Chapter 15

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

That Saturday morning, Aiden decided to head to The Mellow Mug to get his usual Americano and sit and read for a little while. He had the day off, and while he'd usually spend it at home, he felt oddly restless. He'd felt that way since he got up, with the whole day stretching out in front of him, and his solution to that was to go and do something. The coffee shop was just as nice a place to sit and read his book, and the change of scenery would be pleasant.

Of course, just as he walked in, he saw Nora sitting at a table, her phone at her ear. He overheard something about getting back to the city , and realized she must be talking to someone at her work in Boston.

She was fully engrossed in the conversation, not even noticing him as he walked up to the counter and gave Melanie his order. It was more out of habit than anything else, since he always got the same thing, and Melanie knew it as well as he did.

"—order extra flowers," Nora was in the middle of saying. "No, I know, but we've worked with this client before, and she always wants more. The last two times we've had to rush them last minute, and she gets more upset when there's a rush charge. No, of course that's normal. But she doesn't see it that way. They'll approve the expense, I'm sure of it, but you can say I agreed if there's trouble."

Aiden knew he probably shouldn't be listening in to her work call, but he couldn't help it. She was right there, and he also couldn't help thinking how professional she sounded. Competent and confident. She was clearly very good at her work, just based on that small snippet of conversation that he'd gotten, and it was clear that she was well versed in event planning. Despite himself, he had to admit he was impressed.

He stepped back as Melanie went to make his drink, going to the end of the counter with his book in hand, and as he walked over he saw Nora look up and notice him. She hung up the phone a moment later, setting it down and giving him a slightly sheepish smile.

"Hey there," she said, her cheeks turning the slightest bit pink. She was probably recalling the incident at the dance class—his cheek was still a little sore from that—but his heart raced a little anyway at the sight of her smile.

Don't let your old crush get carried away, he reminded himself, as he reached for his coffee. She might have finally remembered him, but it didn't change anything. She was still the big city girl that she'd fashioned herself into, and they were still complete opposites in every way. There was nothing to suggest that she didn't see him as a country bumpkin, someone who had passed up opportunities to stay in his uninteresting hometown and do the same thing that he'd done before, every day for the rest of his life.

Except that he didn't see it that way. And a part of him wished there was something that could make her look at it differently too.

"Hey." He glanced at her phone, planner, and the magazine spread open in front of her. "You look busy."

Nora shrugged, taking a sip from the mug in front of her. "Oh, you know," she said breezily. "Just checking in on things back home. Work doesn't stop, even though I'm out of town. They've been getting along fine without me, for the most part, but I told them to call me if they needed me even though I was on vacation. One of my coworkers had some questions about an event I passed on to her so I could take the time off."

"You're also helping with coordinating the Snowman festival," he remarked, leaning up against the counter. "You really don't stop working, do you?"

Nora shook her head, her fingers drumming anxiously in front of her. "I offered, and I've tried to help, but I'm not sure Sabrina really wants it. She hasn't been thrilled with my ideas so far."

There was a glimmer of hurt in her eyes, Aiden thought. It surprised him. He'd always seen her as the popular one when they were in school, exuding confidence. He wouldn't have thought she'd be hurt by someone's rejection. He would have imagined she'd just brush it off, leaving it in the dust behind her.

She had always seemed a little larger than life to him, but she was more human in that moment, changed a little by the sudden vulnerability. He always envisioned her as someone who breezed through life, uninhibited and unhampered, but it was clear she had some of the same insecurities that he did. That anyone did, for that matter.

It made him want to ease them, just a little. If he could.

"They're lucky to have your help. Even if Sabrina isn't totally on board yet."

Her expression brightened just a little, and he felt a flush of warmth in his chest. He'd just taken a sip of his Americano, and he told himself it was that—the heat of the coffee. Nora couldn't continue to affect him in this way. They were two entirely different people, and just now, she'd been on the phone with her job in Boston. Her current job.

She was staying for the holidays, and then she was leaving again. Evergreen Hollow was a novelty to her, but it was home to him. There was no point in indulging the crush.

He realized that the silence had started to turn awkward just as Nora spoke up.

"How's your—uh—face?" She gestured toward his cheek, and he shrugged.

"It's fine," he assured her. "You really don't need to worry about it."

Another beat of silence. Nora gestured toward the seat next to her. "Sit down," she suggested. "Unless you were planning to head out once you had your coffee?"

It would have been easy to say yes, and put an end to the conversation. Or it should have been easy. He hesitated, but he found himself sinking down into the seat, drawn to her as always. He felt a little awkward, sitting down to have a conversation with her, considering how things had been between them. But as he settled in, he found that it was nice. It had been such a long time since they'd actually talked.

Since that afternoon in the rain, really.

"So you're a carpenter and a dance instructor?" Nora teased lightly, closing her planner and setting it aside. He was surprised that she was putting up her work to talk to him. "That's a very diverse skill set."

"Ah, well, steady feet on the dance floor helps with ladder safety." He saw Nora's eyebrows go up and chuckled. "Not to suggest you need help with either, obviously."

Aiden thought he saw her cheeks flush again, just a little. He realized too late that the statement sounded a little flirtatious, and he would have sworn he hadn't meant it that way. But he also liked seeing that pink tint in her face.

"You're really good at dance. I was surprised to see you teaching it, honestly. I wouldn't have guessed. Did you learn that at trade school too?" Her tone was still teasing, and his heart tripped a little in his chest.

She'd been asking about him—or she'd at least mentioned him enough for someone to go volunteering information, if she knew about carpentry school.

"I like it because it's so different from carpentry, honestly." He reached for his coffee, taking a hasty sip. "It's something I picked up for fun. It's just a bonus that I can make a little extra, getting paid to teach it. I like having a hobby that has nothing to do with my job."

