Chapter Seventeen
Wasittherightcall?
Colin asked himself that question over and over as he waited for Holly to get ready.Luckily, Tater Tot was there to keep him company.
He honestly didn’t want to go to lunch with Billie Jean and Roger.In fact, he could think of a lot of other things he’d rather do, like clean his bathroom or watch paint dry on his dining room wall.
And then he looked at Holly.He saw the flash of hope in her eyes when Billie Jean apologized for their other meal.He wanted this to work out for Holly, but he couldn’t shake this bad feeling he had.
He couldn’t help but think Billie Jean and Roger had shown Holly who they truly are.But either Holly was blind when it came to them or she believed in second and third chances, even at her own expense.He was worried about how she’d react when they once more showed their true colors.Whatever happened, he’d be there for Holly.
The bedroom door opened, and Holly stepped into the living room in a pair of jeans and a red knit sweater with a white silhouette of Christmas trees and reindeer.He couldn’t help but smile.
“What?”She looked down at her outfit.“I wanted to look festive.”
“And you do.”He got to his feet and stepped over to her.“When I stopped by, I had two questions for you.”
“What were they?”
“Well, the first is do you want to go to lunch?”
“And my answer is yes.I’m sorry we won’t be alone.I just feel like if I don’t get this right with Billie Jean and Roger that I’ll never see them again.”
He nodded.“I understand.And it’s not a problem.”
“Thank you for being so understanding.Did you hear her apologize?”A smile lifted the corners of her rosy lips.When he nodded, Holly said, “It meant a lot.So, what’s your second question?”
“Would you like to go caroling with me—well, with some of my family—this evening?”
She smiled and nodded.“Yes.I would.”
His gaze searched hers.“You don’t have to say yes because I’m going to lunch with you.”
“I’m not.I truly want to go.I haven’t been caroling since I was a little girl.I used to go with my grandmother.But then as Gran’s arthritis got worse, she couldn’t walk all that way in the cold.She would tell me to go without her, but it just didn’t feel right.So, I’d stay home with her, and we’d bake cookies and watch holiday movies.”
“Gran was a special lady.”
“I agree.We better go.”After they were in his pickup on the way to the café, she said, “I have an idea.We can invite my parents to go caroling with us.”When he didn’t say anything, she asked, “What do you think?”
“That you should see how things go before you ask them.”
She nodded.“Yes.That’s good advice.”
He found a parking spot close to the café.They arrived first, so they got a table in the corner.He resisted the urge to pull out his phone and start scrolling like he would normally do.Today, Holly needed him to be fully present.
He glanced over to find her rearranging the flatware on the paper placemat.“Relax.Everything is going to be okay.”
“I know.It’s just that nothing has gone well so far.”
He reached out and put his hand over hers.He gave her a squeeze.“Stop worrying.If it doesn’t work out, it isn’t going to be your fault.”
“But I keep jumping to the wrong conclusions about them.Maybe it’s echoes of my grandmother, who didn’t trust them.”
This conversation wasn’t helping her to relax.He needed to change the subject.“What are you going to get for lunch?”
“Uh…I don’t know.”
He reached for two of the laminated menus in the holder behind the napkin dispenser.He handed her one, and he took the other.For a couple of minutes, they quietly perused the menu.It wasn’t like they didn’t know it by heart after eating there throughout their entire lives.
