Page 39 of Christmas Charms
“Of course not,” my mom says, but she’s clearly biting back a smile.
I arch a brow at Fruitcake for some sort of validation. He lets out a woof and wags his tail with enthusiasm, so I bend to press a kiss to the top of his warm, furry head. At least my dog believes in me.
Not your dog, remember?
I straighten, take a deep breath and remind myself that I’m a woman on a mission. Nothing will stop me from getting to Manhattan today. Operation Snow Chains is underway.
“What do you mean you don’t have any snow chains?” No, this cannot be happening. It absolutely can’t.
“I’m sorry, Ashley, but we’re clean out.” Pete, of Pete’s Auto Store, casts me a sympathetic glance and shakes his head. He’s wearing a Santa hat, and the white fluffy ball on its end swings back and forth in comical fashion.
I’d laugh if I didn’t feel like crying. “You don’t understand. I really need them. Can you check in the back and see if you have one more set lying around somewhere? Please? I’m desperate.”
“I can check, but I’m not going to find any. We just sold our last pair to the customer who came in five minutes before you did.” Pete tips his head in the direction of a fellow auto shop patron browsing the ice scraper display. My nemesis, apparently.
“Thank you.” I force a smile as Pete heads to the stockroom.
I can’t believe this. Five minutes?Five minutes?!If only I’d gotten out of the house sooner this morning, I’d probably already be safely on my way to the city.
I glare in the direction of the snow chain bandit. His back is to me, and it looks like a perfectly nice back, but I despise it all the same. Still, maybe if he knew how badly I need those snow chains, he’d reconsider and agree to sell them to me. Or, since I won’t need them after today, maybe we could share them, because joint custody of auto parts between strangers is totally a thing, right?
Something tells me this is going to be a hard sell, but it’s worth a shot.
“Excuse me, sir,” I march toward him, ready to throw myself at his feet and beg.
But then he turns around and flashes me a self-satisfied smirk, and I stop dead in my tracks. There’s no way I’m getting those snow chains. “Aidan?”
What is hedoinghere? Shouldn’t he be refilling fire extinguishers or petting a Dalmatian somewhere?
“Morning, Ashley.” He lifts his hand as if to wave, but he can’t quite manage it becausehis hands are full of snow chains.
I stare longingly at them and then back at Aidan’s stormy blue eyes. They’ve gone dark, like a blue-gray sky right before a blizzard. “I don’t suppose you heard me talking to Pete just now?”
He nods. “Sure did.”
“I really need those snow chains.”
“So I heard,” he says in the same flat tone he’s used every time he’s caught me in the act of trying to leave Owl Lake.
Date or not, just because we’re going to the movies together clearly doesn’t mean he’s willing to help me get out of here for a few hours.
I have to at least try, though.
“Can I, um, buy them from you?” I start rummaging through my handbag until I have a fistful of dollars to wave at him.
He rolls his eyes. “Put your money away, Ashley.”
My hands go still, and a dollar floats to the floor. Neither one of us moves a muscle. I can’t seem to look away from his angry, gorgeous face. Why does it feel so warm in here when it’s snowing buckets outside and Pete’s steady stream of customers keeps opening and closing the front door of the shop?
I direct my gaze at Aidan’s broad chest instead of his face, but it’s equally distracting. Somehow, I manage to find my voice. “Does that mean you’re going to give them to me?”
“Nope.”
Ugh. Why does he have to make this so difficult every single time? I want to throw a snowball right at his stubborn head. “Must we do this again? It seems really unfair, especially considering that every time I see you, you’re dressed like a firefighter action hero.”
He frowns down at the OLFD T-shirt just visible beneath the lapel of his heavy winter coat. “It’s my uniform.”
“My point exactly.” I swivel on my heel and stomp toward the door.
