Chapter 18

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

Margo felt as if she were floating on a cloud as she walked into The Mellow Mug the next morning. She had planned to sit down with a cup of coffee and continue going over the details for the fundraiser, but she already knew that she was going to find it hard to concentrate. Her thoughts were full of Spencer and their date last night, along with that perfect, magical kiss; it was all she could think about.

She knew Melanie could see it on her face as soon as she walked up to place her coffee order. "All right, spill all the details," Melanie said, her voice teasingly demanding as she propped her elbows on the pastry case, clearly not intending to take any coffee orders until Margo complied. "I saw you riding in on that sleigh last night. I'm going to need to hear everything . That's the most romantic thing any man has ever done. That's movie-level romance, Margo. Book -level romance. So spill."

"It's nothing crazy," Margo tried to protest, but the look on Melanie's face told her plainly that Melanie wasn't buying it. "Okay, fine. Rhett came into Sugar Maple while I was getting supplies, and I found out about the fireworks show. I really, really wanted to go, but everyone kept telling me it was impossible with my bum leg." She gestured frustratedly toward the cast. "This thing is really getting on my nerves."

"Okay, but how does Spencer factor into this?" Melanie interrupted, and Margo laughed.

"I'm getting there. He walked into Sugar Maple just as I was saying that I had to figure out a way to go, and when I saw him, I just blurted out that he could help me figure out a way without really thinking about it. I was thinking he's a doctor, right? He'll have some solution."

"So you just volunteered him?" Melanie burst out into laughter, and Margo narrowed her eyes at her friend.

"Yes," she admitted, drawing the word out reluctantly. "I did. But he was such a good sport about it. I wondered if he'd regret it, or if he was secretly a little resentful about having to escort me around."

"Obviously not, because he got you a sleigh ," Melanie pointed out. "So you're saying he thought of that all on his own?"

"He did," Margo said. "That was all his idea. I didn't even know Jim was still kicking, let alone that he still had the sleigh and horses. Spencer arranged the whole thing and surprised me. We rode up to the show, and snuggled under the blanket, and… he kissed me."

She felt her face flush a little, her heart racing all over again at the memory.

"We're definitely seeing each other now," she added. "I don't know for how long, with me needing to leave for work and all, but it's a thing. We're going to grab dinner soon."

"It all sounds perfect," Melanie breathed, ringing in Margo's usual latte order. "That's the most romantic thing I've ever heard, honestly."

"He is pretty perfect," Margo agreed. "But like I said?—"

"Never say never," Melanie chided, slipping out a maple cinnamon roll and putting it on a plate. "You could always stick around, you know. Be the handsome town doctor's wife." She winked at Margo, who rolled her eyes.

"We just kissed for the first time last night . A little early for that, don't you think?"

Melanie just shrugged, with a mischievous smile, and went to make Margo's latte.

She'd blown off that suggestion quickly enough, but Margo had to admit that since last night, she had toyed with the idea of staying longer. Maybe not forever , but long enough to find out if this was really something between her and Spencer.

She didn't want to look back and wonder, or regret leaving so soon because she hadn't given it time to find out whether this was something that she really wanted. She wasn't getting engaged tomorrow, or anything—she'd thought about officially extending her vacation through the new year, and seeing how things went.

In the meantime, she could find some freelance work to pad her rapidly dwindling bank account. She had options, and it wasn't as if anyone was banging down her door with a job offer anyway. She could make the most of it, and see how things with Spencer went.

She felt a flicker of excitement at the idea, the first she'd had in a long time when the idea of being in Evergreen Hollow came to mind. But as soon as she settled in at a table with her cinnamon roll and latte, the door to The Mellow Mug opened, and her stomach dropped to her feet as she saw Chris Long walk in.

He looked exactly as she remembered, just older, the same as he had when she'd seen—and run from—him at the general store. Jet black hair, those dark brown eyes, tall with a woodsman's build and a full beard to complete the look. He'd really leaned into the rugged Vermonter aesthetic, and he looked like he was doing just fine. Thriving, even.

