Page 74 of The Runaway Bride of Blitzen Bay (Blitzen Bay)

Chapter Thirty-Two

NOELLE

December 25

Blitzen Bay, California

“Well, you’re an early riser this morning—first one through the door. Merry Christmas, Noelle!”

Gabi’s standing behind the bar—drinking a cup of coffee while she reloads napkin dispensers.

“Merry Christmas, Gabi. I’ve been up pretty much all night. I thought I’d just start the day.”

She pours me a cup of coffee as I sit at the bar. “Your fiancé came in here last night looking for you.”

“He found me,” I say, sighing. “And he’s my ex-fiancé now.”

Izzy comes through the kitchen door. She looks as tired as I feel.

“Did I hear ‘ex-fiancé’?” I swear her hearing’s as good as my mom’s.

“Yeah, I broke it off for good last night. We’re done.”

Izzy comes around the bar and hugs me. “I’m sorry, Noelle, but it seems like that was the right decision.”

She pushes me back from the hug and covers her face with her hands.

“Are you okay?” I say. “You don’t look so good.”

She starts massaging her temples. “I have a migraine. I haven’t had one in so long. They usually signal something bad is coming. And it’s a monster-sized one today. It’s giving me anxiety.”

“Hmm. Maybe you should go back to bed.”

“I would love to, but we give our entire staff Christmas off since we’re just open for breakfast. Gabi can’t do it alone.”

“I’ll take your shift. I waitress at a sports bar in L.A. This will be easy.”

Gabi walks over and puts her arm around Izzy. “Babe, I think that’s a good idea. We’re never that busy on Christmas—just the regulars. Go back to bed. Noelle and I can handle it.”

Izzy looks unconvinced.

“I’ll make you a deal,” I say, pushing her gently toward their apartment door. “If you go back to bed, as your Christmas present, you can ask me any question you want and I will answer it completely. You can delve down deep into my soul.”

Gabi laughs. “Iz, that’s like a pot of gold for you. There’s no way you can turn it down.”

Izzy has her hands over her face again, trying to block the ray of light flooding through the window. She peeks through her fingers. “Any question? Nothing off the table?”

“Nothing off the table.”

She takes off her apron and hands it to me. “My headache feels better already.”

Gabi shakes her head as Izzy disappears through the door. “You’ve done it now. No telling what she’s going to come up with—”

“It’s all good. I don’t mind.”

Gabi hands me an order pad. “Head’s up, newbie. Your first customer just came in.”

I turn around to see Sam smiling at me.

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