Page 13 of Snowflakes and Sparks

“My parents sure didn’t think it was cute.”

Alex shook his head. “We all make mistakes when we’re young. I know I have.”

“I guess that’s one way of looking at it.”

Alex leant back in his seat. He looked me straight in the eye. “So, what’s been going on with you in the past ten years? Crashed any trucks lately? Sent any heartbreaking letters? Swept some guy off his feet who you now share an apartment with?”

I laughed. “Is that your subtle way of asking me if I’m single?”

A mischievous grin crossed his face. “Are you?”

“I am. I guess there was no getting over you,” I said cheekily.

“That’s understandable.”

“I’ve also never swept some guy off his feet with a romantic gesture. Or the other way around. Pathetic, right? What about you? I bet you’re a real heartbreaker.”

“I don’t know about that. I’ve had some relationships in the past. Emphasis on the past.”

“Someone broke your heart?”

Alex shrugged. “Nothing worth thinking about. Like I said, it’s all in the past. It hardly ever crosses my mind.”

The look on his face told me that there was more to it, but I didn’t dare push the subject. It was none of my business anyway.

Leanne arrived with the food and gave me the once-over again. “Two meat burgers,” she said, making sure to emphasize the wordmeat. “Enjoy.”

We both dug in and Alex talked about how he became a yoga teacher. He told me he was saving up the money to go back to school. Apparently he was dreaming of becoming a chef.

I only heard half of it, to be honest. I was getting obsessed with the sound of his voice. It didn’t matter what he said. Alex could be reciting the dictionary and I’d still hang on every word. He had a way of making everything sound so… mesmerizing. It was like his voice was a drug my mind craved more and more of.

He took a swig of his Coke. “How about you? Have you always worked at a bookstore?”

“I grew up reading a ton of books. I just couldn’t imagine myself doing something that didn’t involve books. Working at a bookstore was an obvious choice for me.”

“Have you ever thought of writing books?” he asked.

“I’m not going to pretend that writing books and becoming a bestselling author isn’t something that I dream of. But I don’t know. Maybe someday.”

He put down his Coke and studied my face. “Why wait for someday?”

I shrugged. “My job at Got It Covered takes up a lot of time. When I get home after a full day of work, I often don’t find the energy to write.”

I was such a good liar. It was true that my job took a lot out of me, but the real reason I didn’t pursue my dream of becoming an author was my fear of failure. Not publishing anything seemed better than publishing a book people would hate. But I didn’t feel comfortable admitting that to Alex.

“I’m getting promoted to store manager in L.A. soon, though. It’ll give me more responsibility, but I’ll also be able to balance my work days better. I might have time to write then.”

Alex raked a hand through his hair, messing it up in the sexiest way. “Store manager, huh? That sounds fancy. How come you ended up in Old Pine Cove if you’ve got this big promotion waiting for you back home?”

“I guess I couldn’t miss you any longer,” I joked.

He winked. “Totally understandable.”

“Truth be told, I didn’t want to come here at first. But my boss was so desperate to keep the store open that I didn’t have a choice. I need the experience to show the board that I’m committed. Not that I don’t like it here,” I added. “It does seem like a nice tight-knit community.”

The sound of Alex’s phone ringing abruptly cut our conversation off. He answered the call, then after a lot of humming and agreeing, he put his phone away again.

“I’m sorry, Suzie, but I’m afraid I’m needed elsewhere. The Snow Ball peeps organized an emergency meeting at the community center. Now that Diane’s out with a broken hip and will probably be in the hospital for a couple of weeks, they need someone to lead the meetings. I can’t let them down.”

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