Page 7 of Miss Humbug
A square-faced dude in a sweater with a designer logo approached and slung an arm around her shoulder. He whispered in her ear, making her giggle. The green-eyed beauty returned a whisper, completely ignoring me.
Her drink order arrived. She swiped the tall pint, turning my direction. She blinked at me and tapped the dude. “Oh, hun, this is Evan. He runs a Christmas tree lot. Like in the movies!”
“It’s Ethan,” I stammered, as the two gazed lovingly into each other’s eyes.
They promised to stop by the tree lot while visiting her parents for the weekend. Their first holiday together.
Beside me, a snicker of laughter grew louder. “Got it on video. Bro, that waspeakfailure.”
I jabbed my younger brother, Rob, with my elbow.
“Ow!”
Right in the ribs. “Did you get their consent to film?”
Rob scowled. “You ruin everything.”
Did I ever. I shook off the increasing sense of dread I’d felt since leaving the farm’s office. If we didn’t make big moves to expand the tree farm and widen our distribution, we’d be another sad story of a small business who couldn’t keep up with the times.
Rob patted me on the back. “Hey, for real, though. I know you’re stressed. Worry later. I made you come out tonight to have fun.”
Fun. A word I used to know the meaning of.
Checkers Bar and Grille was stuffed to the rafters the night before Thanksgiving. That’s when Crystal Cove filled with folks returning from wherever they’d moved on to. Before the big Thursday meal with their families, they came in ready to drink and reminisce. I’d never left Crystal Cove, so the wider world coming to me was all super convenient.
I mean I’dleft, but only ever temporarily. With my buddy Nick having gone off to the big city of Chicago, my annoying brother served as my wingman. Even if I insisted I didn’t need a wingman.
Most of the faces were familiar. The townies were largely paired up: married with kids, married no kids, or raising a kid on their own. Which counted as paired, to me. I didn’t have much luck with the single mom crowd. I could admit it—I’d maybe been a little on the immature side until recent years.
Look, I was trying. Getting the family business in order held top priority now. Honestly, the last thing I needed in my life was a brand-new relationship, no matter how loud my mother hinted she didn’t want to be an old grandmother. Weren’t all grandmothers old?
Yeah, I’d gotten a hefty dose of the Sawyer family stink eye for that one. Never tell a mother of any age she is old. I still had lessons to learn.
“Hey.” Rob pierced an elbow into my side. Jerk. “The Holly brothers just came in.”
I looked toward the door, seeing Ashe and Shawn, both burly and brawn in their own ways. They were practically royalty in this town, despite the average clothes.
And…oh. Was that? No, it couldn’t be.
My breath left my body.
“Dude, watch it,” Rob, or somebody, said. I couldn’t tell because I couldn’t see straight. I stumbled off my barstool and gawked like a ninth grader.
“It’s Marlowe.” The words fell out. I couldn’t believe my eyes. Marlowe Holly came home.
Rob craned his neck to see past Ashe’s huge frame. “No way. Are you, like, still obsessed with her?”
Brothers. Who needed them? “I’m notobsessed.”
Okay, I’d always been…intoMarlowe. Big time. I hadn’t seen her live and in person in years. I’d only heard updates about her through my parents.
She tugged at the collar of an oversized University of Wisconsin Madison sweatshirt—where her brother Ashe went to school. Slim jeans and…cowgirl boots? I never knew Marlowe to rock a country look.
Marlowe’s face appeared more angular now, but with the same small, cute nose betraying her steely expressions. No one with that cute a nose could be truly cold-hearted. She had her dark hair pulled into tight ponytail, different than how she used to let her wavy hair hang loose. Her eyes scanned the room with a precision to rival a Terminator.
She was as gorgeous as ever. Even more so. She could wear a grain sack and she’d still draw all the attention in the room.
“You gonna talk to her, or what?” Rob’s voice came like a fly buzzing in my ear.
