Chapter Fourteen
Don’t wait for the perfect moment. Take the moment and make it perfect!
—Aryn Kyle
The bustling department store was a riot of Christmas colors and tinkling carols as Hollis and Mallory navigated the aisles, their shopping cart gradually filling with items for the local boys home.
Hollis couldn’t help but steal glances at Mallory, still hardly believing that this was their first official date.
“Okay, next on the list is… warm socks.” Hollis consulted the crumpled paper in his hand as Mallory steered them toward the appropriate aisle.
“Socks are always a good gift,” she mused.
Hollis chuckled, a hint of melancholy in his voice. “You’d think so, wouldn’t you? But one Christmas at the boys home, all I got was a pack of new socks and a Lakers hat. The socks weren’t even my size.”
Mallory’s eyes widened. “I’m sorry.”
He shrugged it off. “I gave the socks to another kid who could use them. But, man, I’d been hoping for a Green Bay Packers hat. Guess beggars can’t be choosers, right?”
Mallory reached out and squeezed his arm gently. “You weren’t a beggar. You were a child who deserved so much more than you got.”
Her touch sent a warmth through him, and Hollis found himself opening up further about a topic he rarely talked about with anyone. “It’s funny how those memories stick with you, you know? But hey, it made me appreciate what I have now.”
As they continued shopping, picking up toiletries, school supplies, and warm clothing, Hollis found himself having a better time than he’d had in ages. Their hands brushed as they reached for gifts, and each accidental touch sent a jolt of electricity through him.
“How ’bout you?” Hollis asked as they debated between two different board games to put in the shopping cart. “What were your Christmases like growing up?”
Mallory’s expression turned wistful. “Oh, the holidays were nice. Nan and Grandpa Mickey always tried their best. But… I was always afraid to ask for too much. I didn’t want to be a burden, you know?”
Hollis nodded. “I understand that.”
“I usually asked for things I knew Maddie wanted,” she said. “That way, she’d get more presents.”
“Sounds like you and I have more in common than I would have thought,” he said softly.
Mallory’s eyes twinkled as she looked up at him. “You think?”
Hollis offered a playful smirk. “The difference is, your hardships made you the ‘good girl’ while mine made me the ‘bad boy.’”
She laughed, the sound warming Hollis from the inside out. “Oh, please.” She nudged him with her elbow. “I’ll have you know, I had my share of rebellion… And you’re not the bad boy anymore, Hol. You’re just… a really nice one.”
Her words hit him with an unexpected blow. He had to look away momentarily to compose himself. When he turned back, Mallory was studying the boys home wish list intently.
“Looks like we’ve got everything.” She ran her finger down the items. “Check. Check. Check… Oh, wait, no. There’s one more item we need.”
“What’s that?”
Mallory steered their cart toward the men’s clothing department. He followed, wondering what on earth they’d forgotten. He’d been tracking the list as they’d walked through the large department store.
He watched Mallory scan the racks with purpose, finally zeroing in on a display of sports merchandise.
“Aha!” She plucked a Green Bay Packers hat from the shelf and held it out to him. “We’re getting this.”
His throat was tight as he stared at the hat that had been on his teenage Christmas wish. “Mal, that’s not on the list…”
“Maybe not this list.” She tapped the paper. “But it was on a list at one point. I’m buying this for you as an early Christmas gift, and I’m not taking no for an answer.”
Hollis’s fingers brushed against hers as he took the familiar green-and-gold ball cap. He cleared his throat, some part of him wishing he hadn’t told Mallory the story about this hat he’d wanted because now he felt vulnerable and was fighting back tears.
Stepping closer, she placed the hat on his head. “There.” She adjusted the cap slightly. “It’s not a Santa hat, but it looks good on you.”
“Thank you. This means more than you know.”
Mallory’s smile was soft and understanding. “We have a lot in common, remember? I think I have an idea.”
They stood there for a moment, lost in each other’s eyes, the bustling store fading away in the background. That’s when he knew. It wasn’t the hat that was on his wish list this year. It was the woman in front of him.
“Come on,” Mallory said finally, breaking the spell. “Let’s pay for all this stuff and get it to the boys home. I bet they’re excited for their Christmas surprises.”
After paying at the checkout, they loaded the gifts into Hollis’s truck as the winter sun was setting, casting a golden glow over the parking lot. Hollis turned to Mallory, taking in her flushed cheeks and bright eyes.
“That was so much fun,” she gushed.
