Page 11 of Christmas in Vines

I only saw glimpses and flashes of Willow throughout the day. At the end of my shift, I found myself slagging again. I was the last person getting my crates in and signing off on the sheets. Again, it was just Willow and me in the room, and she was very quiet.

“Penny for your thoughts?” I asked quietly.

“I’m not even sure they’re worth that much,” she muttered while ticking off the sheet.

Leaning a hip on the table, I crossed my arms, “Forgive me for, well, not really spying, but what happened this morning? What made you so… want to turn on your heel and run?”

She looked up, and I could see hesitation flickering in her eyes. “You caught that?”

“Yes,” I replied, taking one step closer to her but stopped. “What was it?”

Dropping the clipboard to the table, the clatter rough and jarring in the air, Willow jammed her hands into the pockets of her sweatshirt, “My dad had told me that he would be inviting more investors into the business, but I thought they would be strange people we wouldn’t have to dance around. But—”

I waited for her as she nibbled her lip and turned her head to the window where the snow was trickling down.

“But what, Willow?” I asked.

“My finicky uncle getting into the business, fine,” she turned back to me. “But him pulling Maxwell’s goddamn father into it is too much, and that is knowing we have bad blood between us.”

I felt frozen to my patch of ground.

Winslow, it connected like gongs going off between my ears. Winslow—Maxwell’sfather. Jesus Christ. No wonder she had gone as white as a sheet.

ChapterFour

Willow

Ihad not planned to spill those secrets to Tyler—the kiss aside, I didn’t know him from Adam, but the words had tumbled out anyway.

“I suppose you can see where this is going,” I said tightly.

“…Yeah,” Tyler scuffed a boot on the concrete floor while his hands were stuck in his back pockets. He looked a little hunched over while giving me a sympathetic smile. “Yeah, I can see where it's going. Without a doubt, he’s going to use this to get into your space again and try to lure you back in.”

Scoffing, I turned away. “He can go to hell. There is no way I’m giving him a second look, much less hooking up with him again. I’m surprised his dick hasn’t withered away and fell off with how many times he—”

A laugh punched itself out of Tyler, and I turned to see his head thrown back, his face alight with humor. “I don’t think that's how anatomy works, Willow.”

“It should,” I grumbled. “Big old cheating asshole.”

He came closer and snagged my hand with one of his, rubbing his thumb over the back while tangling our fingers together. “Are you off tomorrow?"

That was an…odd question.

“Um, yeah. Why?”

“Do you want to go to the town with me?” Tyler asked, “See the erection of the massive tree in the square? Talk a little, get some hot chocolate?”

“My, my,” I came closer, “Are you asking me out on a date?”

“Perhaps,” he replied, “Believe me or not, I’ve been where your headspace is and—and a listening ear eases the burden a lot more than you think it can do. Plus,” he added with a devilish grin, “I can help you build a snowman, and there’s a baseball bat in the back of my car. Do with that information as you will.”

Tempted to smile, I replied, “I take cinnamon with my hot chocolate.”

His nose wrinkled, “Heresy! It is and should only bepeppermint.”

This time, I did laugh but pulled my hand away. “I’ll take you up on that offer, Tyler. Thanks.”

“No problem,” he replied. “Eight?”

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