Chapter Eleven
His shift was over.
Justin parked the snow plow in the municipal garage. With a couple of employees out sick, he would be driving one of the plows for the foreseeable future. It hadn’t been a bad shift. The snow came down at a steady pace.
Driving the plow had given him plenty of quiet time to sort out his latest plot hole.
He’d had his nose in a book since he was a kid.
He loved to visit other worlds and experience adventures.
Watching it on television was okay, but he felt a more intimate connection to the characters and action when he was reading a book.
The imagery would come to life in his imagination.
In school, he’d always aced creative writing. His teachers had encouraged him to continue writing, but back then he’d been busy with football and baseball. He didn’t have time to think about those sorts of things. But now he found himself wanting to do more than fix things and plow roads.
He’d thought of joining a critique group, but he hadn’t worked up the nerve. Instead, he’d connected online with a couple of beta readers. They were very good about telling him what worked for them and what didn’t work.
Now it was time to head home and type up the ideas he’d dreamed up that day. But before he could go home, he had something to do. Justin glanced at the book in his work locker titled: A Gardener’s Dream.
When he’d been at Jingle Bell Books, he’d been so busy…trying to what? Avoid looking into Felicity’s mesmerizing green eyes? Keep from telling her how much he’d missed her? Asking her to go to dinner so they could catch up?
But he couldn’t do any of those things. After all, Felicity was the one who had ended things between them. And even though it had been years ago, he’d learned a lesson—not to trust her with his feelings.
So, maybe she would have gone to dinner with him, and she’d have told him about her life in New York. And he would have hung on her every word because there was just something about her that to this day still drew him in.
“Hey, what are you still doing here?” his brother Michael asked.
Justin shrugged on his coat. “I was just about to leave. Unless there’s something you need.”
Michael shook his head. “I’m good. I wonder how things are going for Parker. I know Belle’s out of her mind with worry about her dog.”
“I still can’t believe that anyone in Kringle Falls would steal a dog.”
“I agree. Whoever did it isn’t from Kringle Falls.” Michael nodded to the book in Justin’s hand. “Since when have you taken up gardening?”
“I haven’t. They gave me the wrong book when I was at the bookshop.”
“Uh-huh.” He made it sound like he didn’t believe him. “I also heard that Felicity is back in town and working at the bookshop.” Michael sent him a knowing smile. “She wouldn’t be the reason you’re hanging out there, would it?”
“No.” The answer came out too quickly and with a bit too much force. “I’m not hanging out there. You know I like to read.”
“I do. I just don’t know how you accidentally bought a gardening book.” Michael grinned as he walked away.
His brother was not amusing. Not in the least. With an inward groan, Justin grabbed his stuff, and in frustration closed the locker with a little more force than normal.
He headed outside to his pickup. It was a short drive to the bookshop. Then again, it was a short drive to anywhere in Kringle Falls. He should stop and get a coffee before heading over to the school to work on the set for the play. Thankfully, it was close to being finished.
But by the time he had the thought about the coffee, he was already past the Kringle Cup Café. He decided to grab the coffee after he exchanged the book on the seat next to him for the correct one.
He pulled into a parking spot a little way down the road from the bookshop. As he walked back, he glanced in the bookshop window. Staring back at him was the most adorable puppy.
Wait. What is a dog doing in the bookshop window?
Then he realized the lifelike puppy must be a stuffed animal. It had to be a part of the Christmas display with a miniature Christmas tree.
He looked away but caught movement out of the corner of his eye. The puppy was moving. That definitely wasn’t a toy. Since when did Connie have a dog?
He moved to the door that had a pine wreath adorned with white twinkle lights and a big red bow. When he opened the door of the bookshop, he braced for the puppy to come running over and jumping up on him like Colin’s dogs always did. But the dog didn’t come to him. Perhaps it was shy.
He walked toward the checkout counter as he continued looking around for the puppy. He bumped into someone.
“Sorry.” He turned his head and stared straight into the most beautiful emerald green eyes. “Felicity.”
She smiled, causing his heart to skip a beat. “It’s me.”
The fuzzy sensations she evoked in him made him uncomfortable. When he spoke, it came out grouchier than he intended. “Why aren’t you watching where you’re going?”
“Me?” The smile fell from her face.
