Page 10 of Promise Yule Be Mine
“Did you have any doubts?” I raised an eyebrow.
She giggled. “Well…I don’t know what happened to you in the last fifteen years. Maybe you became a flake.”
I gasped and she giggled again.
“Come on. Let’s get going before Gray finds me out here.”
“Gray?” I asked as she dragged me inside, into the warmth of the airport terminal.
Before she could answer, a man came to stand in front of us and glared at Jenna.
“Were you out on the tarmac Ms. Torres?” he asked.
Jenna rolled her eyes.
“I love how I turn to Ms. Torres when you’re annoyed.”
“It doesn’t exactly answer my question,Ms.Torres. You know flight attendants are not allowed on the tarmac unless it’s their flight.”
“It’s my airline.”
“Are you on duty?”
Jenna made a mocking face and slapped the man’s chest.
“Oh relax, Gray. I was barely out there for a minute and I was picking up my friend. Here, see? He’s picked up. Now can we go back to our business?”
“Your business ismybusiness when you’re in my airport. Especially when you’re off-duty wreaking havoc.”
“I hardly qualify this as havoc, but whatever helps you sleep at night, sweetie. Say hi to the missus for me.”
Gray huffed as Jenna dragged me away from the grumpy man and chuckled.
“That was funny because he doesn’t have a missus.”
I narrowed my eyes at her and readjusted my bag on my shoulder. “Are you going to get in trouble?”
She rolled her eyes again. “Pfft! With who? Gray? He’s a cute plushie wrapped in grumpy clothes. He’s a friend.”
“That’s a friend?”
“Oh yeah. That was him being friendly.”
“I’d hate to see him when he’s not.”
She chuckled and looped her arm around mine, leading me out of the tiniest airport known to man and to her car. I slid into the passenger seat and took in the beautiful scenery that gave way to a picturesque town looking like something from a holiday-themed pop-up book.
The presence of Christmas was apparent despite it still being October and not winter just yet. I guessed it was necessary to live up to the town’s reputation but while I knew several people who hated how much earlier Christmas came each year, I wasn’t one to complain. I loved the holidays, the Christmas sweaters, the hot drinks and liquor-filled chocolates, the songs, the fairy lights. I may not be a fan of the cold, but I was a fan of the magic of Christmas.
“I take everything back,” I said after a while, unable to peel my eyes from the window. “This is gorgeous.”
“I told you you’d like it. You always had such a soft spot for the holidays.”
I still did. And I wasn’t the only one. Most of my family loved the season and we all went above and beyond both with Christmas dinner and gift-giving. It was part of our love language.
“Ready to meet Kody?” She came to a stop in a small parking lot beside a large building with a gable roof. A huge sign stood at the end that readThe White Elephantbeneath a cartoon of the aforementioned animal with a blanket of snow and a red present on its back.
“Always ready, darling,” I said and got out of the car.
