Chapter Eight
Brandon and Sabrina had somehow found time to decorate the private dining room before they’d left.
Usually serving up to twenty guests, they’d pushed several tables out of the room, dimmed the lights, and lit the table up with flameless candles and a holiday floral display.
Along the back wall was one of those built-in gas fireplaces.
It wasn’t Caleb’s taste, usually, but they’d installed a faux stone wall around it.
A far cry from the main dining room, crowded with guests sharing a holiday meal.
To complete the romantic atmosphere, instrumental holiday music flowed through speakers hidden in the ceiling. It’d be a beautiful place to have dinner.
With a girlfriend or a wife. Not a woman he’d met two days ago.
He’d texted Sabrina a choice string of words but given that they were making their way down the mountain, they all bounced back with that red exclamation point, claiming they were undeliverable.
Just his luck. God, what had he been thinking, inviting Emma in the first place? She’d just ended her relationship. He’d just started his job here. It was an all-around idiotic idea.
He gazed around the room. Emma really was going to think this was a date. He thought about de-Christmas-ing the room, but it wasn’t like he had the time. He closed the door behind him and walked to the bathroom across the hall for what felt like the tenth time since he’d left his cabin.
The nicest clothes he had were his lodge uniform. In a size that fit, finally.
On his way out of the bathroom, he bumped into someone. He caught sight of the dining room uniform—dark blue trousers and a dark green and blue plaid flannel. It was one of the waiters. They’d hired on a lot of college kids home for the season as temporary workers.
Caleb looked up and found the one member of the wait staff with whom he was familiar—Dutch, Sabrina’s best friend Eleanor’s son. They’d lived with Sabrina until last summer, when Eleanor and Dutch had moved into a farmhouse outside of town. She’d recently retired as Falling Leaves sheriff.
“Yo, Caleb! I heard you’re going on a date with one of the guests. Since when can we do that? Because there’s a hottie in cabin—”
Caleb clamped a hand over Dutch’s mouth and pushed him into the bathroom. At seventeen, Dutch was several inches taller than Caleb. No wonder he was currently weighing which Division One college he wanted to attend on a basketball scholarship in the fall.
“It’s not a date. It’s dinner. It was supposed to be in the dining room with the rest of the guests, but Sabrina thinks she’s funny.”
Dutch slapped off Caleb’s hand. “You know I wasn’t serious? I mean, hell, you can hook up with guests if you want to. If Sabrina thinks that none of us are, well…” He trailed off and held up his hands.
“Don’t tell me things I don’t want to know, Dutch. Seriously. You know I’m not good under biddie interrogation. Sabrina is well on her way to joining their ranks.”
Dutch mimed zipping his lips. “I know how that is. They’ve been trying to recruit my mom ever since she retired. Now she’s playing into their schemes. Your secret is safe if mine is.”
“It’s not a secret!”
Dutch grinned. “Okay, okay. Call it what you want. Be glad that I’m your waiter tonight. I’ll keep things light and fun. Considering you look like a deer about to jump in front of a truck.”
God, his anxious energy must be bad if a teenage boy, of all people, was picking up on it.
He groaned and edged past Dutch. “Don’t make her uncomfortable. This is just a nice, hospitable gesture.”
Dutch headed for one of the stalls. He stuck his head out before he closed it. “Whatever you say, boss.”
Caleb groaned as his phone buzzed with a message from Sabrina. Apparently, some of his messages had made it through after all.
Just tell her that a couple had to cancel at the last minute due to the weather. Don’t scare her off with one of your gloomy glares.
He groaned. Of course, Sabrina had an answer for everything. She was their mother’s child, after all.
He made his way across the hall toward the private dining room.
Both doors were closed, although a flickering light could be seen through the frosted glass.
He checked the time on his smartwatch. Seven on the dot.
He rubbed his hands together. Why was he so nervous?
This wasn’t even a date, and besides, it wasn’t like he hadn’t dated since the divorce.
He’d gone on three dates in total. Two setups were arranged by the biddies.
