Page 50 of Grump Hard
“Yeah, you said. I wish I could have met them again,” I mumble. But I’d already been down the block at the church by that point, doing an engagement night photo shoot for Thad and Margot. After a pep talk for the ages, I’d captured Thad’s proposal by the tree in the lobby beautifully, but they’d wanted something more private after, and they weren’t in any rush.
By the time we finally finished up, the streets in Reindeer Corners were deserted, and I was dead on my feet. If Candy hadn’t saved me three meringues to sugar rush me over the mountain, I’m pretty sure I would have fallen asleep at the wheel.
I shake my head. “I’m so confused. I mean, I explained why I had to cancel, and he said he understood, but… Maybe he didn’t? Maybe I messed up?” I wince, hating how pathetic I sound.
“No way.” Candy is as fiercely loyal as always. “You didn’t do anything wrong. You took advantage of an opportunity to make some extra money. Money you need as a single woman to provide for your safety and your future.” She crosses her arms with a huff. “If Mr. Moneybags, the pouty sociopath, doesn’t get that real people can’t afford to pass up a paycheck, he can fuck right off. Pardon my French.”
Candy very rarely curses, a fact that only emphasizes how bad this is.
How scary…
How could the kind, sexy man who looked at me like I was all he wanted for Christmas suddenly turn into an emotionally vacant pod person in a matter of days? For no apparent reason?
No, there must be a reason.
Luke isn’t a sociopath, I know he’s not.
I need to talk to him. Really talk to him. After the event when we can have a private heart-to-heart.
“Do you want me to stay?” Candy asks. “At least for a few more hours? I can ask Kayla to cover me until five or?—”
“No, no,” I say, forcing a smile as I wave a hand through the air. “Go. Get to work. I’m fine. Luke and I will sort it out.”
She searches my face. “Are you sure?”
I nod emphatically. “Yes, I’m sure. I’ll text you later.”
“Please, do,” she says, as she backs out of the tent. “I want to know you’re okay. And don’t take any guff, all right? This is the season of joy, not the season of taking guff.”
I laugh and nod again. “Yes. I promise. Bye, drive safe.”
I turn back to organizing my equipment, trying not to spiral any further. This is weird, but there has to be some reasonable explanation. Luke and I will talk later, get to the bottom of what happened, and things will go back to the way they were.
Throughout the afternoon, I watch him from the corner of my eye.
He appears to be locked in, though not necessarily enjoying himself the way he was at the jubilee. But he handles the dogs with competence, following the volunteer coordinator’s instructions to the letter. He walks a boisterous pit bull mix, calms a golden retriever who’s still learning boundaries, and even gets the bunnies to come out of their hutch and visit with a woman with a rabbit tattoo on her neck, who is clearly a big floppy-ear fan.
But he never smiles. Never lightens up or loosens up.
And never, not once, looks my way.
When we run into each other at the water station around three, he’s clearly ready to bolt the second he sees me, but I pounce before he can vanish again. “Hey, so I was thinking about how I could make up for having to cancel on Wednesday. There’s a holiday movie double feature at the theater this weekend. Miracle on 34th Street and Elf. I thought maybe you might want to go tomorrow night? We could grab dinner first or?—”
“I have plans tomorrow.”
I blink, my throat going tight. “Oh. Okay. Well, maybe Sunday afternoon, then, I think they?—”
“Sorry, I have to go,” he says, tossing his empty paper cone into the trash beside the cooler. “I promised I would help lift the pit bull’s kennel into Mr. Clapp’s truck when he pulls around.”
Before I can assure him that’s okay and we can talk later, he’s gone.
I head back to my booth, fake smile glued to my face, pretending to be fine.
The afternoon drags on. I photograph happy families with their new pets, fake good spirits, and make cheerful small talk with adopters while my heart gnaws away in my chest.
What the hell happened?
Why is he so cold?
