Page 32 of Meet Me on Christmas Eve

I turned to him in horror, my heart beating a staccato rhythm all over again as I started to reach frantically for the cookie in his hand.

He held it over his head though and laughed. “Joking, of course. I may be an idiot sometimes, but not that much.”

It took everything within me to fight the urge to glare at him at that point. He had spent the whole evening playing with my emotions, and this took the cake. Or the cookie, I suppose.

Jane went around the other side of the counter and retrieved a bell, which she pressed several times.

“Everyone! Please come to the main register,” Terry shouted. Then he said it again, loudly but not shouting this time.

He really had a lovely voice even when he spoke overly loudly. Well,lovelywasn’t the right word. More likerich, deep, strong … sexy.

I really needed to stop these pointless thoughts. Who cared about his damn voice? Not me.

As people started gathering around, I asked Jane if I could speak to the employees. She looked at Terry first, who shrugged. Then she nodded her acceptance.

“Hi everyone, I’m Mariana Northam. I run the resort ‘round the lake, and I was hoping to get to know everyone in the Village a bit better.” I looked around, and I mostly saw blank stares or bored expressions. I smiled and kept going. “So, I know you’ve had a busy work day, and all you want to do is go and enjoy your evening, so I won’t keep you long. Just wanted to say hi and offer some Christmas cookies to enjoy on your way out tonight. Terry and Jane like them, and they’re not easy judges.” One or two quiet laughs. I smiled brighter. “Take one or two or a handful. I’ve got dozens, so you can seriously even take some for your dog if you want to.” At this, more than a few people laughed or smiled, and I stepped out of the way so people could get to the cookie trays.

I followed Jane around to the other side of the register. “Jane, thanks for letting me talk to your employees and bring treats. It means a lot.”

She looked at me for a moment and then nodded. “We’re not going to say no to sweet treats around here.” She paused before adding, “We have a room for nursing mothers. But currently no nursing mothers work here.”

My eyes scrunched together in complete confusion. Did she have me confused with someone else? “Oh, um, I don’t have a baby.”

She raised an eyebrow. “Do I look like I was born yesterday? Obviously you’re not a mother.” She scoffed. “I mean if you want some rest for that ankle for a bit. There aren’t a lot of comfortable, quiet places to sit down out here or in the back.”

My eyes widened. “Oh, how did you know about my ankle—”

“Again, sweetie, not born yesterday. You’ve been limping, and I saw you ice skating. Terry said you’ve taken a few falls.”

Oh he did, did he? I wonder what all he’d told her. Surely not about the part after the last fall—oh, shut up, Mariana, stop thinking about that!

“Jane, truly, thank you so much. This is so thoughtful. I’ll take you up on that offer.” I smiled at her and patted her on the upper arm. “If I don’t see you again this evening, I hope you have a nice one and that I can see you again soon.”

She nodded, not smiling but not frowning either. I’ll take that.

Some time later, maybe five minutes or twenty, I heard a sharp knock on the door. I opened my eyes slowly. I’d been relaxing in the comfy chair and nearly fallen asleep.

Me, relaxing. It wasn’t something I did often.

But something about this room, I mean, wow. There was calming music, soft lighting, and Zen decor. I didn’t usually go for that sort of thing, but I loved this. I could live for this.

But yeah, someone was knocking. I wanted to shout, “Go away!” And I should have. Because it was the last person I wanted to see. The person most likely in the world to destroy my calm.

In walked Terry, and without even asking if I minded the company, he sat down in the extra chair in the room. I wondered why there was another chair in the room. Would two nursing mothers want to nurse together? I had no idea, as I knew nothing about nursing. Or parenting. Maybe some day, but my life wasn’t going in that direction, and I probably wouldn’t make a good mother anyway. I frowned, thinking about this. Maybe this would be the only time I’d ever spend in a nursing mothers’ room. I wasn’t sure how to feel about that, but I felt a dull jab in my chest area.

Terry cleared his throat, jarring me from the mental haze I was in.

Reluctantly, I sat up straighter and then cleared my own throat, as it felt kind of scratchy. “If you’re wondering why I’m here, Jane told me I could rest here. I’m not, like … squatting here or something.” I sighed. “But I’m also not a nursing mother.” Why I added that last bit, I have no idea, but I regretted it immediately after saying it. It sounded too personal, between us, now basically strangers.

He was quiet for a long, long time, his elbows resting on his knees. He wasn’t looking at me.

Finally, his gaze met mine, and he spoke. “What are you doing here?”

Something about his quiet, steady voice was unnerving. I felt a little chill run through me, and I think it was nerves, but … I wasn’t sure. I tried to maintain eye contact.

But I failed. “I-I-I told you—”

“I know why you brought the damn cookies, Mariana,” he said, his eyes flaring with frustration.

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