Her throat closed up as she watched him walk up to the register to order, Melanie's face carefully blank—ostensibly so that she didn't give away the fact that Margo was sitting across the cafe.

Margo thought it was probably too much to hope that he would get his coffee and leave without noticing her, and unfortunately, she was right. Chris turned as he waited for Melanie to make his coffee, his eyes casually sweeping over the cafe, and she saw the moment that he froze as he saw her sitting there.

His expression cleared instantly, back to that casual aloofness that made her feel so much worse as he collected his coffee, striding toward her. He looked like he was barely interested in the fact that she was there, and meanwhile, her heart felt like it was going to climb out of her throat. He was going to come talk to her, and she had no idea what on earth she was supposed to say. It had been a long time, and clearly he was over it. She should be too, but she just didn't think a hurt like that was so easily gotten over.

Chris flashed her a smile, the to-go cup of coffee in one broad hand. "Back in town, Margo? I thought I heard something about the third Stoker sister being back for the holidays."

"Just back for a few days," she clarified. "Or at least, that was the plan. I might stay longer. I haven't decided yet."

"Didn't your sister get married? That firefighter with a kid? You two should bring him by the farm sometime. We could catch up a little more, like old times. If you do end up sticking around a little longer, which seems pretty likely, considering…" He gestured at her leg. "Accident here?"

"The ski slopes," Margo muttered, her neck heating. She felt irritable all over, like her skin was crawling at his nearness, his familiarity. She was thoroughly disgusted by the idea that he seemed to think they could be friends, just because time had passed.

Not enough time had passed for her to forgive him for what he'd done, and she didn't think it ever would. She gritted her teeth, hoping he wouldn't ask too many more questions. If he asked what she did for a living, she was going to lose it—she couldn't possibly admit that she'd come home because she'd lost her job.

"Just seeing family?" Chris asked, and she nodded quickly, hoping he'd accept that at face value. "That's nice. Holidays at home always are."'

What else have you ever done for the holidays? She wanted to snipe. Have you ever been in Alaska under the northern lights, or on a beach in Spain for Christmas? No? Didn't think so.

But she couldn't, because then he would ask her about her job, and she would either have to lie or admit that she'd been laid off, which would undermine her point.

He hadn't said anything outright to make her feel any certain way, just been overly friendly and familiar, considering how they'd parted. But having him there, talking to her, all casual and confident, just made everything that was wrong come flooding back, dispelling her lighter-than-air mood.

It reminded her all over again that despite one perfect night, her life was actually falling apart. She was living in a room at her parents' inn, she was unemployed, and she was sitting in a small-town coffee shop with a broken leg. None of this was what she'd seen for herself a month ago. Two weeks ago, even.

"The farm is going great," Chris added, as if she'd asked. "It's hard to keep a farm profitable these days, but it's doing better than it did when I took over, actually. And I'm thinking I might propose to Kathryn over the holidays. A Christmas proposal is always a hit, I'm told."

He grinned at her, tipping his coffee cup toward her, as if there was anything cheery about the conversation. "Anyway, you look busy," he added, nodding at her notebook, and she couldn't tell if it was sarcasm or not. "I'll let you get back to it."

Margo felt sick to her stomach, as he started to walk away. All her thoughts of staying through the holidays, of seeing where things went with Spencer, of being open to new possibilities the way Caroline had suggested—all of it deflated instantly, like a popped balloon.

There was no way, she thought, that she could stay in a town where she would regularly run into him. And she would , because it was Evergreen Hollow, and even if Chris lived on the outskirts at his farm, everyone ran into each other all the time. It was impossible not to.

Furthermore, the last thing she wanted for her life was to have to actively avoid someone forever, which she would, because no one ever seemed to leave this place.

She'd been successful, before this. She'd left, and she'd done exactly what she'd wanted to do. This was a hiccup, but she needed to prove to herself that was all it was. Putting off really hunting for a new job, doing freelance work, all of that was just a way of putting off what was the most important thing, and always had been.

Spencer or no, broken leg or no, she needed to get back to traveling as soon as possible.