Chapter 13

Chapter Thirteen

Marissa tucked in the fresh sheet on the guest bed and wondered if she’d lost her mind. Would she wake up the next morning and find out that this day had all been some sort of crazy nightmare? Would she learn that there were no such things as sugar plum fairies? And would she be disappointed when she realized that Danny wasn’t in her guest room?

How was it possible she’d woken up that morning thinking that she’d get her chocolate chip pancakes at Candy Canes and then spend the rest of the afternoon decorating and drinking nog with her girlfriends. Instead, she’d done both of those things and then gotten into a clay fight with a sugar plum fairy, nearly got herself run down by a car, and then invited Danny to live with her.

She sat down heavily on the bed and buried her head in her hands. It had been a long-ass day and all she wanted to do was sink into a hot bath with a bottle of wine and pretend that none of this had happened.

Instead, she stood, finished making the bed, and then got out a dust rag and started wiping down her baseboards. If Danny was moving in, she couldn’t have him thinking that she’d been slacking on her deep cleaning.

Once the baseboards were gleaming, she walked into the guest bathroom and got to work. The room was rarely used, so after a brief spruce, everything was sparkling.

Marissa walked out into the living room and then reached for the duster, intending to dust the ceiling fan. But when Pumpkin barked and gave her a look of judgment, she put the duster back into the closet and sat heavily in her oversized chair. “I know. I’m going overboard.”

Her pup jumped up into her lap and licked her face.

“Thanks, girl. I needed that.” Marissa scratched her dog behind the ears and then laughed when Pumpkin flopped down on her lap and rolled over, putting her paws in the air. There wasn’t much more in life that Pumpkin loved more than her belly rubs. “I hope you don’t mind a little bit of company. Danny and his kitty, Bells, are coming to stay with us for a bit.”

Pumpkin’s tongue was hanging out as she reveled in the attention.

“I know you don’t care right now. Not when you’re getting everything you ever wanted, but I’m going to need you to be nice to Bells. Understand? ”

Pumpkin turned her head and looked right at Marissa. She blinked once and then let her head roll back again.

Marissa laughed. “I knew I could count on you.”

There was a knock on the door, and Pumpkin immediately rolled over and jumped off her mistress’s lap, barking incessantly at the door.

“It’s just Danny and Bells, Pumpkin. You don’t need to bark,” Marissa said as she opened the door.

Pumpkin’s barking intensified, even as her tail started to wag with vigor.

Danny stared down at her, his eyes wide with surprise.

“She’s just excited,” Marissa quickly reassured him.

“I see that,” he said, still staring at the dog. When he looked up, he said, “She’s beautiful. How long have you had her?”

“About five years. I got her not long after I opened the pub.” Marissa scooped Pumpkin up and held her close to her chest. “She’s a sweetie.”

“I can tell.” They stood there awkwardly for a few beats until Marissa let out a nervous chuckle. “Sorry. Come on in.”

“Thanks.” He hefted a large duffel bag onto his shoulder and then picked up the hard-sided pet carrier that was near his feet.

“Your room is this way,” Marissa said as she set Pumpkin on the floor and took a deep breath, trying to calm her rapidly beating heart. She’d known it would be strange to have Danny at her house, but she hadn’t anticipated just how much she’d wanted him there. When they reached his room, she pushed the door open and took a step back. “This one is yours. Mine is across the hall.”

He walked in and placed his bag on the bed. Then he knelt down and opened the carrier. The cutest black and white cat poked her head out and meowed.

Pumpkin darted into the room, but slowed just before she got to the cat and then lowered her head as if she were saying hi.

The two bumped noses and then Bells walked completely out of the carrier and rubbed her body on Pumpkin’s legs. It didn’t take long until Pumpkin turned and ran out of the room with Bells following quickly behind her.

“I guess they’re fast friends,” Danny said, giving Marissa an easy smile.

“Looks like it.” She cleared her throat. “The bathroom across the hall is yours. Feel free to set up Bells’s litter box in there. I’ll go finish getting dinner together while you get settled.”

“Thanks, Marissa,” he said, his green eyes holding hers.

“I should be thanking you. I’m not the one who had to leave my home.” She gave him a grateful smile and quickly disappeared into the kitchen. After pulling the lasagna out of the oven, she grabbed plates and watched as Pumpkin playfully chased Bells around the dining room. When Bells stopped and hid partially behind one of the table legs, Pumpkin waited patiently while her tail went a hundred miles an hour. There was no question that Pumpkin was happy to have a playmate. Bells seemed a little more cautious, but when Pumpkin let out a bark and then darted into the living room, Bells took off after her, and Marissa knew they’d get along just fine.

Marissa was setting the table when she heard the front door open and then close.

