Page 18 of Magically Generated
She didn’t smile, but she did give him the answer he’d hoped to hear.
“Yes.”
Chapter 8
BeforegoingtoEverett’s,Nora went to her apartment to strip off her winter clothes.On one hand, she wished he hadn’t added “as a thank you for last night.”It made the invitation feel a bit transactional, and she’d prefer that he simply want to see her.
“What’s wrong with me?”she muttered as she hung up her winter jacket.
But on the other hand, there had been something touching about the uncertainty in his voice—he was worried about making her uncomfortable.
She wasn’t used to these feelings.She didn’t appreciate them.It felt like this was evolving into more than a casual friendship to help her survive the Christmas season, to ease the knot of loneliness in her chest.
But despite her misgivings, she put on a pair of flip-flops and headed across the hallway.Everett opened the door.He didn’t look like a man who’d collapsed less than twenty-four hours ago.Whatever had happened, he’d recovered quite well.The memories of her mother’s frailty, those nights spent in a hospital chair, seemed further away than they had last night.
“It’s been a while,” he said, and despite herself, she laughed.
There was just something endearing about Everett.That flannel shirt and those square frames and the ever-present smile.While she’d never had a thing for beards before, on him, she rather liked it.
What’s wrong with me?
This time, she didn’t say it out loud.At least, she hoped the words didn’t come out of her mouth but stayed in her brain.
She really wasn’t used to feeling this way around a man.She hadn’t been the least bit tempted by anyone in ages—and that had ended horribly.
No, she was a sensible, skeptical forty-year-old woman…who was, for some reason, experiencing the slightest flutter in her chest.
Maybe that was why she said something completely nonsensical.
“You said you had a gift for Dino.”
“So I did.But he’s not here to receive it.”
“You want me to go and get him?”she asked.
“Or I can give him the gift at a later date.”
Despite her better judgment, Nora went to grab the plush dinosaur from her apartment.She couldn’t believe she was doing this, but she was the tiniest bit curious about what the gift could be, and perhaps she was also a little envious of Dino—
No!What was wrong with her?
She returned with the dinosaur in hand, and Everett held up a thick red ribbon.
“You’re going to Christmas-fy my dinosaur?”she asked.
“He wants to get in the Christmas spirit.”
She didn’t protest and say that her dinosaur didn’t celebrate the holiday; no, she handed him over and allowed Everett to tie the ribbon in a bow around Dino’s chubby neck.She supposed her nephew would appreciate the pictures.
Everett handed back the dinosaur, his fingers accidentally—she assumed—brushing hers.Not wanting to hold on to Dino as she had last night, she set him on the coffee table.
“So,” he said, “hot chocolate?Spiked hot chocolate?Hot buttered rum?Tea?”
“Hot buttered rum, but go easy on the rum.I’m working tomorrow.”
She sat down on the couch as he headed to the kitchen and turned on the kettle.There was a small artificial Christmas tree on the end table next to her.She rolled her eyes, but to her distress, it was a rather fond eye roll.
Needing a distraction from the Christmas spirit in Everett’s apartment, she pulled out her phone.Apparently, she had an overdue 407 bill.Ha!That was a lie.
