Chapter 14

FOURTEEN

ANDY

“H ow did Molly convince you to shop for an ugly sweater?” I had run to grab a plastic knife to cut off a piece of the cherry strawberry tart.

Willow was in the middle of chewing. She shook her head from side to side and finished the bite. “Hmmm…should I share the full story?”

“That depends.”

“On what?”

“Are you comfortable sharing it?” I took a drink of my coffee. “No pressure.”

“Well, to be honest, it’s because of you.” She set her fork down and leaned back against the chair.

“Me? How? Why?” I didn’t mean to scowl. “I’m very curious now.”

I couldn’t get Willow out of my mind for the last few days. It was a good feeling. One I had missed. My ex had clouded my judgment for way too long. Willow helped me to see it was time to move forward.

“I guess you could say decorating the downtown area with you made me think about the holidays differently.” She moved a napkin back and forth with her index finger.

“Wait, does that mean you’re putting up a Christmas tree?” I held my mug up for the waitress to refill my coffee. “Thank you.”

“I think that’s on the list.” She smiled.

“Whoa, back up.” I set my mug down and rested my forearms on the table. “There’s a list?”

“Yup. Starts with the sweater. Then, the tree happens, and I guess there will be baking gingerbread cookies somewhere in there, too.” She grabbed a forkful of the cake. “Now that I’ll have a tree, you can bring Sammy over.”

“Holly and Cookie are going to go crazy.” I tried to hold in my laugh, but the vision was too good.

“Yeah, Molly’s already preparing me.” She shrugged. “It’s just stuff. It’ll be okay.”

“You know what?”

“What?”

“We could go get your tree on the way home.”

She cut a piece of the strudel. “Don’t you have plans?”

“To get a tree. Yes.” She leaned back in the chair and turned her head toward the big bay window. “What? It looks like you’re thinking really hard over there.”

She laughed and dropped her head. “I don’t want to be a bother.”

“To whom?”

“You, Molly, everyone.”

I reached my hand forward and placed it on hers. “Hey, if it were a bother, we wouldn’t suggest it.” She lifted her head, and I could see tears forming in the corners of her eyes. “Did someone make you feel that way from your past?”

“Yeah.” She wiped away the tears before they had a chance to fall. “Sometimes it’s hard to let go.”

“Yeah, it is.” I had no room to judge; I had been living in the past with my ex since she walked out the door. “Crystal Shores is different.”

“How so?” She took a sip of her coffee.

“The people who are from here, don’t judge.” I shrugged. “They look forward to giving back.”

She placed her elbow on the table and rested her chin on her closed hand. “I have noticed that.” She looked right at me. “I’m glad we ran into each other today.”

“Me, too.” I held my mug up, and she grabbed hers to tap against mine.

“If I get a tree, you have to get one, too.” She winked.

I wanted to say no, but I was excited by the thought. After decorating the downtown area with her, putting up a tree with Willow would be pretty magical.

“I think that can be arranged.”

“Really?” Her eyes went wide.

“Yeah, really.”

She reached for her fork. “One more bite to celebrate, and then I need to close the box.”

“I don’t know if I can eat another bite.” This was my second time having dessert in less than two hours.

“Just one.” She grabbed a forkful of browned butter cherry blondie.

“One.” I sighed and sunk my fork into the blondie.

* * *

Two hours later…

“Sammy is going to be so happy.” Willow turned in her seat to face me. “Do you have bulbs and lights for your tree?”

We stopped on the way home and got two trees currently tied to my vehicle’s roof.

“No.” My ex had taken all the Christmas decorations. Before leaving, she commented that I never helped with decorations, so she might as well take them.

“Then we have one more stop to make.” She clapped her hands together and flashed the biggest smile.

“You’re really excited?”

“I know, it’s weird, but I am.” She rubbed her hands up and down her thighs. “I took a picture of the trees on the roof for Molly and Anika. They keep sending GIFs to show their excitement.” She laughed. “The silly videos are changing my mood.”

“I know at first I sounded like the Grinch, but the truth is, decorating is fun.” I turned into the parking lot of a shopping mall. “Do you want white or multi-color lights on the tree?”

“Multi-color, of course.” She zipped her jacket up. “What about you?”

“Same.” I put the car in park. “I love all the different bulbs and colorful lights.”

“That sounds perfect.” She placed her hand on the door handle. “Andy. Thank you.”

“For what?” I hopped out and walked around to her side to open her door.

“Everything.” She grabbed my outstretched hand. “I didn’t realize how fun the holiday season could be.”

I opened the door to the little store. “Just wait until you make cookies.” She glanced back, and I was taken aback by how her face lit up at the mention of cookies.

Molly and Anika had done something special for Willow; they brought back the Christmas spirit.

It was time to learn how to bake because there was no way I was missing out on making gingerbread cookies with Willow.

“Gingerbread house competition.” I blurted out the thought.

“Um, are you adding something to the list?” She wrapped her arm around my bicep and rested her head on my shoulder.

“Maybe.” I pulled her closer, loving the way she felt next to me.