Chapter 23 #2
“Atlas,” she deadpans. “You were just making a big deal about your boner. You make big deals about everything.”
“Uh, because that boner was the size of a log.”
She pauses our stride and turns toward me. “You know what? I don’t think I can do this.” She lets go of my hand, and before she can even move, I wrap my arm around her waist and pull her into my chest, making her laugh.
Whispering into her ear, I say, “I know it’s intimidating, babe, but it will fit.”
“Oh my God, I really can’t stand you right now.
” She laughs as I kiss her neck. She turns and loops her arms around my neck as we stand on the edge of Ornament Park.
She pulls me down and kisses me on the mouth, letting her lips part and teasing me so goddamn hard that it takes me a second to steady myself when she pulls away.
Whispering, she says, “It might have been a log, but I’m the one who knows how to make said log grow, so don’t forget that. ”
“Babe,” I say in a daze. “Trust me, I’ll never be forgetting that.”
Then I take her hand, and we cross the street together.
Subtly, over the town speakers, “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” by Mel Torme plays in the background while families and couples walk out of the Polar Freeze, heading right to Santa’s house.
The faux gas streetlamps are lit up, and there’s a briskness in the air and not a cloud in sight as stars glitter above us.
It’s the perfect night in Kringle with the fresh snow still covering the trees and the colored lights bouncing off the white of the snow. We couldn’t have asked for a better evening.
“Where are we headed?” she asks, pulling me in close.
“Antlers Antiques. Thought it might give you some inspiration for your cottages.”
“That’s sweet.”
“And then I thought we’d head over to Prancer’s Libations. I have a table reserved for us. It can get busy at night, so I wanted to secure a place in the back.”
“Thoughtful. Thank you.”
“Of course. Had to impress you on our first date.”
“Would you call this our first date?” she asks as we walk past the post office. “You wouldn’t consider Cupid Christmas Night our first date?”
“No.” I shake my head. “I didn’t ask you out. We just happened to hang out that night.”
“And kiss.”
“Yes, and kiss, thanks to the mistletoe. But that wasn’t a date. Neither was last night at my house. This is a date. I asked you out, you said yes, and now we’re doing something together.”
“I see. Well then, I’m excited to be on our first date.”
I lean over and kiss the top of her head. “Me too.”
Betty
“Okay, I already love it in here,” I say as we step through the door of Antlers Antiques. The first thing that greets us is a gaggle of old animatronic Santa Clauses, all with their fair share of wear and tear . . . and charm.
“It’s a pretty unique place,” Atlas says as he places his hand on my lower back.
“My mom has found quite a few things here that she’s used on the farm for decoration.
Sherry Conrad owns the store. When she first opened, she’d scavenge garage sales and online forums looking for vintage Christmas decorations, and then as her reputation grew, people started bringing their items to her to sell. ”
“Wow, I’m impressed,” I say as I run my hand over a vintage sign that says trees. “This would look cute on your farm, right next to the old red truck you have on display that people take pictures in.”
He takes in the sign. “You know, you’re right. Adds a hint of green to the picture. I think I might grab it, surprise my mom.”
“And if you moved the truck over to that grove of trees that points you toward where to cut, it could be a really great photo opportunity that includes the entire farm, not just the truck. With the sign addition, I can see people using that as their Christmas card picture.”
He slowly turns to look at me. “Well, isn’t that a good idea?”
I smile. “I think it is.”
“Me too.”
“Give me one second.” He heads over to Sherry Conrad, who’s sitting at the cash register, reading on an e-reader. “Hey, Sherry, think I can have some sold stickers?”
She glances up at Atlas, and I watch as she smiles brightly when her eyes meet his. “Of course, dear. Goodness, I didn’t even see you come in—” She glances in my direction and then looks back at Atlas. “Oh my, did you bring a lady friend with you?”
“I did,” he says. “A lady friend who is on a first date with me.”
Sherry presses her hand to her chest. “And you brought her here?”
“Yeah, trying to spark some inspiration in her, and it seems like I already have.” He holds up the stickers she gave him. “We’ll be around. Might have a few purchases today; we’ll see. That tree sign I’m already claiming.”
“You know, you’re the first one I thought of when I saw it,” she says.
“So glad you can give it a home.” Then she turns to me and wiggles her fingers.
“Hello, dear. Have a look around and let me know if you have any questions. I added a new room in the back, all vintage gifts. Might be one of my favorite additions.”
“Looking forward to it,” I say as I move over to a section of old boxes and milk crates, my mind starting to run wild with ideas. Atlas joins me, placing his hand on my back again as I move around the crates. “These are so cool.”
“My mom uses those for display.”
