Page 50 of The Holiday Hate-Off
It’s made me question my instincts. But I don’t regret leaving. It was the right thing to do. The thing that would have made my family proud, even if I can’t bring myself to tell them about it.
I don’t want to sound like a hero when I wasn’t. When I failed those people and myself.
So, there you have it.
—Your hotheaded Lobster Scout Stalker
I feel better when I leave the note at her door. I’ve been carrying this secret with me for too long, and now it’s no longer mine alone.
CHAPTER 12
LUCY
“So, I didn’t tell you earlier, because I was worried you’d challenge him to a duel,” Charlie says as we settle into one of the cozy booths at The Shore Thing, Lars’s favorite bar. “But I saw Enzo walking toward you across the square earlier.”
“You did?” I ask, realizing too late that I sound eager. I’mnoteager. But Iwasexpecting him to try to pull something at the Crochet Club meeting tonight. I figured he’d crash it, the same way he’d crashed speed dating—and that it would come as an unpleasant surprise to him when he discovered we were crocheting vaginas.
Yes, really, and it’sveryamusing.
It would have been even more amusing if he’d barged in, looking for my supposed lover. The expression on his face would have been epic.
So I was understandably a bit disappointed when it didn’t happen.
“It was definitely him,” Charlie says. “The Cafieros all have those brooding eyes. But there’s something extra broody about him, and he has that delicious five-o’clock shadow.”
“I’m still here, you know,” Lars says, his voice amused as he sets down a mountain of shopping bags he’s been carrying beneath the table. Charlie started her Christmas shopping before they met up with me this evening. She always believes in starting early and finishing early, since she usually has dozens of commissioned paintings to finish later in the month. The only people I really have to shop for are Charlie, Lars, and Eileen, and I’ve already custom-ordered Eileen’s gift: a sign that readsThe Town Matchmakerto hang beside the front door of Love at First Sip.
Charlie wraps an arm around Lars’s waist, leaning into him as she unzips her coat one-handed. “You have a terrible five-o’clock shadow,” she teases. “Truly awful. Nothing worse than a blond beard.”
“At least I’ll never get an outsized ego,” he replies as he reaches in and tickles her side.
“Not like Enzo,” I mutter as Charlie squirms and then disarms him with a kiss.
I look away, frowning at the lone cactus positioned in the front window, completely out of place with the joyful holiday décor of pine garlands. I’m about to point it out when Charlie says thoughtfully, “Well, he didn’t look very egotistical just now.”
“I doubt that,” I say. “He couldn’t look humble if he tried.”
“He didn’t look humble,” Charlie agrees. “He looked sad.”
I feel a stab of sympathetic pain in my chest, which is ridiculous. I shouldwantEnzo to be sad! His tears should be nectar for me. Okay, maybe not nectar, but they should be welcome.
Before I can think better of it, I ask, “Was he looking at me?”
“Now, that’s egotistical,” Charlie teases with a gleam in her eyes. “But yes. I got the impression he felt left out.”
“Or maybe he was weighing whether he still needs to killme now that Aria has her dream job,” Lars says drily, glancing at the drink menu.
“What do you two know about Enzo?” I ask.
“I know that he’s terrifying,” he says with an easy smile, looking up from the menu. “He told me he knows where to bury a body, which may or may not have been true.”
“Why are you asking?” Charlie says, giving me a suspicious look.
“Know thy enemy,” I quip.
She nods as she tugs the menu over for a look.
“I’m getting this round,” she says, then gets up and places our order at the bar—hopefully for something warm and spicy. Returning, she continues the conversation as if it had never halted. “Okay, let’s go over what we know about Enzo.” She glances at Lars and lifts one finger. “He’s terrifying.” She puts out a second. “He used to live in New York City.” A third finger juts out, her middle finger. “I know from Eileen that his mom left when he was little, but you’d probably be a jerk to use that against him.”
