Page 12 of Coffee and Christmas Kisses
I raised my eyebrows and looked up. “What do you mean?”
“There’s at least a foot of it out there and it’s still coming down hard.”
“Really?” I got up and joined him at the door. “Wow, you weren’t kidding.” The conditions were practically white-out and just being near the chill radiating off the glass made me shiver.
“It’s only going to get worse as the night goes on.”
I sighed reluctantly. “I should probably head home then.”
West looked at me, his eyebrows drawn tight. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
“I’ll be fine. It’s only a few blocks.”
He stepped back. “Be serious. You’re not wearing winter gear and you can barely see anything out there. You’ll freeze to death.”
“I’ll be fine,” I repeated, reaching for the door handle. I pulled open the shop door and a wind gust blew hard, wrenching the door out of my hand. It crashed back, rattling, and a huge flurry of snow rushed into the shop. I squinted and looked into the street, a sinking feeling coming over me. West was right. There was no way I was getting home safely in this weather. I wrestled the door closed and looked back at West. “Yeah, you’re right. I guess it’s a sleepover then.”
His cheeks turned pink and he looked at his feet, rubbing the back of his neck with one hand. “Sounds like a plan. Should you—I mean, will your family be expecting you?”
“Good point.” I fished my phone out of my pocket and sent a text to my mom, letting her know I wouldn’t be home but that I was safe. A moment later, she responded.
Mom: I hope being safe means you’re using condoms.
She followed it up with a winking emoji. I rolled my eyes and tucked my phone away. I’d told her briefly about our date the previous night, and she’d been thrilled, so I wasn’t terribly surprised by her reaction, but it was still embarrassing.
West cleared his throat to get my attention. “Everything okay?”
“Yep. All squared away. Now… can I help you finish closing up for the night?”
He grinned and nodded. “That would be great, actually. Once we’re all cleaned up down here, we can go upstairs and I’ll make us something for dinner.”
The idea of seeing West’s apartment made my stomach flutter, sending warmth spreading through me. “Lead the way.” I followed him to the back of the shop, where he picked up a broom and a dustpan.
“Do you mind sweeping? I’ll close out the register and put things away.”
“No problem.” As I swept, West made his way to stand behind the counter and do whatever it was he needed to take care of to make sure the register was taken care of.
“Hey,” he called out as I swept. “I can teach you to make cookies after dinner. Make good on my promise.”
I grinned brightly. “That would be great.”
A little while later, everything was tidied up and I was following West upstairs to his little apartment above the shop. The door opened into a bright living room, decorated in clean, light colors, a galley kitchen to the left.
“This place is great,” I said.
He laughed a little, self-consciously. “Thanks.” A moment passed. “Why don’t you come in and I’ll get dinner ready for us. What do you like?”
“I’m not picky.”
“I made a mean beef stew last night. I can heat us up some of that, if you’d like.”
“That sounds amazing. I didn’t realize you cook, too. You do it all, don’t you?”
His shy smile charmed me even further. “There’s plenty I can’t do. I’ve just been trained well by my folks. My dad loved to cook so when I was growing up, he made it a point to teach all of his kids, too.”
“And there’s the baking.”
“Pastry school. Anyone can do it.”