The last was by Olivia—which was awkward, as he’d imagined it would be.
He’d forbidden her from setting him up after that.
Once or twice, women he’d met in passing.
But he put himself out there on occasion.
So, what was this strange feeling?
As if the universe was in on some divine joke, Emma rounded the corner. She’d come in through the back door, but somehow he’d missed her. Snowflakes clung to her dark hair and jacket. Her cheeks were flushed, and her eyes sparkled.
Well, fuck. So much for keeping this platonic.
“Hi, Caleb,” Emma said softly. “It’s really starting to come down out there.” She took off her gloves and shoved them in her coat pocket. “Are we eating in the dining room?”
He tried to speak, but a boulder had taken up residence in his throat. He coughed into his arm. “Actually, no. We’re going to eat in here. Sabrina said that a party canceled at the last minute. She didn’t want the room to go to waste.”
He pushed open the doors. Emma stood in the doorway, her expression unreadable.
“If it’s too weird, we can totally eat in the dining room.”
Emma turned toward him. “I’m not weirded out if you’re not.” She took in his expression. “You kind of look like you are.”
He cleared his throat and shifted his weight. “No! Not at all. Well, maybe a little. But it’s nothing to do with you and everything to do with Sabrina being pushy.”
Emma grinned. “Well, I suppose I should take off my coat then, if we’re going to stay?”
Her hands worked on the last button, and she began to shrug off her coat. Caleb came behind her and drew it over her shoulders. His fingers grazed against a tendril of the dark hair at the nape of her neck. She was ice cold.
He pulled her coat off and she turned to face him. In the dim light, he could make out a pattern of reindeer along her dark dress.
“Your dress is adorable,” he said. “Not everyone can pull off reindeer.”
She pulled at the fabric. “They’re subtle—not everyone notices.”
Someone coughed behind them. Caleb turned to find Dutch. “Hello, hello! My name is Dutch, and I’ll be your server tonight.” He focused all his attention on Emma. “Caleb has known me most of my life, so that introduction was for your benefit, Ms. Dale.”
She laughed. The kid did have charm—Caleb could give him that.
“Let me take your coat, then I’ll be back with a couple of hot toddies, if that’s agreeable?”
Emma nodded. “That sounds perfect.”
She made her way toward the fireplace at the opposite end of the room. “I’m freezing. Care to warm up by the fire?”
Caleb had been nervous, sweating for at least an hour, but he wouldn’t deny her. He had no choice but to follow.
Caleb’s cheeks were cherry-apple red. And the fireplace wasn’t giving off enough heat for that to be the cause.
He worried his hands over one another while Emma tried and failed to keep her gaze on the blueish-orange flames.
Caleb’s hands gave up on worrying and he ran one over his beard.
A nice, tidily trimmed dark beard, a shade darker than his dark brown hair.
Little flecks of silver caught in the fire glow.
Aniyah had done a little digging and found his social media profile.
He didn’t update it much, but through snooping, she’d been able to figure out some basic facts.
He was thirty-six. Only two years older than her.
“Hot toddies on the way!” the young waiter called, although he didn’t carry the tray himself—another waiter followed him.
“I’m underage, so I have my friend Paul here helping out with the booze.”
Paul brought the tray over to them. The glasses had hand-knit cozies, which of course had a Christmas theme.
“My sister’s idea,” Caleb said. “She got our town’s coffee and knitting society to make them.”
“The biddies, actually knitting? Who would’ve thought it?” the young waiter quipped.
Emma blew on her drink. “The biddies?”
“There may be a mayor of Falling Leaves—the town we’re all from—but the biddies run things. That dog that nearly took you out yesterday? Owned by one of the biddies.”
“They are a force of nature,” the waiter said. I’ve left your customized menus on the table. I’ll give you a few minutes to get…acquainted.” He waggled his eyebrows.
The glass doors were smoothly pulled shut once again.
“I saw that there’s a Christmas tour of Falling Leaves on the list of activities.”
Caleb took a sip of his drink. “It’s my hometown. As a kid, I hated growing up here because, you know, it cramped my style. But it does have its charms.”
