He watched me for a while, his expression carefully blank. “IT.”
I knew all the IT guys from calling them about computer problems. I was certain I’d never seen this man before, but I nodded anyway.Maybe he’s new?
“Well, Dom,” I said, backing toward the door, clutching the tray of coffee like a shield. “I’d better get going. Nice meeting you.”
“See you around, Eunice.”
The way he said my name gave me goosebumps. I hurried out the door and into the cold air. My whole body was buzzing, electric. Every nerve ending was awake.
What is this feeling?
Why did one conversation with a stranger feel like the ground had disappeared from under my feet?
3
Eunice
I PACED THE length of the small rug at the foot of the bed, my thumb hovering over Derek’s name on my screen.
Just text him,I told myself.Just ask him if he wants to get dinner.
I’d spent most of the day sitting with the legal team, watching Derek and Laura go back and forth with the Percivals. I didn’t understand half of the legal jargon they were throwing around, but I understood body language. The meeting had been brutal.
Derek’s pen wouldn’t stop clicking. His shoulders were rigid. All day, he’d looked like a wire pulled so tight it was ready to snap.
He needed to unwind. He needed a soft place to land, someone who didn’t expect him to perform, someone who could simply exist alongside him. I wanted to be that for him. His home.
I stopped pacing and typed:Hey. You looked stressed today. Dinner?
No, stressed sounded like I was criticizing him.
I backspaced.Hey. Tough day. I know a place that has beer.
No, that sounded too casual, like I was asking a coworker.
I bit my lip, staring at the cursor blinking on the blank screen. I just needed him to know I was here. That I saw him. That he didn’t have to be a high-powered lawyer with me.
I was just about to type a simplehungry?when the phone buzzed in my hand, startling me, I nearly dropped it. A text notification popped up.
Hey.
I stared at the screen, my brow furrowing. It was from Dom.
The tiny hairs on my arms stood up. How did he get my number? I replayed our meeting in the coffee shop… I definitely hadn’t given him my number. Did he pull it from the employee directory? Was that even allowed for IT guys?
It was odd. A little... intrusive.
But before I could dwell on why this intense guy was texting me, my phone buzzed again.
Derek:Team’s going to the pub for dinner. Come along. I want to talk to you. Meet me downstairs in ten?
The breath left my lungs in a rush.Talk to me?A squeal erupted from my throat. I scrambled backward, grabbing the pillow from the bed and pressing my face into it to muffle the sound.
He wants to talk.
I was right. Coming to this magical town was the right decision. Santa was real, wishes could come true, and mine was happening right now.
I rushed to the mirror, checking my reflection. My hair had gone flat from lying on the bed. Not to worry, I had ten minutes to fix it.
