Page 4 of Screwing With The Scrooge

“I thought that he would get the hint by now and ask me out, but I guess not. Maybe he’s not interested in me.”

“How could he not be! You’re amazing!” Saffron says as she sneaks some baked goods out of the case.

“You have to say that because you’re my sister and you love me.”

“Still,” she insists, and I smile.

Maple and Ginger are nodding in agreement, and I try to smile.

“I know. I don’t know how he can miss how awesome I am. I’ll just have to try harder,” I say, but deep down I know that probably isn’t the answer.

My sisters go back to cleaning and helping me shut down the bakery. It’s getting late and the baked goods are all set for tomorrow so all we need to do is wipe down everything and then we can close up. The bookstore next door is already closed and Wet and Wild, the adult toy store on the other side is being run by Mira, our part-time employee.

I glance at the wall where the bookstore is located. As an avid romance reader, I’ve thought a lot about what my love story would look like. I liked to imagine that I would bump into my dream man and he would instantly be smitten with me. He would be charming and easy to talk to, and he’d fall head over heels in love with me on the spot and beg to have my phone number to know everything about me. It would be a quick courtship, and then we’d be well on our way to our happily ever after.

Instead, the opposite is happening.

I can still remember the first time that I saw Xavier. He was in town, at the grocery store, and my eyes had been drawn to him. Everyone around him seemed to be avoiding him, giving him a wide berth and looking anywhere but in his direction. He had seemed used to it, his face a stoic mask, but I had seen it.

He was lonely, maybe even a little sad.

I recognized the look well. I had seen it on my face every day for months after my parents died. Luckily for me, I had my sisters to lean on and pull me out of my funk. Xavier didn’t really seem to have anyone.

I had vowed then and there to get to know him and try to make him smile, but it’s been four months now and I have yet to succeed.

I’ve tried everything I could think of. I brought him brownies when I realized that he lived across the street from me. He had been polite but distant then, and the only thing I learned was his name and that he had been born and raised here in town.

The next time I saw him was at the diner in town. I had slid in across from him and told him about my sisters and the shops that we were opening up. I had invited him to the bakery’s grand opening, and my heart had soared when I saw him walk in. He never talked to me that day though. He had just scowled at the display case and then slipped out. He seemed uncomfortable to be around so many people and I wondered if he was claustrophobic.

I didn’t let him ignoring me that day stop me though. I’ve spent the last four months learning everything that I could about my grumpy giant. I know that he was in the military and that he was injured, though no one really talks about how or where. Sometimes I’ve seen him limping on his right side, so I’m guessing it was in his leg or hip. I know that his best friend is Townes, an equally grumpy, though not as brooding man. I know that he hates walnuts, loves being outdoors, and apparently, he has no sense of humor.

I don’t know when my attempts at getting to know him turned into me trying to tease or flirt with him. I liked seeing him react whenever I brought him one of my dirty pastries or said some kind of innuendo to him. Those seemed to be the only times that I saw a hint of life behind that mask that he wears so damn well.

Somewhere along the way, I fell in love with him. Maybe I did that first day when I saw him at the market and just didn’t recognize the emotion.

I sigh as I close the display case and stretch out my back, rolling my shoulders as I make my way to the office to grab my things.

“Want to come over to my house for dinner?” Saffron asks as we leave.

Ginger and Maple head over to Wet and Wild to relieve Mira, and I smile, waving as they disappear inside.

“No, I’m tired. I’m going to go home and take a bath. Maybe read for a bit before bed. Raincheck?” I ask, and she nods.

“Of course. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

She squeezes my shoulder as we both head in opposite directions to our cars. Wolf Valley might seem like a strange place for us to settle and try to start businesses, but it’s working out. We had first come to this place when we were kids. I think that I was twelve or thirteen, and we were meeting our grandparents for a family camping trip. I had fallen in love with the town and even after we left, I remembered it as this magical place.

None of us wanted to stay in Seattle after our parents died. We wanted a fresh start, and when I suggested Wolf Valley, everyone had agreed. Business has started out a little slow, but it’s been picking up ever since Maple and Saffron started marketing. They’re both wizards with social media, and I don’t know what they’re doing, but it’s working. Every day I seem to have more orders for my baked goods, and I know that Shelf Indulgence and Wet and Wild have both been doing better too.

We all help each other, but really each business is one of ours. Mine is the bakery, Maple runs the adult toy store, and Saffron the bookstore. Ginger still hasn’t decided what she wants to do, but she seems to enjoy handling the marketing and bouncing between places.

I pass by Maple’s apartment and turn down the backroad that leads to my little cottage. My sisters all live closer to town, but I wanted something more remote. I fell in love with my house the second that I saw it. It reminds me of what a fairy’s house would look like with an overgrown garden and cute curved roof.

The street is dark as I drive down it and I sigh when I glance at Xavier’s house and see that all the lights are off.

“It’s only eight thirty,” I grumble as I park.

Maybe he’s out.

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