Chapter 13 #2
I hold my breath and realize that for some reason, I need Mitch on my side. I don’t know why, but I need to have someone that knows me to convince me that I didn’t leave my sanity back in Vancouver.
“Why would she care about a small town festival? Is she from Gingerbread Grove?”
“No, she’s from Kamloops, but she loves Christmas so much it’s literally her job. Plus, she just got out of her own messy, long-distance relationship and wanted to help me out. She gets it.” I suck in a breath, muttering the last part, hoping he doesn’t hear.
“Help you out how? I’m not following any of this.”
I picture my best friend and business partner pacing the floor of his office, which is what he likes to do anytime he’s trying to solve a problem. Only now, I’m the problem that needs solving.
“She’s…uh…I don’t know how to say this.”
My eyes dart around the small office as if one of the framed pictures of hammers and screwdrivers has the answer. I just need to spit it out. Get it over with. Let Mitch have his burst of whatever reaction may come from him and we can move on.
“Just tell me, Matthew. How did you become entangled with a literal elf?”
“She’s pretending to be my girlfriend; everyone in town—including my mom—thinks we are in love. We ran into Cal and McKenzie and we’re signed up for the Yuletide Games. There was a lantern lighting, and it had our names on it, and I kissed her at the well.” I blurt out without taking a breath.
Avery must be rubbing off on me. That’s the most panic rambling I’ve ever done.
The line goes quiet for so long I pull my phone away from my ear to make sure our call didn’t get disconnected while I blurted out everything that happened in the last forty-eight hours.
“You there, Mitch?”
“Yeah, I’m just trying to process all of that. Did you hit your head somewhere during your trip? Are you hallucinating?”
“What? No—I didn’t hit my head.” I take my glasses off, using the back of my hand to rub my eyes before putting them back on. “Look, it just happened. It’s fine.”
“It’s fine,” he jokes. “This is the most un-Matthew like thing you’ve ever done. Wasn’t it just last year you were making jokes about the lanterns and they’re Survivor-like games?”
“Well, yes…”
“So why are you now taking part in them? Why do you even care what your mom or the town thinks?”
“I don’t…” I say, not really believing my own words.
“I mean, I do, but not in the way you think.” I wish I knew how to properly express how I felt, and how I got myself into this mess.
“I don’t know…I guess just the thought of seeing McKenzie with her mayor husband around town.
The fact that I’m back home with no one during the holidays, working at the shop, I swore I’d never run.
It sounded like a good idea when Avery suggested it. ”
“So, her name is Avery, huh?” I can hear the smile in Mitch’s voice. I don’t know which is worse, having Mitch rile me up about this whole fake dating nonsense, or having him encourage it.
“Ugh,” I groan, sinking into my father’s squeaky chair, letting my head fall back to rest on it. “This is why I don’t tell you things.”
“You tell me everything.” Mitch laughs. “But seriously, are you sure it’s just fake? I mean, this isn’t something that you normally do.”
“Yes, Mitch. This is fake.” I think. “It’s really not all that different from my relationship with Emily.”
“That’s not true. You never said what you two were doing was fake. You had feelings for each other; they just weren’t romantic ones that lead to a ‘happily ever after’ sort of love.”
“You’re talking in fairy tales now?” I huff.
“Don’t tell me you’ve never been roped into watching one of those sappy Christmas movies on TV and don’t change the subject. You and Emily were comfortable. You were both happy just letting it be what it was until it had run its course. This is nothing like what you two shared.”
“Well, what Avery and I have can’t be anything but fake because she doesn’t even live here.
She lives in Kamloops. I mean, I don’t even live here, so Kamloops to Vancouver would be even worse.
I’m not going to start up another long-distance relationship when we’ve both been burned by them in the past.”
“Are you trying to convince me or you?”
I don’t answer him because I’m not sure what to say to that.
“Look, you can’t let your experience with McKenzie dictate your dating status for the rest of your life.”
“And you’re one to talk?” I know I’m toeing the line of going too far, especially considering Mitch’s dating history, but I can’t help it; he hit a nerve.
He’s saying all the things back to me that I’ve said to myself, but it still feels raw, like an open wound that won’t heal.
I don’t know how to let it heal, but now it’s making me say hurtful things that just slip off my tongue that I can’t take back.
“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said that.”
I let out a deep breath, realizing that bringing up the past stirs up a lot of the same memories from Gingerbread Grove that Mitch has. He also has heartbreak within these city limits, and it’s not something he needs to be reminded of just because mine came rushing back up to the surface.
“No, you’re right. I’m not one to talk, but I’m your best friend. I want to make sure that you’re doing what’s best for you.”
“Can we quit it with the emotional talk? Nothing is happening with Avery and me. We’re not even friends. We are just two strangers helping each other out for a short time. I drove her to Kamloops. She’s helping me save face around town; it’s fine.”
“Strangers who kiss in the town’s secret well,” Mitch chuckles.
I groan, instantly regretting telling him that.
I hear the bell above the door chime and excited female voices through the door.
Opening it slightly, I peer out to see Avery laughing with my mom and June, looking beautiful in her grey parka with pink fur trim.
Her dark jeans and high black boots make her look very different from the distraught elf I picked up at the airport.
I can’t take my eyes off her. Even from here, hidden away in the office down the hallway, the way her bright blue eyes shine under her grey toque takes my breath away.
“Matthew, you still there?” Mitch’s voice rings in my ear.
“Ugh, yeah. Look, I have to call you back,” I say, opening the door and walking back into the store, never taking my eyes off her.
At that moment, she turns and her smile lands on me.
It changes slightly, becomes a little wider.
It’s then I know that it’s almost like a secret she has just for me, and my heart warms knowing I can have that affect on her.
“She just walked in, didn’t she?” Mitch laughs.
“Not now, Mitch. I’ll call you later once I have the Tristar project completed.”
“Uh, huh. Okay there, lover boy.” He continues to laugh as he hangs up.
“Matthew! There you are. Avery here was just telling June and I about how you two met.”
I freeze, drawing a blank on what we had agreed on saying. Now, with my mom and June looking at me with a mix of awe and suspicion, I’m wondering if this will all be over before it ever really starts.