“Yeah. Thanks for coming with me today. And for the hat.” He tapped the brim of the cap.
“I’ve always loved shopping, but buying things for kids was extra fun,” she said once she was seated beside him in his truck.
Hollis shopped for the boys home every year, but he’d never enjoyed it as much as this afternoon. “Well, let’s keep the fun going.”
She gave him a curious look. “What do you have in mind?”
“It’s a surprise.” He cast her a sideward glance and put his truck in motion. “You’ll love it. Trust me.” They’d had to drive outside of town to go shopping, so the ride back to Bloom was lengthy, which Hollis didn’t mind. Twenty minutes later, he pulled into the parking lot for the Bloom Café.
“Mm. I think I like this surprise,” Mallory said with a growing grin. “More hot cocoa? Are we planning to sit inside?”
He shook his head and leaned forward to glance up at the sky through his windshield. “No way. It’ll be dark soon.”
Mallory paused before pushing open the passenger door. “You’re a secret werewolf? I knew it.”
He opened the door to the Bloom Café for her as they walked in. “Not a werewolf. Just a secret lover of Christmas lights. And I know where all the best ones are. Shh. Don’t tell anyone.”
She pretended to zip her lips. “Secret’s safe with me.”
Mallory sighed as Hollis drove slowly around some of the older neighborhoods in Bloom thirty minutes later. “I love Christmas lights.” The houses were massive with large open yards lit up with elaborate decorations and festive scenes.
“There was this foster family who took me to look at lights one year,” Hollis shared.
“The Dusters. They liked to pile in their minivan and drive painstakingly slow around neighborhoods like these to admire the lights. I remember thinking, What’s the big deal?
It’s just lights.” He pulled up to a stop sign and stopped, even though there were no other cars around.
“But as I watched this family and their real kids ohhing and ahhing, I kind of slipped into the excitement of it all. At first, I was trying to fit in. I was always trying to fit in.” Pressing the gas, he let his truck continue rolling forward.
“But you like the lights now?” she asked.
He stole the hundredth glance at her tonight. “Oh, yeah. They’re not boring anymore.”
“Definitely not boring. Magical. My grandpa Charlie used to take Maddie and me to see the lights.”
“Magical with you for sure.” He shook his head and laughed quietly at himself. “I’m definitely cheesy tonight.”
“I think you’re being sweet.”
“Good. That’s what I’m going for.” Hollis rolled into a vacant parking area in front of Bloom Lake and turned off the engine. From across the lake, a million more bright and colorful lights could be seen from the houses on the other side.
“Why didn’t you stay with that family? The one who drove around looking at lights? They sound nice.”
“They were. So nice that I messed up their vibe.” He sighed. “Not their fault. It’s just who I was back then. I was angry and rebellious. I pushed buttons on purpose.”
“Because you wanted them to send you away?” she asked.
“Because I wanted them to prove that they weren’t going to send me away. I know. It was a messed-up plan.”
She reached for his hand. The feel of her soft skin covering his sent shivers down his spine. He looked over at Mallory and noticed the tears in her eyes.
“Hey, what’s wrong?” Because making his date cry was not on his bingo card for tonight.
“I just wish I would’ve been one of those people who proved that you were worth the extra effort. Instead of being one of those—”
“Instead of being one of those who discarded me,” he supplied. “Mal, you were one of the first people to prove I was worth more.” Shifting in the seat, he angled his body toward her. “Actually, let me rephrase. You were one of the first people to make me want to be more than I was.”
She looked away for a millisecond. “I’m not any good at this.”
“At what?” he asked.
She looked at him again. “I don’t really go on many dates. It’s hard for me to relax, and I certainly don’t know how to respond when someone is showering me with compliments and telling me how I’ve changed their life. I just… I don’t know what to say. Or what to do.”
His hand covered hers. “You’re doing a fairly good job right now… If it helps you feel better, I’m not any good at this stuff either. All I know is—” He shook his head.
“What?” she asked.
He weighed whether to tell her. “I want to kiss you right now, maybe more than I’ve ever wanted to kiss anyone in my entire life. But I don’t want to ever do anything you’re not comfortable with.”
Mallory’s eyes sparkled with the lights reflecting off the water into the front windshield. Then she leaned in his direction. “Maybe I want you to kiss me too.”
His heart felt like a fish that had flopped right out of that lake in front of them, landing on the banks, gasping for breath that could only be found on her lips. “Maybe?”
“Definitely.”