Elle jumped and spun her head toward me.
Damn.
Here it was, ten in the morning the day after she moved to a new town. Her long brown hair was down and damp. I didn’t know much about makeup, but she either wasn’t wearing any or she knew how to make it look like that. Yesterday she’d worn clothes that Gabby would classify as stylish but casual. Today she was in a large cream sweatshirt that was so baggy it was rolled up by her hands, one of which she’d been using to twirl her hair.
“Nate,” she whispered.
I grinned. “Do I sound full of myself if I say I’m glad you remembered me?”
Her face captivated me with a wide smile. “Not if I can say the same, or I guess I hoped you remember me too.”
I snorted. As if I could forget her. “Elle, let me assure you now that I absolutely do remember you. Did you get settled in last night? And how was the pizza?”
Her laughter solidified something inside me, but hell if I knew what it was. “You were right, Giuseppe’s is amazing.”
“You shouldn’t let any Chicagoans hear you say that. They don’t think there can be good pizza south of I-80.”
She laughed. “So true. And I heard the coffee place—I think Ava said it’s called the Sanctuary—is good, but I didn’t make it over this morning. Maybe tomorrow. I needed to get a jump on some work today and thought I’d check out your library.” She looked around, then back to me. “You described this place perfectly. It is exactly what I need. Sometimes it’s hard when you work at home. You can easily feel closed off from the world.”
I considered Elle’s words. I didn’t work at home, but I did feel closed off from everything else of late. Hopefully, hanging out with Max and his friends would be a step in the right direction. Hell, I hoped Elle was part of my path forward as well. I was drawn to this woman in a way I couldn’t explain. I wanted to date her, for certain. But more than that, I wanted to get to know her. I felt like something in me recognized something in her. Like I wanted to be her friend.
Where the hell had that come from?
“Well, our coffee isn’t at the same level as the stuff Allyson has at the Sanctuary, but it’s pretty good. Want me to get you a cup?”
Elle looked at me in surprise. “Really?”
“Black? Cream? Sugar?”
“Um, I usually put a splash of mocha creamer in.”
“I’ve got a hot chocolate mix that a lot of us use for the same reason. I’ll put some of that in. Be right back.” I tapped her table and headed back toward the kitchen.
Walking through the nonfiction section, Gabby whispered to me as I passed, “Picking up dates at work now?”
“Shush.”
In the kitchen, I grabbed a mug and mixed up a coffee for Elle. Just as I was turning to head back to her, my grandfather’s voice popped into my head, clear as day.
The day I met your grandmother, Nathaniel, I felt like I’d been struck by lightning. Prettiest girl I ever did see, but somehow I knew—I just knew—she was going to be the best friend I’d ever had. Find your best friend, and you will have found the one. That’s all you need. Man alive, I loved that woman something fierce.
I looked at the back of Elle, who was lost in thought at the window again.
Oh boy.
Reds of Christmas
Six Weeks Later
Elle
The cursor on my computer blinked, taunting me. The words just didn’t want to come.
Shit.
I dropped my head to the table, wondering if pounding it repeatedly would be a good look.
Probably not.
