Page 9 of Christmas Wishes

I winced. “Sorry. I hate seeing hot guys so unhappy.”

His eyes widened. “You don’t have a filter, do you?”

“Born without one, but still have my spleen and appendix.”

He shook his head, but it wasn’t completely exasperated.Hashtag Winning.

“I’d better get back to work.”

I rocked back on my heels. “I’d better get back to sticking out like a sore thumb. Nice to awkwardly meet you.”

He stared at me like I was a cat riding a motorcycle, then grunted.

I shamelessly watched him leave because those jeans fit himjust right. Nngh. After the door closed behind him, I heard a low whistle and turned toward the barista.

“In theory, I know what the phrase ‘a comedy of errors’ means, but it’s something else to witness it live.” She shook her head.

“So excited I got to pop that cherry for you,” I said cheerfully. Lucky for me, I don’t embarrass easily.

“Want another cookie? Least I can do given how badly you struck out.”

I tilted my head back and laughed. “I like you, and not because you give me sugar. Yes, I’ll take the cookie.”

“Worst pickup attempt I’ve ever seen. Seriously.”

I preened. “I always like excelling at things.”

She snickered. “I’m Lucy, by the way. How long are you in town for?”

“A week. This is day one.”

She handed me a bag with the cookie. “Make sure you come back again. Leaving before Monday?”

“Yeah, Sunday.”

“Good thing. There’s a storm coming in on Monday.”

A storm meant more of my least favorite form of precipitation. Glad I was escaping before then.

I fished a five-dollar bill from my wallet and threw it in the tip jar. “See you tomorrow. I’d better go check into my Airbnb.”

Her eyes widened. “Airbnb? In town?”

“Yeah, not too far away from here, I think.”

Her grin widened. She mumbled something that sounded a lot like, “This is going to be fun to watch.” That wasn’t ominous or anything.

“If you come in before seven a.m., there’s a bunch of other burly tradesmen who come in. You know, in case you want to practice more of your pickup lines.”

I liked Lucy. “If that wasn’t a godforsaken hour, I might just do that. But I need my beauty sleep.”

I said goodbye, cleaned off my table, and went back into the cold to get to my car. Not a bad start to the week. A snowflake landed on my forehead.Or maybe not.

Chapter5

Riggs

The sun had set long agoby the time I got to the senior center to help Doris with their float for the Lights Up Juniper Ridge parade. It was a pro bono job I needed to make time for or else Nico would haunt me from the afterlife for not taking care of his sister. I wanted to help Doris anyway. This season had to be even harder for her, being the first without Nico around. Less than a year apart, the two had been thick as thieves their entire lives.

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