Page 14 of Mistletoe Season
She slumped against the counter, a weary expression on her face. “I came here for a vacation from my vacation. Don’t get me wrong, I love my boys, but I need a little break. So what did I miss while I was gone?”
“You never said your brother was sofine,” Carina said.
Sheryl frowned. “I guess. He’s always had the girls chasing after him, that’s for sure.”
“Including Mom?”
Emmy quickly grabbed her phone and pulled up her Christmas playlist. When she glanced up, she saw Sheryl looking at her with interest.
“They did go to prom together,” Sheryl finally said.
“Really?” Carina leaned her chin on her hand. “Do tell.”
“There’s nothing to tell, and we have to get to work,” Emmy said quickly. She had to shut this conversation down pronto.
Carina held up her hands. “I’m not the one who was late this morning. Did something happen between you and Kieran after we left?”
“Kieran was here?” Sheryl said, sounding surprised.
“He came last night to help decorate,” Carina supplied.
“Ohreally. Funny, he didn’t mention he was doing that when I texted him yesterday.”
“Look, nothing happened,” Emmy said, exasperated. “We justsaid goodbye and he left.” She made sure not to mention the hug. They were already jumping to enough conclusions.
Carina turned to Sheryl. “Is he single?”
“Very.” She grinned.
“Stop it.” Emmy scowled at her friend. “Your brother has never been interested in me.”
“Oh, I don’t know about that,” Carina said. “He sure was watching you last night. Withinterest.”
A shiver ran down Emmy’s spine.He was watchingme?“How would you know? You were busy kissing Jeremy every chance you got.”
Carina’s mouth formed an O. “You saw us?”
“You weren’t exactly discreet.”
Sheryl slipped off her coat, revealing a black-and-white buffalo plaid flannel shirt. “Wow, I really did miss out on all the fun.”
“There was no fun!” Emmy insisted. At Carina’s skeptical glance she added, “I mean, it was fun decorating for Christmas. That’s all.”
The door opened and Mrs. Lawson walked in. Saved by a customer. Emmy walked over to her. “Get to work,” she muttered to Carina and Sheryl as she made her way to speak to Mrs. Lawson.
But when she glanced over her shoulder at the two women, they were whispering. Then giggling.Great. Just great.
After Mrs. Lawson left the store with a large bag full of vintage Christmas gifts, Emmy was relieved to see Sheryl speaking with another customer, and Carina was nowhere in sight. Finally, a reprieve. She circled the purchase amount on the merchant copy of Mrs. Lawson’s receipt and put it in the small box next to the manual cash register. She had made sure to have a credit card machine. It was impossible to do business without one.
Business was brisk until noon. Emmy was in the café area, sipping on honey tea and looking for estate sales in the Classified section of theMistletoe Gazettewhen Carina appeared. “Go ahead and take your lunch,” she said, not looking up from the phone.
“I will.” Carina slid onto the seat across from her. “I have a few more questions, though.”
Emmy inwardly groaned and set down the paper. “I assume they aren’t about work, right?”
“Correct.” She grinned, a playful glint in her eyes. “Just how good of friends were you and Kieran?”
Knowing her daughter wouldn’t let the subject go, Emmy said, “We were friendly friends.”
