Page 20 of Sleighing You
She turned the phone, holding it up for me to see. “Yeah. Youtook it offin your car. That still counts as taking it off and disqualifies us.”
“But… that’s crazy. You can’t even take them off in the privacy of your own home and car? I thought that was just the rules for the working hours.”
Avery sighed and handed the phone back to the woman. “Thanks, Elaina.”
The girl—Elaina—winced and nodded. “I’m sorry. I was rooting for you.”
The Mayor had already resumed his contest, and most of the restaurant aimed their attention to the front of the room where the British baker from this morning was accepting his award for winning the ugly sweater contest. I leaned over the table, trying to get Avery to look up and make eye contact with me once more. “Avery, I’m sorry. I honestly didn’t think—”
“Didn’t think? More like didn’t care,” she hissed. “I told you not to take that sweater off.”
“I was in my car going home. It was a misunderstanding. It’s not like I lost the stupid sweater contest on purpose.”
“Stupid?” she whispered.
I rolled my eyes.Yes, stupid, I wanted to say. Instead, I answered with, “It’s a contest where the worse you look, the better your chances of winning. Even when you win, you’re still a loser.”
Her glare deepened and I remembered all the reasons why her sexy lips weren’t enough to draw us together. Still… she was my employee, and I caused the loss of this contest. It was literally my job to make this right. “I really am sorry,” I tried again. “I didn’t know how intense this crazy town was with this Christmas Fest stuff.”
She snorted, shook her head and stood, shoving her arms into her coat, stomping toward the door. “Crazy, huh? If you think Maple Grove is so crazy, why are you here? Why are you expanding your store here? If we’re that crazy, shouldn’t you be focusing your efforts on another location?”
I threw a bunch of cash down on the table, not bothering to get the receipt for the expense report. This one would be on me personally. I chased after her, following her outside into the frigid New England cold, and hugged my coat tighter around my body. “I tried. Believe me, I tried. But my dad is adamant that the expansion has to behere.” A shiver tore down my spine as she stomped toward her car. How the hell did it feel so much colder here in Maple Grove than Boston? It wasn’tthatmuch farther north.
She gripped her keys tightly in one fisted hand and pointed at my face with the jagged edges directed right at me. “You almost had me fooled, Chris Pohle. But you’re not the Grinch. You’re not even Ebenezer Scrooge… becausebothof those men learn from their mistakes.”
I glared at her, not wanting to admit how much her words actually stung. “Oh? Then who am I?”
“You’re… you’re…” her face was growing more and more red by the minute.
“Who?” I pushed her, antagonizing an already dangerous situation. I knew I should just walk away. Let her be, get some space from me, and cool down so that the two of us would be okay to work together in the morning.
“Hans Gruber!” she shouted.
I pulled back, momentarily shocked at the movie reference. Slowly, my lips twisted into a grin and I chuckled. “FromDie Hard?”
“Yes!” she shouted and poked her index finger into my chest. “You’re Hans Gruber from Die Hard.”
I arched a brow and looked down at where she was still poking into my chest. “You’re seriously equating me to a terrorist who literally murders people at a Christmas party? All because I took off a fucking sweater one hour too soon?”
I stared down at her. Maybe all those 90s movies were right… the hotter the girl, the crazier she was. Because right now Avery wassofucking hot. With her cheeks flushed in an angry rosy hue and her eyes bright with rage. Maybe it was a testament to how messed upIwas that I found her so attractive in this moment.
Her breath heaved faster, harder, and if I wasn’t mistaken, there was a bit of moisture brimming along the edges of her eyes. “I’m equating you to a character who never learns the lesson of the importance of the spirit of Christmas.”
I blew out a heavy breath and rolled my eyes up toward the inky sky. I didn’t even know how to respond to that.
“And just like Hans Gruber,you,Christopher Pohle, are going to be alone and miserable for many Christmases to come. You are going to watch all your friends and loved ones move on and have families to celebrate with and you’ll be alone. Watching the joy from the outside and sitting with your misery.”
She punctuated her point by yanking open her driver’s side door. What she said shouldn’t have affected me so much. It shouldn’t have mattered or even hurt in the least bit. And yet, it did. It punched at a bruise. I spent every Christmas watching my sister and her family celebrate—and my friends, who were almost all married and having kids now. I told myself I didn’t want that kind of life… that it wouldn’t make me happy. But every year around the holidays, I had that longing. That pang of regret.
When she leaned across the car to grab something out of the passenger seat, I reached out a hand to stop her. “Avery,” I said, “You shouldn’t drive.” Sure, she’d only had a couple drinks, but she was a small woman, and I thought that second martini was pretty strong.
“Don’t you worry about me,” she said, yanking her elbow away from my hand. “I’m walking home. My apartment is just down the street.”
She pivoted a hundred and eighty degrees, leaving a cloud of snow kicking up around her legs.
“I know,” I said. “I woke you up this morning, remember?”
She froze, mid-stomp and turned to glance at me over her shoulder. “Exactly. So you know the store isn’t far from here.” The snow crunched beneath her boots as she stormed off into the dark night.
“Shit,” I muttered and hopped into my car, following behind her slowly. I may be a Grinch, but I’m not about to let a tipsy woman walk home in the dark alone. I drove slowly behind her, keeping a wide gap between us until I saw the sign for StoryBook Christmas, lit up in red and green ahead. I parked in front of the store, waiting as she unlocked the front door and disappeared inside.
Even though she didn’t turn around once, she knew that I was there following her.
I sat in my car in front of my store—herhome—and sighed. Man, I had made a mess of things today… I’d have to try again tomorrow. As long as Avery gave me a second chance.
From the corner of my eye, I saw movement at the curtain on the second floor and watched as a startled Avery looked directly at me and quickly disappeared behind the swinging curtain. Kringle, on the other hand, still stood with his nose pressed against the glass, open mouthed, and tongue lobbing out the side.
A smile curved on my lips as I started the car and pulled away. Maybe I’d get that second chance after all.
