Chapter 10

TEN

WILLOW

“O kay, that was ridiculous.” I sighed heavily and plopped down on the wooden bench a couple of feet from the shed. “We need to make sure we’re the ones putting the lights away and correctly.”

“We?” Andy laughed and stepped closer to the bench.

I grabbed his hand and tugged him down next to me. “Yes, we.” I bumped my shoulder against his. “I’m not doing that without you.”

“Oh.” He turned his head to the side. “Mack will be happy to have volunteers already.”

“Hey, you two.” Mack pulled her phone against her chest. “It looks so good.” She turned in a full circle, taking it all in. “How much do you hate me?”

“If we disliked anyone, it should be Eddie, not you.” I smiled and hopped up. “Put our names on the list; we’ll take the lights down when it’s time.”

“Seriously?” She jumped up and down, wrapped her arms around my waist, and pulled me in for a big hug. “Do you know how hard it is to get people to volunteer?” She stepped back and turned toward Andy. “You’re okay with helping, right?”

He didn’t say anything at first. His eyes were locked onto mine. A second later, he smiled. “Yeah. I am.”

“Didn’t Eddie help you?” She glanced around.

“He did offer, but we had it under control.” I took a step closer to Andy. I silently sent Mack a message telling her why Eddie was not around. When I touched his hand, she received the message loud and clear.

“Oh, okay.” She winked. “Wait, they’re putting a sign up wrong.” Her eyes were locked onto two figures standing by a light pole. “Thank you.” She waved and ran off to fix a decoration.

“Want to get some hot chocolate?” The cherry whipped cream with hot cocoa was calling my name.

“I need to check on Sammy.” He squeezed my hand.

“Sammy, your dog, right?” I turned to face him.

“Yeah, he didn’t want to go for a walk this morning, and I just want to make sure he’s okay.”

“I wonder if he needs a play date?” I brushed my thumb back and forth over his skin.

“Oh, I forgot to ask you, how are your two new additions doing?”

“They stayed in the playpen last night.”

“That’s a win.” Andy laughed.

I glanced down at our hands and took a step back. “You’ll have to let me know when we’re going out?”

“How about Thursday?”

“Sure.” I didn’t want our day to end, and that feeling scared me. No, not scared, but it did make me feel uncomfortable. I was still getting to know him.

A part of me wondered if I should invite him over for the evening, which then made me wonder if he would want to spend more time with me.

The kiss was unexpected and so perfect. I could still feel his lips on mine.

I wanted him to break the awkward between us and kiss me again. He didn’t, though.

“I can pick you up?” He turned to leave.

“I’ll meet you at the bar.” I started to take a step forward but stopped.

“Are you sure?” He seemed distracted and didn’t make eye contact with me.

“Yeah.” I grabbed my keys from my coat pocket. “See you soon, Andy.”

His back was already turned when he waved and left.

“That was weird,” I whispered to no one and walked toward my car. Instead of getting in my vehicle and driving off, I turned and went to Little Lemon Bakery. It didn’t close for another two hours.

“There she is.” Molly walked around the counter and pulled me in for a hug.

“Putting up Christmas lights is exhausting.” I kissed her cheek and pulled out a chair to sit down.

“Like, I need a lemon bar exhausting.” Molly ran back to the display.

“More like, I need a slice of chocolate lemon chess pie exhausting.” I rested my forearms on the little cafe table. “Oh, and men are weird.”

“Say it louder for the ladies in the back.” Molly carried a small plate over and set it in front of me. “What happened?”

I shared about the kiss, our day, and the awkward goodbye.

“Do you know about his ex?” Molly sat down beside me.

“No. Is it bad?” I took a bite and moaned. “Just what the doctor ordered.”

“Thank you, sweetie.” Molly reached over and squeezed my hand. “He was with someone for about twelve years. I think it’s been several months since she left, but still, twelve years.”

“Shit. Okay, now that makes sense.” I thought about the kiss. In the moment, it felt normal. Then, he had the day to think about what happened. I wondered if he regretted it.

“Hey, I bet he just needs some time to think.” She leaned forward and rested her hand on the table. “That doesn’t mean anything, so don’t start creating scenarios in your mind.”

I pushed my fork down into the last bite. “He did confirm our date on Thursday, so that’s something.”

“What?” She hopped up and grabbed my plate. “You forgot to tell me you had a date.”

“When I told August it was my first time in Razem, he offered to make me his house special.” Talking about Razem made me think about the hot chocolate. “Have you had the hot chocolate there?”

“All three flavors.”

“That cherry whipped cream was out of this world.” I hopped up and put on my coat. “What you’re saying is, I need to try the other two flavors?”

“Um, yeah.” She grabbed my hand. “Hey, don’t overthink what happened today. Andy probably needs a moment to process the kiss. That’s not a bad thing. His ex messed with his head.”

“Thanks, Moll.” I kissed her cheek and bundled up for the walk to my car.

“Willow.” I was just about to my vehicle when I heard his voice.

“Andy.” I turned around to find him standing in the middle of the sidewalk. “I thought you left.”

“I did.” He took a few steps forward.

“Everything okay?” I shoved my hands in my coat pockets.

“Does that offer still stand?”

“Which one? The playdate?”

“Yeah.” He shrugged. “I know you wanted to wait until Holly and Cookie were bigger, but Sammy is gentle with other animals.”

Well, that was interesting. I’m glad I had a chance to talk to Molly. I was willing to be more patient now that I knew more about Andy.

The kiss today surprised us both.

Him because of his past.

Me: I loved the way he made me feel. It was a warm welcome, and I wanted more.

“Yes, of course, it will be so much fun.”