“Yes, that’s where I’ve seen them before. I thought it was a cute way to add height to shelves.”
“Where would you use them?”
“I don’t know, but I definitely want to take a picture, maybe add it to a vision board.”
“Good idea,” he says as I snap a picture, and we move down the aisle.
“From the small ideas I had today, one of the things I thought about was having an overarching theme for the cottages. Like . . . the Candy Cane Cottages, something like that.”
“Cole and Storee would enjoy that idea,” Atlas says with an eye roll.
“Why do you say that?” I ask, confused.
“Do you not know what they’ve done with a candy cane?”
“No,” I say on a laugh. “What did they do?”
He leans in close to my ear and whispers, “Sexual things.”
“Oof.” I clench my legs together. “Wouldn’t that burn?”
“You would think, but they at least had the intelligence to do it with a pineapple-flavored candy cane. I didn’t ask for specifics.
All I know is that it’s something they have done more than once, the first time being in the reindeer barn, and that it gets .
. . sticky. So yeah, they would like your Candy Cane Cottages. ”
I sigh, thinking about it. “Ugh, does it make the idea weird now?”
“No.” He shakes his head. “They made it weird with pineapple candy canes. You can keep it classy with the classic peppermint. Plus, you could find a lot of cool stuff here to help decorate. Not to mention Candy Cane Cottages has a really nice ring to it.”
“I was thinking the same thing,” I say, feeling giddy about it. “And I actually took a look at my cottage’s brand, and they have smaller versions that are made from logs but painted in red.”
“I like that,” he says. “I really like that actually.”
“They’d pop beautifully against the trees, and with some lit paths with red and white lights, it could be a really pretty place to stay.”
He smiles down at me. “I could not agree more.”
“You mean that?”
“Listen, I won’t lie to you. This idea is awesome and something we need in this town. I want you to succeed, so I wouldn’t lie about thinking you have a strong idea.”
That brings a smile to my face, because I want to succeed too.
We keep walking down the aisles, picking out some things that could possibly work for the main house, such as decorations and signs.
Sherry lets me know she has no problem putting some things on hold for me until Uncle Dwight gets back, so I place a few sold stickers on some signs that I think would be perfect, one in particular for the hot tub area I’d love to set up.
When we reach the back, we head into a separate room that must be the new one Sherry was talking about, because it’s decked out in toys and gifts, and a life-size cardboard cutout of Michael Jordan.
“Christ, I’m surprised that’s here and Ansel hasn’t purchased it yet,” Atlas says, pointing to Michael. “He’s a huge fan of Michael. I was more of a Shaquille O’Neal kind of guy.”
“Because he’s tall like you?” I ask.
“Well, Shaq has quite a few inches on me, but yeah, I was center on my team and towered over a lot of my teammates and opponents.”
“Were you any good?” I ask as I pick up a clarinet with Kenosha Kickers engraved on the side. I set it back down, wondering who would want someone’s used clarinet. Those things are slobbered on.
“I was all right. I think I still hold the record at the school for most rebounds.”
“Ooo, stud,” I say with a wink and then move over to an old plastic case with a snap button. I open it up to find a collection of Micro Machines, all dented and looking like they’ve had better days. “Looks like someone either got their collection donated or donated it themselves.”
“Felix used to collect these,” Atlas says, picking one up. “He had a whole lot of them. Ansel would fuck with him and hide one every once in a while. Drove him nuts.”
“Ansel seems like a troublemaker.”
“Yeah, to say the least.” Atlas sighs and then picks up a snow globe. “Hey, look at this.” He shakes it up and brings it toward me. In the center is a red cabin with large candy canes on the side of the house. “If this isn’t a sign, I don’t know what is.”
“Wow,” I say taking the snow globe from him. “This is . . . this is exactly what I envisioned.”
“Perfect.” He lifts my chin and then gently kisses me. “Then I’ll get it for you, something to remind you of the vision and goal.”
“Oh, you don’t have to do that.”
“I know I don’t, but I want to.”
He takes the globe from me and then grabs my hand, leading me around the rest of the room. But instead of taking a look at everything else around me, I can’t stop looking up at him, and of course, he catches me.
“What?” he asks.
“You’re really sweet. Probably the sweetest guy I’ve ever met.”
“My parents raised me well,” he says.
“I can tell. You’re really supportive, and I appreciate that.
When I was starting my other business, my boyfriend at the time really didn’t get it.
It was one of the reasons why we split up.
He said I was spending too much time thinking about the store, and I didn’t understand why he didn’t comprehend the importance of how much time and effort I put into it. ”
“Sounds like an inconsiderate douche. You’re better off without him.”
I squeeze his hand. “I think I am.”