Page 29 of Sweet Christmas Wish
Whatever inner turmoil she was carrying, he could see that she loved her work and the people she served. Working beside her was a dream, if he was being honest, and he caught himself noticing the tiniest details about her. Her laugh, the way her ponytail swished when she walked, or the way her dark brown eyes crinkled at the corners when she smiled. At one point, he’d been so caught up in watching her that he’d almost burned himself while steaming some milk, which had been embarrassing.
Finally, a little after noon, the morning rush slowed down for a bit, giving them a chance to talk. Sarah turned to him, her eyes shining. “The plan is working splendidly, and it’s all thanks to you.”
Will shook his head. “I’m glad to help, but the customers wouldn’t be coming to the bakery if it wasn’t for you. You’ve built up quite the loyal following in this town.”
Sarah smiled at the compliment, then checked her watch, her eyes widening as she saw the time. “Where has the time gone? You should go to lunch—I don’t want to be accused of being a slave-driver,” she joked.
Will suddenly realized how hungry he was. “Okay, I won’t fight you on that. Thanks, boss,” he said, giving her a little salute.
As he pulled on his coat, he considered inviting her to join him, but a few qualms immediately rose in his mind. Would she see it as a date? Did he consider it a date? Did he want it to be one? The last thought pulled him up short, sobering him. He had come to town with the intention of seeing Michelle and seeing where things might go, but now… Will pushed open the bakery door and began walking to Frosty’s, trying to shake off the new questions that had arisen. Try as he might, though, they refused to budge, and he realized he was going to have to sort through the emotional tangle in which he now found himself firmly entrenched.
CHAPTERFIFTEEN
“Hmm… just a little more butter…” Sarah murmured to herself, dousing her popcorn in melted butter. “A little butter never hurt anyone. Yeah, we’ll go with that.”
When her bowl of popcorn was glistening with enough butter to risk a heart attack, she declared it satisfactory and took her bowl into the living room with her. She wore her comfiest pajamas—some ugly sweats she’d had since high school and a ratty t-shirt from when she’d been in the marching band—and after a long week she was more than ready to use her Friday night to completely relax.
As she settled onto the couch, tucking a blanket around her legs and hugging one of the throw pillows, she reflected on the last few days.
Will had been right about adding a drink menu to Sweet Thing’s offerings. Most folks ordered a drink with every baked good purchase, and word was spreading fast through the town, attracting even more customers. She and Will could barely keep up, but it was a good thing. Sarah was watching her profits mount by the hour.
Aside from that, spending time with Will had been, in a word, incredible. The two of them worked well together, like a finely-tuned machine, and that fact had not been lost on her. It had only increased the attraction she had felt for him the first time he’d set foot in her shop. She could still vividly remember the way her heart had stopped when he walked in. Will was… everything she didn’t realize she’d been looking for, and she groaned aloud and let her head drop into her hands for a moment.
He’s not even here for you, you idiot,she chastised herself glumly.
But she already knew she was in too deep. Like it or not, she was definitely falling for Will, and the last few days had only confirmed that.
I wonder if he’s had a lot of girlfriends lately, she thought, and then immediately regretted wondering.It’s not like it’s any of my business.
But the thought was half-hearted, and she knew it. To distract herself, she stuffed a handful of the buttery popcorn into her mouth and chewed it with a vigorous determination. The salty-buttery goodness of it distracted her, but only for a moment, and soon enough her thoughts returned to Will and his past girlfriends.
“Oh, screw it,” she blurted, throwing the blanket off her legs and marching down the hall to her bedroom to grab her phone.
Armed with her phone, she settled once more on the couch and opened the Facebook app, typing in Will’s name. A host of results came up, the top hit showing a middle aged man with a beer gut proudly holding up a giant fish.
Definitely not.
A quick scroll proved that Will wasn’t on the list, and she remembered belatedly that she’d heard somewhere about his dislike for social media in general. Okay, so he likely didn’t have a Facebook or Instagram account.
Defeated, she slumped against the back of the sofa, stuffing another handful of popcorn into her mouth. It was delicious, but it was poor consolation for her too-soon aborted mission. Sarah stuffed another handful of popcorn in her mouth, forcing herself to slow down when she realized what she must look like—a desperate and winded horse eating from its owner’s hand. The thought made her laugh aloud, but it also convinced her to eat like an actual human. Plus, butter was getting all over her cheeks.
Suddenly, a thought occurred to her. What if Will’s older brother, Tristan, had a social media presence? Reenergized, she grabbed her phone again and typed “Tristan Parks” into the search bar on Facebook. Once again, a host of results popped up, but she was rewarded to see Will’s brother near the top of the list thanks to a number of mutual friends.
“Bingo,” she murmured exultantly, tapping on his profile and steadfastly ignoring the fact that it was incredibly lame for a woman to go to such lengths to Facebook to stalk a man she could probably never have.
It didn’t take long for Sarah to find pictures of the two brothers together as she scrolled through Tristan’s Facebook profile. Although she was curious about all of the pictures, she didn’t stop until she found a picture of the two brothers, each with a girl on their arm.
Sarah tapped on the photo to make it bigger, zooming in on what appeared to be Will’s date, at least based on the way she possessively clutched Will’s arm and smiled up at him adoringly. The woman was beautiful, with her long dark hair loosely curled and enormous blue eyes. Her skin, of course, was porcelain perfect and she had the figure of a ballerina. It took everything within Sarah not to hate this woman she had never met.
Tapping out of the picture, Sarah kept scrolling. A few months further down Tristan’s profile, she found a slew of pictures of Tristan and Will, each with a woman again. It looked like Tristan was still with the same woman, but Will was with a new date or girlfriend. The woman was brunette, her glossy hair cut into a stylish short bob. She leaned into Will’s embrace, his strong arms encircling her.
This time, Sarah couldn’t contain her envy, and she unconsciously reached up to tug on her blonde ponytail. Her stupid, very,veryblonde ponytail. Sarah had always liked her hair, but now she began to wonder if perhaps blonde wasn’t his type.
Setting her phone aside, she got up and walked over to the decorative mirror that hung on the wall of her living room, turning her head this way and that to stare at her hair, trying to picture what she would look like with dark hair.
She’d never dyed her hair, had never even highlighted it, but it was always good to try new things, right? Who’s to say she wouldn’t try it even without wondering about Will’s preferences?
That’s right,she thought, a little triumphantly.It’s not even about Will. I’ve been feeling stuck in my life, and a fresh hair color could be just the thing. It was a flimsy argument, and she knew it, but she latched onto it.
