“So go be his friend. From what you told me about his efforts to build his channel, he could use one.”
Harmony hadn’t divulged too much to Jenny during their shift, just that Breck was working to make his channel a success and magic was his dream. The things he’d told her about his grandpa were … private … and they felt like a gift he’d shared. She didn’t think he told everyone that story.
“I can do that. I can be his friend.” Her feet began to scoot forward. The more she walked, the easier it became.
“But let me ask you one question,” Jenny said.
“Go right ahead. Although I think I’m going to regret this.”
“What if you get jittery because you like him?”
Her eyebrows climbed up under her hat. “Like,like himlike him?”
“Yeah, like that.”
“That’s—” Her tongue grew thick. “That’s not even a possibility. My heart has been shattered. It doesn’t even work that way anymore.”
“Okay, but just keep it in mind?”
“Yeah, because now that you said that, it’s all I can think about. Thanks so much.”
Jenny laughed. “You’re welcome. Merry Christmas.”
Harmony said goodbye to Jenny and put her phone in her pocket. She’d said that she would think about like-liking Breck, but she just couldn’t, not if she was going to get through this evening with him. So she shoved the thought to the far recesses of her mind and hurried the rest of the way to his apartment.
The building was nice, as far as middle-class apartments went. The mailboxes in the lobby were tarnished with age, but that only added to the overall nostalgic feeling created by the hotel-like red carpet with gold swirls, with the colors faded but no other signs of wear. Her grandfather used to say that they didn’t make things like they used to as he’d turn on his blender that weighed more than she did. That thing would crush ice better than the fancy blender her parents got for their juicing diet stage, even though it was as ugly as sin. Her grandma used a mustard-yellow stand mixer to knead bread dough, and it came out fluffy and perfect every time. She ran her fingers over the embossed wallpaper, practically smelling Grandma’s bread cooking.
Several floors up, she passed a door with a holiday wreath, one with a Menorah, one with a flag, and two blank ones until she came to Breck’s. Stripping off her gloves, she rapped on the door.
The door swung back and Breck beckoned her inside. “Close your eyes!”
His excitement was instantly contagious. She stuffed her gloves in her purse and put her hands over her eyes. “What’s happening?”
“I want to surprise you.”
“You’re not going to cut me in half right now, are you?”
He chuckled. “No. But give me five minutes and you’ll be in two pieces.”
“That’s not all that comforting.”
“Don’t you trust me?”
“That’s a … loaded request.”
“I promise it’s not going to hurt a bit.”
“Says the man hiding a giant saw somewhere.”
This time he laughed, all warm and delicious as he took her wrists to tug her into the apartment. Her skin crackled at his touch.
With her sight gone, her other senses went on high alert. His apartment smelled like cologne, but not the type he wore. This one made her nose wrinkle, it was so strong. “Do you have a roommate?”
“Yeah. He’s working late.”
She wrinkled her nose. This wasafterthe roommate was gone all day. He must be one of those guys who inflicts his scent on the entire office.
Breck moved around her and placed his hands on her shoulders, turning her to the left. “Okay, you can look.”