Nora smiled, and he thought privately that the expression that crossed her face then could almost be described as dreamy. "I don't know what that would be like," she admitted. "I've been so focused on building my career, ever since college. It's all I think about, really. What steps to take, how to best use my time, the most advantageous ways to keep progressing. Even most of my leisure activities have something to do with it back at home." Nora laughed a little, but Aiden thought he heard a hint of chagrin in it. "I learned ballroom dance, in Boston, so I could be a better event planner. It all comes back to that, eventually."

That's no way to live.

It was the first thought that popped into his head, but he didn't say it out loud. He couldn't.

"That makes sense," he said instead, and it did. For Nora, of course it did. He knew her well enough to know that, even if they hadn't talked much in school. "You were always so ambitious, back then. Always set on doing big things. And it appears you have—which is impressive. Not everyone pulls off their goals so flawlessly."

It was meant as a compliment. He truly had meant it sincerely. But to his surprise, Nora's face fell a little as he spoke.

"I thought so, too, about a month ago," she said quietly. She reached for her mug, taking a long sip, her expression going from vaguely sad to contemplative. "I'm really not so sure now though. Honestly, it feels like every part of my life is on uneven ground right now."

Nora set her mug back down, glancing over at him. "I was engaged. Right up until the day before I decided to come back here."

He knew he didn't have any right to feel a stab of… some emotion that he couldn't name. It wasn't quite jealousy, but it was definitely close. He hadn't spoken to Nora since high school. Since before they'd even been out of high school. He didn't have any actual reason to hear that someone had put a ring on her finger, and feel his chest go a little tight.

Or a feeling of relief, once it sank in that she was talking about it in the past tense.

"My ex? He broke it off like that." Nora snapped her fingers. "Easy. Like he'd been thinking about it for a long time. I thought he was surprising me, coming to grab a goodbye kiss before he left for a work trip, and instead he was dumping me while we stood on a curb after I'd just finished up a wedding. Ironic, really."

She bit her lip. "Melanie convinced me to come back here for the holidays. A change of scenery. But it's not all syrup and jolliness here either. Things have always been strained between me and Caroline—my older sister—but it feels like it's even more tense now. She doesn't even want to be in the same room with me, it feels like. I was hoping that helping to plan the festival would get my mind off of everything, but it really hasn't."

She paused as he watched her, visibly wincing as she seemed to realize how much she'd just said.

"I didn't mean to unload on you like that," she murmured. "Sorry."

Her voice was chagrined, and she licked her lips nervously, tapping her fingers on the side of her mug. A tell, he thought, for when she was anxious.

"It's just a rough patch," Aiden said gently. "That doesn't mean you haven't been successful. Those are always going to happen, from time to time."

Nora gave him a small, watery smile. "That's true." She bit her lip, turning her coffee mug around in her hands. "It's been hard. But I'll find my way back to steadier footing, I'm sure." She laughed softly, looking up to meet his gaze. "After all, a wise person once told me that you only get one life. It should be lived on your own terms."

The words hit him directly in the chest, making him feel briefly as if he'd forgotten how to breathe. It was a shock to hear those words come from her lips.

"You—you remember our conversation?" He could hear himself stammering out the question, but he couldn't quite bring himself to care. He remembered it clearly, and even if he did make a fool out of himself, he wanted to know.

"Of course." Nora's smile brightened a little more at the shared memory. "I thought you were really nice that day," she admitted almost conspiratorially, leaning forward over her coffee mug. "I thought maybe we'd hang out more after that, honestly. Or that maybe you'd ask me out. But I wasn't sure if you really liked me or not, or if we'd just happened to get stuck together that day, and you tolerated me for a little while."

Aiden nearly burst out with a shocked laugh at that, stopping it just in time.

She didn't think I liked her? When I had such a massive crush on her?

The idea seemed preposterous. Impossible. But he looked at her face, calmly remembering the moment, and he tried to think of it objectively.

He never had tried too hard to actually talk to her, he supposed. He'd just assumed she wouldn't want to talk to him, honestly. She was so popular, so bright, someone who everyone wanted to orbit around. He'd had her on a pedestal, and he realized in retrospect that she'd stayed there, all of these years. It had gotten in the way of seeing her as a person.

Nora was still looking at him, and he cleared his throat. "No," Aiden managed quietly. "I did like you."

A moment of awkward silence stretched between them, and he could feel an unspoken tension hovering in the air. Much like the moment in the event hall, when he'd thought she was going to fall off the ladder and grabbed her, or when she'd walked into his dance studio without knowing he'd be there. But it was even more charged now, with his admission.

He'd gone far enough for today, he decided. Maybe far enough, for good.

"I should get going." He started to stand up, thinking he'd read his book at home after all. But before he could push his chair back, Nora interrupted him.

"Do you maybe want to go to dinner? With me." She flushed the tiniest bit, probably realizing how silly the last part sounded. "I want to catch up with you," she added. "Find out a little more about what you've been up to. It would be nice, don't you think?"

Nice. That was one word for it.

"Besides," Nora added quickly, as if she were worried he was about to turn her down. "I owe you a meal, I think, after doing you bodily harm in class."

The teasing lilt was back in her voice. She'd clearly moved on past the charged moment, but he was still there, shocked that this was happening. All these years later. He couldn't quite believe it.

"Sure," he managed. "I'll pick you up at six tomorrow. How's that sound?"

Nora flashed him a truly stunning grin. "I'll see you then," she said, reaching for her coffee and planner, and he nodded, retreating to the door of the coffee shop.

It was just a dinner. Just a little catching up between old acquaintances.

But if that was all, he wondered as he walked to his truck, then why couldn't he stop his heart from racing?