Chapter 3
Chapter Three
NOELLE
I changed my outfit three times this morning.
I’m in dark jeans that actually fit, a soft green sweater that Avery once said brings out the amber in my eyes, and I’ve even put on mascara and lip gloss.
“You look nice,” Dad says, instantly suspicious. “What’s the special occasion?”
“I don’t look nice. I look normal.” I adjust my watch for the fifth time and check my reflection in the coffee pot. My hair is down for once, falling in soft waves past my shoulders instead of being scraped back in its usual messy bun.
“You’re wearing makeup?”
“I always wear makeup.”
“No, you don’t.”
We’re interrupted by the delivery of the extra ingredients I ordered. Dad starts telling me we’re going to waste supplies. Before I can argue back, the bell above the door chimes again, and my heart speeds up.
Gabriel fills the doorway, the morning sun backlighting him like he’s stepped out of a firefighter calendar, playing havoc with my nervous system.
“Morning.” His voice is polite, but when his gaze meets mine, there’s a flicker of heat that makes my lungs forget their job. “Ready for the inspection?”
“Yip!” The word comes out squeaky. I clear my throat. “I mean, yes. Ready. So ready.”
Dad’s eyes dart between us. “Gabriel. Good to see you, son. Thanks again for yesterday.”
“No problem, Mr. Jolly.”
Dad glances at the clock. “I’ve got to take your mom to her appointment in Bakersfield. I might be gone a while.”
My chest tightens. “Give her a kiss from me, okay?”
“Will do.” He squeezes my shoulder as he passes. “This time, try really hard not to burn anything else down while I’m gone.”
“Very funny.”
The door shuts behind him, and suddenly it’s just me and Gabriel alone in the quiet hum of the diner. My pulse tap dances in my throat.
I gesture toward the kitchen. “Should we…?”
“Lead the way.”
He follows me, his footsteps heavy and sure behind mine. The air seems to shrink around us, his presence crowding out everything but the thud of my heart. When his arm brushes mine in the doorway, heat shoots through me so fast it makes my head spin.
He pulls out a clipboard, all business. He walks around the kitchen, peering into corners and bending to look under the counter.
“Nice sweater,” he says, inspecting the broiler.
“Thanks.” I fidget with my watch.
“It brings out your eyes.”
My face goes beet red. He’s not even looking at me when he says it, just making notes.
“So, um, how bad is it?” I ask, gesturing at the kitchen. “The safety stuff, I mean.”
He straightens, suddenly very close. His cologne is woodsy and warm, like cedar and spice.
He holds up the clipboard, his arm brushing mine again. “Not good. The broiler needs replacing. The electrical system’s outdated. The ventilation hasn’t been cleaned in… possibly ever. And don’t get me started on the spacing between the fryer and the open flame.”
I groan when I see the list. It goes on for two pages. “Oh, sweet mother of... we can’t afford all this.”
“I can help. With the repairs, I mean. I’m good with my hands.”
I bet you are, my traitorous brain supplies. “You don’t have to…”
“I want to.” He reaches up, and for a heart-stopping second, I think he’s going to touch my face. Instead, his thumb brushes my cheek. “Flour.”
My skin tingles where he touched me. “I was making biscuits earlier.”
His mouth curves. “Hope I get to try one.”
Before I can respond, Avery’s voice echoes from the dining room. “Ho, ho, hold everything! Christmas has entered the building!”
Gabriel steps back as Avery bursts through the door, her arms full of boxes, blonde curls bouncing, wearing a cherry red sweater with an actual light-up reindeer and green velvet leggings that jingle when she moves.
She stops dead, looking between us with barely contained glee. “Well, hello, Gabriel. Don’t you look official in your firefighter’s outfit.”
“Avery.” He nods, fighting a smile. “Nice reindeer.”
“Thanks. It has three settings.” She clicks a button and makes the nose blink in different patterns. “I’ll just, um, put these in the dining room. Don’t mind me.” She waggles her eyebrows at me behind his back before disappearing.
“She hasn’t changed,” Gabriel says, amusement warming his voice.
“She’s gotten worse,” I say. “Last week she wore an elf hat that played ‘Jingle Bells’ whenever she moved.”
“Sounds about right.” He sets down the clipboard, rubbing the back of his neck. “Listen, I know this is random, but would you maybe want to go ice skating tomorrow? With me?”
“Ice skating?”
“Unless you don’t skate. Or don’t want to. Or—”
“I skate,” I blurt, which is technically true if you count flailing and praying. “Yes. I’d like that.”
His smile could power the massive Christmas tree in the town square. “Great. I’ll pick you up at seven?”
“Seven’s perfect.”
He nods, heading for the door, then pauses. “Noelle?”
“Yeah?”
“Save me one of those biscuits.”
After he leaves, I slump against the counter, my knees jelly. Avery materializes instantly, like she’s been waiting just outside.
“Ice skating?” she practically squeals.
“How did you—”
“I heard everything.” She grabs my hands, eyes sparkling. “This is it! Your Christmas miracle!”
“It’s just…”
“Nothing is just anything when Gabriel Frost looks at you like you’re a Christmas cookie he wants to taste every bite of.”
“Avery!”
“What? I have eyes. That man is gooooone for you.” She starts unpacking decorations. “We need to make this place magical. Set the scene for romance.”
“I’ll be gone after Christmas,” I remind her, the words heavy. “If I get the Harvest & Hearth job…”
“But you haven’t heard from them yet?”
I shake my head. “Even if I don’t, I have to go back to my life in the city.”
Avery stops mid-sparkle. “What life, Noelle? The job you hate?”
“That’s not…”
“You belong here,” she says softly. “You always have. And Gabriel Frost has probably been waiting for you to figure that out since high school.”
“He hasn’t been waiting—”
“Oh, please.” She rolls her eyes.
I pick up a silver ornament, watching my warped reflection shimmer back at me. “It’s not that simple.”
“It is.” She hangs a garland over the order window. “You just have to decide what you want. The life you think you should have… or the life that’s waiting for you in Snowflake Falls.”