“Yeah, I bought him coffee the other day, and my daughter and I got him some dinner a couple nights ago. I keep running into him.” He paused. “He mentioned that Samantha brought him coffee the other day, which obviously I saw you do. So I put two and two together,” he said hurriedly as if he were trying to change the subject.
“I see,” I replied.
“Well, uh … in the interest of full disclosure, allow me to introduce myself. I’m Jason Hayes.” He stuck his hand out, so I awkwardly put my purchases down on the nearby counter to shake his hand. His handshake was firm and soft at the same time, and I definitely didn’t mean to keep my hand in his for as long as I did.
“Nice to meet you, Jason. I’m guessing you’ve figured out that Robin is my sister, and I’m here for the holidays?” I asked.
“Yes, I didn’t even need a detective kit either.”
I didn’t get the joke, then he nodded toward the kit I was getting for Delilah. I let out a little giggle, but I was still feeling like I needed to get the hell out of there for fear of inserting my foot in my mouth again at any moment. But the world had other plans for me.
“So listen, can I buy you a drink or something? A coffee? I drink a lot of coffee, and obviously you drink coffee too?”
What was happening here? Was he asking me out? I was so confused. So of course I said something dumb. “Don’t you have to get home to your family?” So that came out far ruder than I meant for it to, and it was my way of shutting down coffee with a married man because he was way too good looking for me to go have a beverage of any kind with.
“Actually no, I don’t. It’s just Emily and me. Is that what you’re really asking me?” His grin spread across his face. He called me out on my trickery. I pretty much just asked him if he had a family to get back to, but damn, he caught me fishing.
My face was hot with embarrassment again, but I folded. “Yeah.” I had to laugh at myself. Not smooth. Cool and collected was something I very much was not, unless it was related to my work.
“I am very much available for a cup of coffee and would love for you to join me before you wrap up your afternoon of shopping. I know you can’t stay late. Robin has Christmas on a tight schedule. She’s known for it, so I know you have some Yuletide celebration of one kind or another just about every night. But, if you could spare a little of your afternoon, I’d love to continue chatting.”
What the hell. I didn’t have anything to lose. And my coffee addiction was never truly quenched. I could drink it day and night and never have enough. Plus he was right. There was some kind of activity I couldn’t quite remember that the caffeine would surely make better.
“Sure, why not?”
“Okay great. You get those presents taken care of, and we’ll take this bicycle out to my truck and head over to Wallflowers. We can sit, and I promise not to spill coffee all over you again.”
His smile was warm. In fact, I wanted to rip my coat off I was so hot. Between his smile and the fact that I was perpetually blushing and the temperature inside the store, I was dying.
But I was going to have afternoon coffee with a handsome stranger while on vacation. Life could be worse. For a few minutes, I’d forgotten how little I cared for the season, and I was enjoying myself.
Chapter Eight
Jason
The warm air from the diner hit me in the face as soon as I opened the door. Samantha walked in, and I couldn’t help but to ogle her. She had on a huge, puffy coat that practically engulfed her, and boots that went up to her knees. Her long blond hair was tucked under a wool hat, and her pale cheeks were flushed from the cold.
I grabbed us a booth and motioned to Diana for two coffees. Samantha sat down across from me and removed her hat before unzipping her coat.
“Cold?” I asked.
“I don’t know how y’all handle this all season,” she replied. “It’s like seventy-five degrees at my house right now.” She ran her hands through her hair, and the sun from the front window reflected off the blond. Her sister had the same color hair, and so did the twins. It was clear they were related.
“It’s not so bad. You get used to it. The seasons are nice here. We get a little bit of everything throughout the year. You should come back in the spring when everything is green and flowering. You’d like it.”
“I’ve been to visit in the spring. You’re right; it is nice. But you can go to the beach almost all year-round in Florida, you know.” She smiled at me, a teasing grin.
“I’ll give you that. It does sound nice to go to the beach, especially since we have a couple more months of cold. But this weather makes it feel like Christmas, don’t you think?” I asked.
She hesitated. “I suppose that it does.” Then she changed the subject. “So, you said it’s just you and Emily?”
I didn’t talk much about Emily’s mom, but I wanted to be transparent with Samantha. Something about her made me feel comfortable, like I could just say anything I wanted. “Yeah, it’s always been just the two of us.”
“I’m sorry, you don’t have to explain anything to me,” she said.
I reached across the table and touched her hand gently. “No, no. It’s okay. Most people in this town know me and know my story, so I just haven’t told it in a long time. Emily’s mom left shortly after Emily was born. She didn’t want to be a mom. It wasn’t a planned event. She didn’t want to keep the baby, but I begged her to, and once Emily was born, she gave me full custody and left Friendship.”
“Oh my God, I’m so sorry.”
