloved hand, pretending to cough. She cleared her throat. After a moment, she shook her head. “I haven’t heard the weather report.”

“Hmm, well, I hope we don’t get more. Seems like I—we—have enough. But you never know with lake effect. So do you have plans for lunch today?”

She stopped her progress down the sidewalk and gaped at me. “What?”

Suddenly, we seemed too far apart. It was utterly ridiculous to be having this semi-yelled conversation from opposite sides of the road. Making sure I wouldn’t get hit by a rogue snowplow headed down the street to dump more snow in my yard, I crossed over to walk beside Jill. She started moving again, not waiting for me, but my legs were longer than hers. I easily caught up in a few strides.

“Do you have lunch plans today?” I repeated.

Her tongue dampened her pink lips. She didn’t look my way. “I’m working.”

“But you gotta have lunch.”

“I thought I’d grab something fromBrewly Yoursthen eat in my office. I need to work on my website.”

That perked up my attention. Programming was my jam, my favorite hobby. I’d designed several people’s websites as a favor, and she knew it. I’d also built the one we used to share, but now servedZigzie’s Books. “Are you building one or are you hiring it out?”

She gnawed on her lip, and I knew it galled her to answer me. For a moment, I thought she might ignore the question as she’d ignored so many other attempts at conversation over the past three-hundred-sixty-some days.

“I haven’t decided,” she finally admitted.

“Why don’t I bring over lunch, and I can help you?”

Her brow furrowed, and she glance back toward our houses as we rounded the corner toward Main Street. “Why? I mean… We’re competition. Why should I believe you’d want to help me?”

I shrugged. “You like to knit.”

Everyone knew she did. Many had been gifted with her creations, and she made little caps for the newborns at the hospital.

“So? What does that have to do with anything?”

“And I like computers. You know I’ve built a ton of websites. If nothing else, I can point you in the right directions, help you buy a domain name and get a server host, then I can give you some tips for SEO.”

“I don’t even know what most of that means.”

“Have lunch with me, and I promise I’ll explain it all.”

“Look, Jack—”

“I didn’t cheat on you,” I blurted, unable to hold back the unbidden words that were always on the tip of my tongue. “I don’t know what you think you saw, but I swear on everything, I didn’t. I haven’t been with anyone, not even on a date, since we met. I want you back.”

She shook her head when we stopped at the next corner. I was sorely tempted to lean in and kiss her cheek, but her words stopped me. “I know what I saw. Lying to me won’t change that.”

“I’m not lying!” I exploded before I could stop my anger.

She crossed her arms, defense rolling off her. “I saw you kiss her. In your driveway,” she reiterated. “Tell me why I should believe you.”

“Because it wasn’t me. I wasn’t even in town. You know I was in New York.”

“So you say. Next thing I know, you’ll try to convince me you have some twin.”

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