Page 6 of Sweet Christmas Wish
“‘Oh no’ is right. He came in yesterday just after closing and when I heard the bell jingle, I raced in from the kitchen to tell whoever it was that we were closed, but when I saw him…” Sarah buried her face in her hands then and groaned into her palms. “I don’t remember him looking so gorgeous in high school.”
“Well, maybe you didn’t notice because he was with your sister,” Lacy said gently.
“Probably. Plus, we were all kids back then. I can tell you one thing—he’s all grown up now. Anyway, he came in and said he’s taking a couple of weeks off work to ski.”
“That’s great! It means you have more time to talk to him.”
Sarah lifted her face and looked at Lacy, feeling miserable. “No, it’s not great. See, heishere to ski, but he’s also here to reconnect with Michelle.”
“Oh…”
“I know. That can only mean he’s trying to see if he can rekindle their high school spark.”
“But Michelle is married,” Lacy pointed out.
“Yeah, but he doesn’t know that.”
Lacy’s jaw dropped then and she stared at Sarah as though Sarah had suddenly grown a third ear. “He doesn’t know that? Sarah, why didn’t youtellhim?”
Sarah chewed her lip, feeling awkward and stared into her mug of apple cider. “Um… it just didn’t come up.”
“That’s not the sort of thing that needs to ‘come up’. That’s the sort of thing you have to tell someone, especially someone trying to rekindle an old flame!”
“Well, he didn't ask.”
“He didn’t know to ask! It was your job to tell him!” Lacy stared at her and, taking in Sarah’s expression, her own became more gentle. “Why didn’t you tell him?”
“I’ve been asking myself that question ever since it all happened.” She sighed, toying with the end of her ponytail. “I think it’s because I realized that if I told him Michelle was married, there was a good chance he would just leave town. I mean, he only just got here, and it would be a shame if he left so soon after arriving.” Seeing that Lacy was giving her a knowing look, she laid all her proverbial cards on the table. “Fine. I didn’t want him to leave so soon. I just thought… well, I don’t know why I wanted him to stay.”
“I think you do,” Lacy said softly.
“I don’t know what you mean.”
“Yes, you do. You want him to stay because you like him.”
“I don’t know him well enough to like him!”
“You keep telling yourself that.”
“Look,” Sarah said, sitting up straight and trying to shift the focus off of herself. “He’s just here to ski for the time being. He’ll find out soon enough that Michelle is married, so it’s not like I really did any damage by not working it into the conversation earlier.”
Lacy gave Sarah a long look, then finally shrugged, shaking her head. “I hope you’re right,” was all she said.
CHAPTERFOUR
After a long morning on the slopes, William was more than ready for a bite to eat. Well, more than a bite. At this point, he felt like he could eat a four-course meal and still be hungry.
As soon as he’d changed out of his ski suit and into normal clothing back at the inn, he’d headed out to Frosty’s Shack. He’d missed the little hometown cafe more than once while working in New Jersey, and the Shack had been on his mind all morning when he’d been skiing the powdery slopes around Snowy Pine Ridge.
Pushing open the door to Frosty’s Shack, William was greeted by the owner, Louise Thomas.
She hadn’t changed a bit since he’d last seen her—or for his entire growing up years, to be honest. She still had her brown hair pulled back into her signature chignon with a pencil stuck through it as always, although her brown hair was now streaked with gray. Her hazel eyes, surrounded by crow’s feet, were still the same though, as was her attire—she wore a skirt with an old-fashioned apron over top, the way she always had.
“William Parks, back at last,” Louise said, by way of greeting. “It’s been too long, son. I’ll bet you’re hungry.”
“Correct on all counts, Mrs. Thomas.”
“You know you can call me Louise.”
