Chapter 4
Chapter Four
PAZ
It’s been a week since Aurora and I made out in my office. And I haven’t been able to get the feel of her body and the taste of her lips out of my mind.
No amount of beating myself off in the shower will tame my dick when I think about her, and it's not like I can keep my distance. She's working right next door, day in and day out. It's hard to focus when I see her making videos out on the sidewalk in front of our stores or when she's picking up lunch at the diner. Everywhere I turn, she’s there.
"Hey, Bossman!" Caleb calls out.
Ever since he caught Aurora and me tangling tongues in the backroom, he’s been extra careful to call out and wait for a response before he comes to find me. As if we’re making out twenty-four hours a day in every part of the store.
I straighten and realize I’ve been rooted in the same spot near the front windows, stocking the same shelf I was twenty minutes ago. I'd been distracted when I noticed Aurora making a video with Van, the guy who has been selling Christmas trees in the lot around the corner of Christmas on Main.
“Yeah?” I clear my throat and look over at him.
“Do you want me to take over for you?” He gestures to the box of nails in my hand. “Maybe you need to take a break and get a cup of coffee or something?”
"Coffee, yeah." I put the box down on the shelf. “That sounds like a good idea.”
“Maybe get an extra one for Miss St. Clair next door,” he adds with a knowing grin.
Little punk.
"What, are you trying to play matchmaker or something?” I snap at him half-heartedly.
Caleb chuckles. “Well, I mean, I don’t think I have to try too hard after what I walked into?—”
“Okay,” I hold up my hand to stop him. “I’m going.”
The wind is wild when I head outside and make my way towards the café for some coffee. I order a black coffee for me and a peppermint monstrosity for Aurora. Caleb may still be in high school, but he isn’t wrong about using coffee as an excuse to talk to Aurora.
As I approach her shop, I can see through the front windows that she’s wrapping up one of the nutcrackers that I made for a customer.
I’ve been supplying Christmas on Main with wooden handmade goods for years now. Doris insisted when she found out that woodworking was something I had a passion for. Woodshop was the only class in school that I was any good at, and I used it to center me through all the chaos with my dad.
The twinkle of the bell above the door pulls me back from the darkness of my past and back into the light of my present—specifically Aurora. I keep waiting for the moment that my messed up past tells me to run, to sabotage what little happiness I can find in my life. But there is no hint of that little voice in my head when I see her.
“Thank you, dear,” the older woman says as I hold the door open for her. With her nutcracker wrapped in her hand, she walks slowly but steadily towards her car parked just in front of the shop.
The wind suddenly picks up, and all the paper snowflakes hanging in the shop whip around like they are in a wind tunnel. Some of them get tangled in the strings of the others hanging, and some rip into shreds.
“Oh no!” Aurora races around the counter to try and grab the ones that have fluttered to the floor.
“I’m sorry.” I enter the store and quickly close the door behind me.
Setting down the coffee on the counter, I kneel next to her to help pick up and see if we can salvage some of the pieces.
“It’s not you.” She holds up the destroyed holiday art in her hands. “It’s been happening all day. I guess my attempt to add some snow to this snowless town was a bust.”
I watch as she tosses the ripped snowflakes into the trash behind the counter.
“For what it’s worth, they looked really nice.” I shrug. “It’s the closest thing to snow I’ve seen in a long time.”
“Snow is magical.” She smiles brightly, stunning me in my spot. “Thirsty?”
“What?”
Aurora points to the two coffee cups.
“Oh, right,” I offer one to her. “I thought you might need a caffeine pick-me-up."
“Always.” She sighs in appreciation and comes around the counter to take it but trips on a loose cord.
She falls into me, and I manage to keep us both upright without spilling a single drop.
Aurora
It’s been five days, thirteen hours, and about twenty-seven minutes since Paz kissed me. Not that I'm counting or anything. I mean, how the hell do you kiss someone the way he kissed me and wait that long to talk to that person? Sure, it's the start of the Christmas season, and both our businesses have been busy, but it’s been torture waiting for him to make his next move. And it’s not like I can really talk about it with Allegra. I almost told her right after it happened, but I didn't know how she'd react. I was practically buzzing after the kiss. There was no way I was going to risk a look of disapproval, or worse, a lecture, to rain on my parade.
