Page 7 of Mistletoe Kisses

“Um, what do you recommend?”

“I love the wild salmon and the bacon macaroni and cheese. The crab cakes are great too. What do you usually enjoy? I’d be happy to make suggestions.”

His eyes darted to mine before returning his attention to the menu again. “I like pork and chicken and spicy things.”

“I know just the thing. Our ghost pepper barbecue ribs are to die for. The heat level won’t send you to the ER, but it’ll clear your nostrils for a day or two. The flavor is great too. I’m always disappointed when something is hot but only tastes like heat. These ribs are full of flavor.”

The guy licked his lips. “That sounds delicious.” His shoulders relaxed, and he smiled gratefully.

Ginger Spice’s smile could stop anyone in their tracks, and I let my attention linger several beats too long for politeness. “I’ll get that order in and come back to check on you soon.”

I made the rounds to my other tables and delivered the cobbler with the bill to Warren and Reed. After a few minutes, I noticed Ginger Spice could use a refill on his tea, so I swung by with the pitcher. It was slow enough that I could give my tables extra attention, and he was the most attention-worthy person in the place. Maybe it was the classic Christmas tune playing, but there was an elfish quality about him that I found utterly charming. Hopefully, I wasn’t coming off like a pest because the sweet way he looked at me from under his lashes was addicting.

“Are you local? I don’t think I’ve seen you around here before.” Dahlia Springs wasn’t so small that everyone knew each other, but it was small enough, and given my job, I tended to recognize most people. Especially those around my age.

“I’m visiting for the week.”

He didn’t offer why, and I didn’t want to push, but there was an air of loneliness to him. I noted he didn’t saywewere visiting for the week. Maybe he was in town for work. The Festival of Lights events on the calendar for this week weren’t the ones that tended to draw the out-of-towner crowds, so I assumed he was in town for something else.

Dahlia Springs got a fair amount of tourism, especially in recent years, because people had worked hard to plan interesting events. The brewery getting a great reputation around the state helped too.

After saying goodbye to Warren and Reed once they’d cleaned their plate of cobbler, I returned to Ginger Spice with his dinner and noticed he’d pulled out a Kindle. I loved talking about books. “What are you reading? I’m always interested in book recommendations.”

Color flushed his pale cheeks again as he scratched the corner of his Kindle case. I held my breath, willing him to show me his pretty eyes again. “Oh, um, it’s a fantasy novel.”

I leaned my hip against the table. I should leave him to his meal, but I couldn’t bypass the opportunity to talk books with an adorkable redhead. Even for a quick moment. “Which one?”

He looked skeptical. I didn’t buy that there was a stereotypical person who read any genre, but I didn’t blame him for likely suspecting I wasn’t savvy about fantasy books.

“Jade Torrence’s The—”

“The Beast Withinseries? I love those books! Jade is one of my absolute favorite authors. They’re doing a stop in Portland on their book tour when the next one comes out.”

The guy came to life like I’d flipped his on switch. “You’ve read their books? That’s so cool!”

“What do you think is the whole thing with the wolf shadow that keeps popping up?”

He smiled eagerly and pitched his fan theory, which was what I suspected too. We chatted for a minute, but the door chime reminded me that I was at work and he had a delicious hot meal to enjoy.

“I’ll stop bugging you and let you enjoy your dinner. But I’ll be back to talk books with you soon, okay?”

The guy’s smile was shy as he nodded before grabbing a rib.

After checking on my tables and seating a new one, I snuck a peek at him and caught him looking my way. He quickly averted his eyes. If Monday was already this good, the week was shaping up to be a great one.

If I played my cards right, maybe I could have some gingerbread for dessert. That would make up for the seasonal embarrassment I’d already endured this evening.

Chapter3

Arlo

Like the guyhad a magnet in his pocket, I found myself pulled to watch him—again—and got caught—again. The guy was super cute with his captivating smile, playful dark eyes, and thick dark-brown hair in a quiff that appeared soft to the touch. He was taller than me and almost as lean, with oddly distracting forearms. I’d never found forearms so attractive before. Heck, I couldn’t even remember the last time I’d been so attracted to someone off the bat.

Despite catching his attention on me multiple times, I was under no illusion that he was looking at me because he found me cute. I was a skinny, short redhead with an aversion to eye contact. He probably kept an eye on me because I exuded mega pathetic energy.

Where in the world had I gotten the nerve to go into a restaurant and sit by myself? I felt people’s eyes on me, judging me for dining alone. My brain knew that likely wasn’t the case, especially since he’d put me at a table partially tucked out of the main traffic, but the jumpiness in my limbs said otherwise. If it hadn’t been for the threat of the social hour at the B&B, I would’ve gotten takeout and eaten it in my room. Dang. I could’ve gotten it to go and eaten in my car, but at least dining in came with unlimited iced tea.

I squeezed my eyes closed and let out a breath. I’d gotten myself into the pickle of being socially awkward each time the server came by, yet wanting him to do it again because he had a nice smile and made me feel like a human when he talked to me. I was both a glutton and a magnet for awkwardness.

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