Page 38 of A Christmas Spark
It had been so muchfun.She loved playfully irritating him, she’d never deny that, and the costumes had been an absolute blast. She was never taking the photos off of her fridge, even though she knew Vanessa would have questions when she saw them. Maybe a couple elbow-nudging comments too. She wasn’t blind, she knew that Vanessa and Jackson had used the entire situation with Rascal to try to push her and George closer together. The entire town had been doing it for years, but she’d always just waved it off.
But… now a little part of her was wondering if there was more to it. She kept replaying the evening before—the way George had given in to trying on those ridiculous costumes, the way he’d kept on giving in to her urging to sample the goodies and play the games that were on offer at the market, even though sheknew it all really hadn’t been his thing. It was like he’d liked making her happy. And then there was that moment when he’d brushed the frosting off of her nose…
She knew she hadn’t had any frosting on her cheek. But his fingers had lingered there for a second. It had been a long time since anyone had touched her affectionately like that, and she wondered if she was overthinking it. Putting too much emphasis on something that hadn’t really meant anything.
Mabel pursed her lips, picking up her sandwich again for another bite.Whatwasthat about?In all the years she’d known George Lowery, through their pranking wars, their playful bickering, even their recent kitten co-parenting arrangement, she’d never seen that particular expression on his face. He’d looked so… soft in that moment. And he’dtouchedher. Not a friendly one-armed hug, but an affectionate brush of the fingers that had almost felt intimate.
She reached up without meaning to, and brushed her fingers against her cheek. It had been nice. She hadn’t realized how much she’d missed it. She’d told herself those days were over, that she didn’t need all that in her life anymore… but now she was wondering.
It had only lasted a second, but it had stayed with her, all the same.
The rational part of her mind wanted to dismiss it. George was a practical man, not given to romantic gestures or tender moments. By now, he’d probably convinced himself it had been a mistake, a momentary lapse in judgment that he’d rather forget.
But there was another part of her too, of course. The mischievous, optimistic, whimsical part of her that just couldn’t entirely let it go. It kept whispering that maybe, just maybe, there had been something real in that moment. That maybe George’s grumpy mask had finally slipped, and he’d let her see the real him underneath. She’d never seen a tender side of himbefore. The most she’d seen was him helping with Rascal, but that was more a begrudging tolerance than anything else. She’d never seen him be… like that.
She frowned, taking another bite of her sandwich. Would it be awkward the next time they saw each other? Would their usual easiness with one another be affected. She hoped not—George’s friendship was important to her, and she wouldn’t want that to change just because he’d had a moment of weakness.
She didn’t have to wait long to find out. The bell above the diner’s entrance chimed, and Mabel glanced up automatically. She felt her cheeks heat as she realized that her heart had skipped a beat as George walked through the door, as if he’d known she was thinking about him. He was dressed as usual—work pants, flannel, Carhartt jacket—but she thought he looked handsome. Now that she thought about it, she’d always found him handsome. She just hadn’t ever let herself linger on it.
As he spoke to the hostess, she saw him look across the diner, and their eyes locked for a second. Mabel swore she felt her cheeks heat up further, and she hated it.Is this how it’s going to be all the time now?She was more than a grown woman, she told herself firmly, and she needed to calm down. He’d brushed her cheek with his fingers, not kissed her. It might have even been an accident.
But she didn’t really think it’d been an accident.
Before she could stop herself, she waved to him. He raised a hand in response, too briefly for her to figure out if he was going to start avoiding her now, and she dropped her sandwich again. Her appetite had completely faded, which was ridiculous. She was a woman in her sixties, not a high-schooler.
George said something to the hostess, then brushed past the stand, heading in her direction. Mabel tensed. Was he coming over to tell her he’d made a mistake last night, and he didn’tmean it? She wasn’t sure how she felt about that. Maybe things could go back to normal, if so, but…
“Can I join you?” he asked, stopping at her booth before she fully processed that he’d already made it there. His voice seemed gruffer than usual, she thought. Was he upset?
“Of course,” Mabel managed, hoping her voice sounded calmer than she felt. She gestured to the seat across from her. “I was just having a spot of brunch, and enjoying the view of the town. Jackson really picked a perfect spot to put the diner, don’t you think?”
“Yeah.” George rubbed the back of his neck, glancing at her sandwich and then back up at Mabel. She tried to keep her expression even.
Okay. So it is going to be awkward.
“Good sandwich?” he asked gruffly, clearly searching for some kind of safe, common ground.
“It… yes! It is,” Mabel said, a bit too quickly. “Jackson’s special today. He listed the specials at the beginning of the week, and I’ve been looking forward to this brunch since Monday.” She paused abruptly, realizing that she’d been speaking so fast that she nearly tripped over her words.
George paused, looking at her intently for a moment. “Look, Mabel—” he let out a breath. “About last night. I’m sorry if I overstepped. I honestly… I don’t know what came over me.”
Mabel supposed that she could feel offended by that, or disappointed. But George honestly looked confused. Not like he hadn’t genuinely felt whatever had led him to make the gesture, but completely flummoxed, like he wasn’t sure what to make of it.
“George.” Mabel shook her head at him. “You do know that being affectionate doesn’t mean something ‘came over you’, right? It’s not like catching the flu.”
He chuckled gruffly, and rubbed a hand over his chin. “Well, it’s just that… I think it must be all the time we’ve been spending together. With Rascal, and all of that. It must have affected me some kind of way, I guess.”
For once, Mabel felt like she was at a loss for words. That didn’t happen to her often, but she wasn’t sure what to say. She didn’t know if she should try to wave it off, make things go back to the way they used to be… or if she wanted to see what might happen. She’d written off anything with George for such a long time that it felt like a little bit of a shock to consider it again.
She was as surprised as George by what came out of her mouth next.
“Do you want to go ice skating?”
George stared at her for a moment, like he was trying to figure out if she’d lost her mind or was serious. He blinked at her. “Why?” he finally asked, and Mabel laughed, pushing her plate away as she motioned for the waitress.
“Well,” she said slowly, “I think we might be able to think about what happened better if we’re active. Get the blood moving, you know? It’s good for the brain.”
A genuine laugh burst out of George as he shook his head. He looked at her like she was crazy, but it was an affectionate sort of look, Mabel thought. It made her pulse flutter all over again, like when he’d touched her cheek the night before.
