Chapter 3
The bell rang over the door of the general market I stepped into. I was officially and finally in Sugarloaf.
Winter was proving to be colder than I’d expected when I’d first booked my impromptu little getaway.
An unpredictable storm hit, making the roads a lot slicker and colder than I liked to drive through.
But thankfully, I was almost there. I’d just stopped to stock up on groceries before heading to the cabin to hunker down in nothing but peace and quiet.
This storm could turn into a blizzard for all I cared. I wouldn’t mind a week of being snowed in all alone with nothing but great snacks, wine, and a Tbr list a mile long. I had no plans of getting back into my car for an entire week, whether it was sunny or snowing.
“Hello, honey, you need any help?” the older lady behind the register called out. I smiled politely, shaking my head.
“No, but thank you.”
“New to town?” she asked, and the smile on my face grew. I forgot how nosy people could be to newcomers in small towns.
“Just visiting. I rented a cabin for the holiday.”
“Oh, that’s nice, honey! With your family?” Yup, small towns were super nosy!
“Oh no, no family.”
“Friends?” she guessed. I pressed my lips together.
“No.”
“A boyfriend?” She winked, and I snorted. This lady would love Rosie and her manifestations. There was no boyfriend on the horizon for me. Thank goodness!
“No, nothing like that. No boyfriend.”
“Oh.” Her smile slightly dimmed. “You’re all alone.”
“Yep.” I grabbed a shopping cart. I didn’t want to be rude, but the quicker I got my shopping done, the sooner I could get to the cabin and avoid the crazy snow that was falling.
“You’re all alone for the holiday?” she repeated, like it was the worst idea ever, when it was the most peaceful thing I could have imagined.
“Yeah.” I hated the pity I saw in her eyes. “I needed a break.” I felt the need to share with the woman whose name I didn’t even know.
“Oh, okay…” She nodded, looking at me like I was some kind of three-headed creature. “Well, if you get bored, there’s a New Year’s party at the tavern, off Fourth Street, that starts about five and goes on till about noon on the first,” she shared with a grin. I laughed quietly.
“That sounds like a party,” I noted, and she chuckled.
“Oh, it definitely is!” she confirmed with a cheery tone. I thanked her before making my way down the aisles.
Vacation calories don’t count. Or at least that would be my motto for this trip.
I grabbed pasta and sauces, some veggies and fruit out of habit before making my way down to the cookie aisle.
“Shit,” a deep voice cursed just a second before metal on metal clanged as our carts collided.
“Oh!” I squeaked, and when I looked up at the man in front of me, I blinked.
He was beautiful.
Literally.
The man looked like one of those ridiculously handsome, masculine models whom Rosie worked with. Like someone who had jumped out from a Ralph Lauren website.
“I’m sorry about that,” he apologized but didn’t blink.
I didn’t either, for that matter.
Something inside of me came awake at the sight of him. It’s just lust. It’s because he’s pretty to look at, I tried to remind myself, but I couldn’t believe it. Deep down, there was something about him that felt weirdly … familiar.
“It was my fault. I was in a hurry to get cookies,” I shared and felt like the world’s biggest nerd. “I mean…”
“Great minds think alike.” He pointed at his cart. My eyes dipped down, and right there were two packages of cookies. Not just that, but they were my very own weird favorite two cookies the girls always teased me about.
“You like chocolate wafers?” I asked, and I could have sworn the handsome man blushed beneath the dark sexy scruff that covered his jawline with gray sprinkled in, giving a hint about his age.
“I know it’s not a popular cookie but…” He shrugged. God, it made him so… endearing. Sweet. Almost oddly approachable.
“They’re my favorite, too,” I blurted, and he gave me the most beautiful smile. My heart felt like it wanted to do somersaults in my chest. “Well, umm… those and Fudge Stripes. I love those, too.” I was a little lost with what to say. “They’re… great.” And you’re a nerd! Stop talking!
“The best,” he agreed. His eyes dropped to peruse my cart. “Having a party?” I could see why he would assume that.
With five bottles of wine and the amount of pasta I’d tossed in, not to mention the chips and trail mix I’d added in there. Again, vacation calories didn’t count.
“Not even a little bit,” I answered honestly. My face felt hot, and I wasn’t sure why. I wasn’t shy or subdued, even in front of handsome men. That never fazed me. Until the man in front of me knocked his cart into mine.
He was seriously gorgeous with an air of a man who was not only confident out in the world but behind closed doors.
His warm, chocolatey gaze roamed my body, and all I wanted, for the first time in a long time, was for him to like what he saw.
Please, daddy. The thought made me still.
What the hell was wrong with me?! Daddy?
I’d never called anyone that. Not only that, but I wasn’t there to find anyone.
But what if love finds you? I could almost hear Rosie’s voice whisper in my head.
“Well…” I started to say but got lost in his beautiful stare. God, his eyes were beautiful. He felt familiar even though I knew I’d never laid eyes on the man. What if love finds you? Yeah, not on this trip.
“Well,” he repeated, clearing his throat, but neither of us moved.
We just stood there.
Staring at one another in silence as Mariah Carey sang over the speakers about what she wanted for Christmas with our shopping carts between us.
Something felt different; I just couldn’t put my finger on it.
It’s called low blood sugar. You’re probably just hungry!
I mentally scolded myself. I needed to stop at the burger joint I passed before parking at the grocery store and grab a bite before heading to the cabin.
But what if this is what Abby and Tabitha felt when they first met their guys?
“Well, umm, I should…” What was wrong with me! I wanted to laugh at myself. I wasn’t this girl. I didn’t do meet-cutes or meet-ups or meet-anything!
I didn’t get crushes!
Especially on men whose name I didn’t even know.
“Right, sorry.” He moved his cart left when I moved right, and metal clanged as we collided again.
We tried again. This time, he moved right, and I went left, and we did it again.
After bumping our carts twice, we both stopped and laughed.
He ran his fingers through his perfectly coiffed hair, and I wondered what it would feel like if it were my fingers running through it. Stop it! a voice chastised.
“I’m sorry.” His laugh sounded almost nervous. Yeah, right! Like I could make a guy like that nervous. “I’m Ash. Asher,” he introduced himself, side-stepping his almost empty cart to extend his hand.
“Ember,” I answered, and for some reason, I took his hand. Heat with a touch of an electric zip tingled as our palms met.
“Nice to meet you, Ember. Maybe we’ll bump into each other again.”
I opened my mouth to say it would be highly unlikely since I was going to hunker down until the new year but shut it. He didn’t know it. The chances of ever seeing him or a man like him who elicited such an instant visceral physical reaction was slim to none. I pulled my hand back.
“Maybe,” I mumbled. Invite him over! I could hear Rosie’s voice in my head, but there was no way I would do that. He could be a serial killer or cheater for all I knew. I sure as hell wasn’t going to invite him over to a cabin I’d rented. That’s how you ended up on Dateline.
“I should get my shopping done. Snow looks bad.”
“Right, shit, right.” He moved, and this time, I passed his cart as he waved. “Nice to meet you, Ember.” I smiled and waved back.
He was very nice to look at. Maybe if I weren’t so burnt out from work and, well, life, because it felt like all I did was work, I might have given him my number.
But I didn’t.
I also didn’t see him again at the store. Not even a glimpse while I was in line at the front of the store before I checked out. Something I might have regretted by the time I was loading bags into my car before shaking the thought away and heading to my little getaway in the woods.