Emma wandered over to the table. “Maybe I’ll take that tour, then. Are you the tour guide?”
He chuckled to himself. “I suppose I am. I’ll have to check with my sister, though.”
Emma set her drink down and pulled up the menu. “Mr. & Mrs. Ellis. Huh. Was that the couple that had to cancel?”
Caleb started to spit his drink out before he covered his mouth with his hand. He swallowed. “Hmm, I guess so. What a coincidence, given that my last name is Ellis.”
Caleb didn’t seem to see it as a coincidence, but Emma didn’t say as much. She might not be a mind reader, but she knew well enough to know that this setup wasn’t his style. If it was, why would he be so damn jumpy?
It was adorable. Maybe it meant that he’d felt the same way she had when they’d first locked eyes yesterday.
She turned her attention back to the menu.
A delicate red-and-white pattern wove around the outside. She ran her finger over the paper. Nice quality paper weight.
“Can you see okay? Given the dim lighting, I may have to whip out my glasses.”
Glasses? Oh my. Caleb was already handsome. Glasses just made him even more so.
“I can see fine. I was admiring the paper weight the menu is on.”
Caleb reached into his pocket and pulled out a dark-rimmed pair of glasses. Emma really tried to ignore the funny sort of feeling it gave her.
She failed.
He nudged his glasses up his nose. “Oh yeah? Do you notice little things like that? What do you do for work?”
She set the menu down and returned to her hot toddy.
“Well, until a few days ago, I worked as a government affairs associate at a lobbying and law firm in DC.” She sipped on her drink.
“I compiled reports, read the news, and watched TV. Looking for trends and data that our lobbyists wanted us to track. It wasn’t exactly thrilling. ”
“Oh,” Caleb said. “So, what are you going to do now?”
She traced her finger along the rim of the glass. “I honestly have no idea. My life has kind of imploded this week. No job, no fiancé… I guess I can do anything.”
He leaned back in his chair. “So, what would you do, if you had the option? Like, if capitalism wasn’t a thing.”
She chuckled at that. “Well…I’ve always wanted to open a stationery store. I worked in one for years while attending college. I’ve always loved paper things.” She pointed to the menu. “Like appreciating the font and paper weight your sister chose for the menu.”
“Huh,” he said.
For a moment, she expected him to be dismissive. After all, it wasn’t exactly the kind of typical dream one had.
He reached for his drink. “I actually know a spot in Falling Leaves that would be perfect for a store like that.”
Her eyes widened. “Seriously?”
“I mean, not that you’re staying in town. I figured you could see it. Maybe it would inspire you to chase that dream, once and for all.”
Caleb had shown her more support in ten minutes than Davis had in years. Sure, he’d “encouraged” her to open a stationery business, but she’d always felt that was more of his idea of a potential investment than any real interest in her dreams.
“I would love to see the space,” she said quietly. “Although, honestly, I wouldn’t know the first place to start with running a business.”
“Well, the Ellis family owns several. Sabrina and I work with our dad at our construction business, Ellis & Daughter. She’s been spending more time up here on the mountain, though. Helping Brandon run the lodge. This place was his dream, and we all worked together to make it happen.”
A spark of hope ignited in Emma.
“My Uncle Gordon and cousin Dennis own the Missing Screw, the hardware store in town. Trust me, if Dennis can keep a business afloat, you should have no problem.”
They shared a smile before Dutch burst back into the room. “Are we ready to place our dinner orders, lady and gentleman?” He cast a glance between the two of them. “Or I could come back? It looks like I interrupted something beautiful.”
Caleb gave Emma a look that she could only describe as “Can you believe this guy?” before snapping up his menu. “Tell your mom it’s time to take you to the eye doctor’s, Dutch. I’m ready to order.”
While Caleb rattled off what he wanted, Emma let out a slow, shaky breath. Somehow, this place seemed perfect—Caleb included. It was best to keep her hopes level to the ground before they got away from her.
However, as she snuck a glance at Caleb, she wondered if it was a little too late for that.