I know there are ten years between us, and some people could pass judgment on whatever kind of relationship we might have, but I've never met anyone like him before. Paz challenges me in a way that both infuriates me and thrills me.
“You should get some tape and secure that loose cord,” he says, helping me up.
I've been meaning to secure that since I found the antique Christmas village, packed up in the storage room, and brought it out onto the storeroom floor for display.
It was Allegra’s favorite when we were little kids. I thought it would help sell her on the idea of not wanting to sell the place. To tap into the nostalgia of happy childhood memories and being here with Aunt Doris.
Allegra was shocked when she saw it again for the first time in years. It was like watching little Allegra all over again as she smiled brightly, flipped the switch, and turned the lights on inside all the wooden houses.
“What’s going on in here?” Allegra asks from the doorway of the backroom.
Paz and I pull apart, like we’ve just been caught by our parents making out or something.
"Nothing. I tripped over the cord."
Allegra's brow furrows. "Are you hurt?"
"No, I"m fine. Paz caught me before I fell."
"Oh, good." Allegra glances between us before setting her gaze on him. "Did you need our help with something?"
"He was bringing me a coffee." I reach for the cup he offered.
"Yeah," he says. "I owed her one."
Allegra's gaze flits between Paz and me. I can see the wheels turning in her head, but I’d rather not give her time to draw any conclusions.
“I’m taking my break now,” I grab Paz by the hand and lead him out of the front door.
Once we are outside, he adjusts my hand in his so our fingers are interlaced. It’s a small gesture but one that says so much. We walk down the street without saying a word. The silence isn’t uncomfortable but peaceful. It’s the first moment I’ve had in weeks to stop thinking and worrying and just be present. It’s exhausting trying to document every moment and think about how it can be used to make more content. This time with Paz isn't for anyone but him and me.
We walk to the center of town and sit down on the steps that lead up to the gazebo. The wind kicks up, and I shiver slightly at the cooler air.
“Here.” Paz shrugs out of his flannel jacket and wraps it over my shoulders.
I set down my heavenly peppermint mocha and push my arms through the sleeves. The rich scent that is uniquely him surrounds me. I close my eyes and imagine for a second that it's his strong arms around me instead of the coat.
"Thanks." I turn to meet his gaze but find it already on me.
The look he gives is piercing. Not in an intrusive way, but one that makes me feel that he can see more of me than I ever let the rest of the world see.
“I haven’t stopped thinking about that kiss." He leans close but leaves a breath of space between us.
“Me either,” I breathe out.
He closes the distance. This time, the kiss isn't frantic but measured. Like he wants to savor this moment as much as I do. His arms loop around my waist and pull me closer. Something pokes the side of my waist.
“Ouch.” I pull away from his lips.
“What?” His brow knits with concern.
I reach into the pocket of his jacket and pull out a set of keys. It’s the keychain that I think is the culprit. It’s a small wooden snowflake attached to the ring of keys by a thin leather strap.
The memory of when I was a little girl giving this to a teenage boy flashes in my mind.
“Where did you get this?” I ask, looking up at him.
“Oh, um.” He glances down at it with a small smile. "A little girl gave it to me. I never knew her name. But it was the first kind thing anyone had done for me in a long time.” He looks up at me. “It was actually the first day I arrived in Central Coast.”
“I know,” I nod.
Paz tilts his head in confusion. “You know?”
“I know because I was there.”
Paz’s brow furrows in confusion for a moment until he fully contemplates what I’m telling him.
“That was you?”
“You looked so sad.” I trace a finger over one of the snowflake’s branches. “And the idea of snow always made me happy. I figured it would do the same for you.”
He looks down at it in my hands. “It did.”
I never thought I'd see that boy again. I guess I never did. But here he is, the man he became, sitting in front of me. A full-circle moment that seems impossible to have.
“What makes you happy now?” I ask, hoping so much that I already know the answer.
Paz brushes a lock of hair off my face and tucks it behind my ear. This simple touch from him sends a wonderful shiver through me, leaving a trail of tingles on my skin in its wake.
“Being here.” He brushes his lips against mine. “With you.”