A couple of minutes later, Danny appeared, holding a bottle of wine. “Do you still like pinot grigio?”

“You brought me pinot?” Marissa asked as a smile claimed her lips.

“Yes. Is it still your wine of choice?”

Laughing, she nodded. “I can’t believe you remember that.” It wasn’t as if they’d spent a lot of time drinking wine. After all, they had only been nineteen when they’d separated. Though her dad had let her drink wine at dinner, and the crisp white pinot grigio had been her absolute favorite.

“Of course I remember.” He stepped into the kitchen and started opening drawers until he found the corkscrew.

It amazed Marissa that she didn’t find him invasive. If that had been anyone else besides Clara or Felicity, she’d have been annoyed enough to ban them from her kitchen. Especially while she was still getting dinner together. But Danny… He just felt right in her space.

Marissa placed their dinner on the table and said, “I assume you still like lasagna?”

“Who doesn’t like lasagna?” he asked as he poured each of them a glass of wine.

“People who are low carb?” she guessed, taking the glass he offered her.

“Sucks to be them.” He winked and then sat across from her. He picked up the serving spoon and gestured to her plate.

She held her plate up for him, letting him serve. Once they both had plates full of pasta, Marissa held her wine glass up. “To new beginnings.”

Something unreadable flashed in his eyes just before he touched his glass to hers and repeated her toast. Their eyes met and held as they each took a sip.

A bark came from the other room, followed closely by the sound of something crashing to the floor. Marissa jumped up and ran to the living room, finding a picture frame on the floor, the glass broken. Pumpkin and Bells were both sitting there, staring at her as if to say, “It wasn’t us!”

She shook her head and chuckled to herself. “I can see you two are going to be trouble with a capital T, aren’t you?”

Both just stared at her with innocent expressions on their faces.

“Looks like we’re in trouble with those two,” Danny said from behind her.

She turned around and raised one eyebrow. “Your cat is a bad influence on my dog.”

“No doubt.” He walked back into the kitchen and returned a moment later with her broom and dustpan in hand.

“You don’t have to do that,” she said, reaching for the broom.

But Danny pulled them away from her and shook his head. “This wouldn’t have happened if Bells and I hadn’t moved in. It’s only right that I take care of it.”

Marissa shook her head at him but couldn’t help feeling pleased. It felt like old times when it had just been them in their little apartment. He’d always done small things for her while she’d cooked for him. At least that’s the way it had been in the beginning. As their lives got busier and busier with school and work, their nights together had been few and far between, but there had been a time when they’d spent many nights just like this.

“All set,” Danny said after he was finished cleaning up. “I put the picture of you and Pumpkin back on the table. The frame didn’t make it, I’m afraid.”

“Thank you,” she said, topping off both of the glasses of wine. “I’ll get a new one after Christmas when everything is on sale.”

“Sounds like a plan.” He picked up his fork and dug into his lasagna.

Marissa watched as his eyes rolled to the back of his head and he let out a moan of pleasure. Heat coiled in her belly, and suddenly she wasn’t hungry at all. Instead, she wanted to walk over, sit in his lap, and bury her hands in his hair as she kissed him senseless.

The vision of her fantasy was so strong she nearly acted on it, but when she heard the scrape of the chair on her hardwood floor, she snapped out of it and forced herself to stay seated and take a bite of her lasagna.

“So tell me how you ended up here in Christmas Grove, owning a pottery shop,” she said .

“Only if you tell me how you ended up owning a pub,” he countered.

She grinned at him. “Deal.”

“Okay, here goes.” He took a gulp of his wine and then said, “After I left, you already know that I transferred schools.”

Her heart ached, but she did her best to refrain from showing any emotion. That was all in the past, and she didn’t want to rehash all the pain they’d both suffered back then. She knew now that Danny hadn’t wanted to leave, and that he’d only done it to protect her. And while intellectually, she understood, she was still very hurt that he hadn’t trusted her enough to tell her why. “Yeah. I knew that.”

“After graduation, I went to work for an accounting firm. It was pretty much everything you can imagine. Dull. Predictable. Stressful during end of year. The firm was fine, but I hated working for someone else. Eventually, I started my own practice. It was a decent living. I liked working for myself, but I never was passionate about numbers.”

“And pottery? Did you do that in your spare time? As a hobby?” she asked, fascinated. When they were together, he’d always been the one who was worried about security. How they were going to set themselves up for their future. She’d been the one who’d always talked about what it would be like if they followed a different path. One that didn’t look like everyone else they knew.

“Actually yes.” His cheeks turned pink as he glanced away. But when he looked at her again, he continued. “ Once I started my own firm and was able to set my own hours, I started taking pottery classes. Before long, I had a small pottery setup in my garage, and I started selling my mugs at craft fairs once a month. It was really cool to have people actually want to buy my stuff.”

