Page 78 of Tacos & Toboggans
“She’s new to town,” Ivy answered, washing down the counter. “Her name is Nikki Wasser. She’s our new librarian.”
“No way! Did they finally fill Suzette’s position? I wasn’t sure they’d find anyone who wanted to take over for her.”
“Ever since Suzette was one half of last year’s Christmas couple,” she said, clearing her throat in a pointed ‘ahem,’ “she’s wanted to retire, but couldn’t until they found a replacement. Once her retirement is official after Christmas, Suzette and Mark will be hitting the road on an epic tour of the country. It sounds like Nikki has experience running a small-town library in Minnesota.”
I nodded my agreement, but my mind drifted to my dilemma and the reason I was at the dinerinstead of at home in Major’s warm house, eating dinner and spending time with him curled up on the couch. I’d been thinking about this for days and was no closer to a solution than when I started.
“Earth to Jaelyn,” Ivy said, and I snapped my attention back to her.
“Sorry, what were you saying?”
“I asked if you were here for food or something else.”
“Both,” I said, rubbing my forehead. “I need two daily specials to go.”
She held up her finger and walked to the window to yell out my order while I gulped the coffee that had magically appeared at my elbow while I was daydreaming. It had been a long day, but it was the nights that were catching up to me.
The nights were filled with lovemaking at least once, sometimes more, until we fell asleep in a stupor and then rolled out of bed for work. Major was always chipper and ready for the day, but I was convinced that was only because he survived medical school and could live on two hours of sleep a night for days. I couldn't, but it was a small price to pay for the way he rocked my world. It was the whisperedI love yousin the dark that had changed my life. While tired, I was also more confident that I had important contributions to make to the team at Evergreen Acres, and I didn’t need to second-guess myself at every turn. He’d done that for me in the purest and most honest way.
“How did the house fare after the storm?” she asked, leaning on the counter with a cup of coffee. It was nearly closing time, and the diner had emptied, giving us time to chat. Major was finishing surgery, so I promised him I’d pick up food when he insisted that he didn’t want me to cook, probably because he wanted to throw me on the bed and have his way with me. Kidding. Sort of, but he’d been in surgery all day and deserved a nice meal, even if I wasn’t allowed to cook it.
“We were fine even though the power was out for so long. He has a wood fireplace, so the house was warm. I just had to stay at his place for a couple of nights until the power was restored.”
“I’m sure it wasn’t a hardship,” she said, biting her lip to keep from smiling when I gave her a look. “Shep has been working around the clock. It’s been a week, and they still don’t have everything cleaned up.”
“I can’t imagine what they had to deal with when that storm dropped over two feet of snow in twelve hours. You’d think that would have been predicted sooner.”
“Sometimes, Mother Nature does what she wants, no matter what we think should happen. Now we’re less than ten days from Christmas, and everyone is scrambling.” The huff that escaped my lips at the mention of Christmas had her eyeing me again. “Tell me what’s bothering you.”
“Christmas is nearly here, and I don’t know what to get Major!” I exclaimed, glancing around to make sure no one heard me. “What do you get a doctor?”
“What does he like to do?”
“Me,” I said, my expression straight.
“Jaelyn!” The way she said my name was hilarious, but it was her expression that had me rolling. “You’re so bad.”
It was hard to talk around my snickering, but I did my best. “That’s what he said.”
She shook her head, laughing as she spoke. “But seriously, I didn’t know you guys were at that point.”
“Were we supposed to take out an ad in the paper?” I asked, my confusion real.
“Okay, fair,” she said, laughing at herself. “You’re not here as much now, and I feel out of the loop.”
“He told me he loved me the night of the storm, and he was so sweet and honest. It was such a relief to know that what I was feeling for him was mutual.”
“We can all see how happy you make each other. I’m glad you can see it, too.”
“He’s convinced we’re the Christmas couple for the year,” I said, shaking my head with a smile on my lips. “He brings it up at least once a day, just to remind me that the gazebo picked us.”
“I heard there may have been some smooching the night of the tree lighting.”
“Gabe!” I moaned as she laughed. “I couldn’t believe we got caught making out in the park by a cop!”
“Which makes it that much funnier,” she said with a smile. “We’re so happy for you both, and everyone agrees that you’re the Christmas couple for the year.”
“Everyone?” I asked, a brow raised. “Who’s everyone?”