Not wanting to continue this line of conversation, he said, “There’s a dog in here. Did you see it?”
“Of course, I did.”
He sighed. Why was it that every time he was around her, he either lost his ability to speak or he said all of the wrong things?
He swallowed hard and tried again. “Did Connie get a dog?”
As though the puppy sensed they were talking about it, the pup came running over. Felicity bent over and scooped it up into her arms. “Nope.”
“You got a dog?” He voiced his thoughts before he could stop them. The words just kept tumbling out. “You’re staying in Kringle Falls? Permanently?”
“Slow down. You didn’t let me finish. I’m dog-sitting Sunny until Merry Kringle returns from a meeting.”
“Oh.” That was a relief in so many ways. Realizing that Felicity was looking at him, he said, “That was very generous of you.”
“I don’t mind.” She placed Sunny on the countertop. The pup immediately went to investigate Justin. “She’s really laid back.”
His brows rose. “Sounds like you’re tempted to adopt her.”
“I can’t deny it. The idea is very tempting…but I can’t. I doubt I’d be allowed to have a pet in the apartment.”
His brows scrunched together. “You don’t know if your apartment building allows pets?”
A bit of color crept into her cheeks. “I, uh…I wasn’t interested in getting a pet.” She glanced downward. “So, I never paid attention to whether they were allowed or not.”
His attention returned to the dog. He reached out to scratch Sunny behind one of her floppy ears. “You’re a cutie.”
“I think she likes you,” Felicity said. “Maybe you could foster her.”
He took a step back. He waved his hand to ward off the thought. “Oh, no. I don’t think so.”
Felicity reached for the puppy before it fell off the edge of the counter. She held up the puppy and made a pouty face. “How can you say no to such an adorable face?”
He looked directly at Sunny. “No.” Then he focused on Felicity, and for a moment he forgot what he was going to say. It took him a moment to remember. “No.”
His refusal to consider adopting the dog caused the smile to fall from Felicity’s face. He regretted his boldness. He’d enjoyed the brief warmth of her smile. It’d been a very long time since she’d smiled at him. He’d forgotten how her happiness acted as a magnet and drew him in.
And then just as quickly he reminded himself not to get close to Felicity again. He’d kept a wide berth around her over the years…until now.
There was absolutely no way he was setting himself up to be hurt again. Once was more than enough.
Felicity sighed and gently put Sunny on the floor. “I have your book behind the counter. I’m really sorry about the mix-up. I don’t know how that happened.”
He swallowed hard. He knew how it happened.
He’d been utterly distracted by her mere presence.
She could have given him one of those books with a bare-chested guy on the cover, and he would have happily paid for it before taking it home.
Only later would he have realized it was most definitely the wrong book.
She’d always distracted him. He couldn’t believe she could still weave a spell over him. What was wrong with him that he’d let that happen?
She processed his refund for the gardening book and then rang up his fantasy book. “I remember how much you loved to read. Remember we used to exchange books?”
He nodded. “I remember you only liked the ones that had some romance in them.”
She held up the paperback he’d just bought. “Any romance in it?”
A hint of a smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. “I don’t know if I should answer. Maybe I should let you read the series to find out.”
She looked at the cover before she turned it over and perused the back cover blurb. Her gaze rose to meet his. She arched a brow. “So, you don’t know if it has any romance?”
He remembered how relentless she could be when she was curious about something. It was best to just answer her. “Yes. There’s some.”
She smiled. “But it’s not the main storyline. It must be good if you’re on book eleven in the series. I’m jealous.”
Wait. She was jealous? Of what? Did he miss something? Should he ask what she was talking about? Or just pretend he hadn’t heard her?
Her words echoed in his head. He swallowed hard. “Jealous of what?
“Since I started working in publishing, I rarely have time to read just for the fun of it. Most of the time I read submissions from agents. Some of them are good. Others are so-so. But every now and then, I find a diamond in the rough. It makes reading all of the other manuscripts worth it.”
It made him wonder what category she’d put his manuscript in. The good? The so-so? Or another category for the awful ones? The thought left a sour feeling in the pit of his stomach.
Then he realized she would never read it because he didn’t write romance. He breathed easier.
When he saw her once more checking out his new book, he said, “If you’re interested, I could loan you the first book in the series.”