“So one day you decided to chuck the practice and move here of all places?” she asked, knowing she sounded a little bit accusatory.

He laughed. “No. Actually, I was here last Christmas with my grandmother, my parents, and my cousins Atlas and Alison. It was my grandmother’s wish that we were all together one last time. She passed after Christmas, and that’s when I decided to reevaluate my life choices. I didn’t want to spend my entire life doing something I didn’t love.” He paused and stared at her. “I think that’s something you can relate to.”

“Yes,” she said softly. “It is.”

He nodded. “I figured that hadn’t changed. Anyway, since Zach and Atlas are here and it’s the last place where I spent time with my grandmother, it just seemed like the perfect place to open my shop. I honestly had no idea you were here. But I can’t say I’m sorry to see you again.”

“Oh.” Marissa wasn’t sure what to say. Instead, she picked up their empty plates and started to clear the table.

“I didn’t say that to make you uncomfortable, Marissa. I was just… being honest,” he said.

“I know.” She loaded the plates into the dishwasher. Then she said, “I wasn’t happy to see you at all.”

He let out a bark of laughter. “I gathered that.”

“But now…” She shrugged and walked back over to the ta ble, taking her seat. “I suppose finding out the truth of what happened back then is good closure for me. And once this curse is broken, maybe we can both find some peace.”

His expression turned blank before he blinked and nodded. “Yes, closure would be better than the way we left things back then.”

She got the feeling that wasn’t at all what he wanted to say, but he held his tongue, and for that she was grateful. Whatever he was thinking, she wasn’t ready to hear it. Not now. Not when she was still conflicted about how everything had gone down.

“So you ended up here. Are you happy with your move?” she asked, genuinely curious.

“Very. I wish I’d done it years earlier. It was hard getting up and running, but business is good, and I love being near family. Plus, Christmas Grove has stolen a little piece of my heart. I can’t think of anywhere I’d rather be.”

Marissa let out a small sigh and smiled. “I feel the same way. You know this town has always been special to me.”

Danny nodded. “I do.”

“My dad passed away six years ago. After that, I just had to get out of his house. Had to move somewhere that didn’t hold a bunch of sad memories. Christmas Grove has always held magic for me, so I sold Dad’s house, bought this place, and opened Sleighed. I’ve never looked back. It might be the best decision I ever made. I now have my two best friends that live next door and Pumpkin. All three of them make my life better. Plus, there’s Jackson and Kira, who work with me, and they’re like family, too. What’s not to love?”

“Your two best friends live next door? Clara and Felicity?” he asked.

“Yep. It’s Clara’s house, and Felicity rents a room from her. Both can afford to live on their own, but they like the company. I like that they are right next door. We have our weekly rituals. Sundays at Candy Canes and usually we have Wednesday night drinks.”

He nodded, looking pleased for her. “You’ve built a really nice life for yourself, Marissa. I hope it’s not condescending to say that I’m proud of you.”

She thought about it for a moment. If he’d said that at any other time before she’d invited him to stay with her while they worked on neutralizing the curse, she’d have been offended. But now that they were building a tentative friendship, all she felt was pride. “No, it’s not. Thank you.”

“No need to thank me. You did this all on your own. It’s really impressive. Sleighed is the town watering hole. A place that would be really missed if it wasn’t there. You’ve built something special for the people of Christmas Grove.”

Her face heated, and she knew she was blushing when she said, “I really hope so.”

He reached out and squeezed her hand. “You have.”

She stared at their connection for a long moment before pulling her hand back and standing. “It’s late. I need to finish cleaning up and take Pumpkin out before I go to bed. ”

“You take care of Pumpkin. I’ll clean up,” he said, already reaching for the dish in the middle of the table.

“You don’t have to do that,” Marissa said. “I can?—”

“You cooked,” he said as he took the dish to the kitchen. “It’s the least I can do.”

She watched as he rummaged around and found the lid to the glass pan. As he was putting it in the fridge, she gave up the fight and said, “Okay. Thanks.”

A moment later, she found her dog curled up with his cat in her oversize chair. Chuckling to herself, she gently lifted her dog, trying not to disturb the cat. Pumpkin groaned like an eighty-year-old, making her chuckle. “Come on, girl. Time to go out before we hit the sack.”

Pumpkin blinked up at her with sleepy eyes, and Marissa felt the tiniest bit guilty for disturbing her. But twenty minutes later, when they were curled up together in Marissa’s bed, Pumpkin’s head on her chest, she whispered, “Love you, baby girl.”

Pumpkin gave her a kiss on her hand and started snoring softly.

This is all I need, Marissa thought. My pup and a warm bed.

But then why was it that all she could think about was the man who was in the next room?