“Oh.” Is that what this is about? Time has sort of slipped away from me, considering how chaotic this month has been so far. I should make an effort, at least for Jordy’s sake. I wonder if she’s ever had a proper Christmas. “I don’t go all out like Bea does since it’s just me, but I do have a box or two of decorations in the attic. We could go through them, maybe buy a few new things if you want.”
“Yes! And what about a tree?” Jordy asks.
“I bought a small artificial one the first Christmas I lived in the house, but I threw it out a couple years ago because it was practically falling apart. I meant to buy a new one, but…”
“Oh, that’s too bad.” Jordy’s gaze darts to Spencer. His expression is placid, but I don’t miss the way one of his eyebrows quirks as he meets Jordy’s gaze.
Spencer sets his fork down and nudges the plate toward me. There’s just one bite left, and the second I’ve finished chewing, Jordy says, “We should take our plates and cups out so Bea doesn’t have to come get them. Hollie, do you mind?”
I sputter out a laugh. “No, but do I need to do it this second? Can’t we sit for a few minutes at least?”
Jordy shakes her head. “No. You should do it now.”
I narrow my eyes at her. “What are you up to, Jordyn Jenkins?”
“Nothing!”
“Yeah, that shrill tone is really convincing.”
She presses her lips together to hold back a smile. “Nothing,” she says again. “I just need to talk to Spencer for a minute. It’s…it’s about your birthday.”
“Oh, yes, that’s this weekend, isn’t it?” Spencer asks. The words are followed immediately by a pained expression as Jordy elbows him in the side.
“Friday,” I say, my voice shaking with suppressed laughter. I stack the empty cups and plates, and stick the forks in the empty mugs. “I won’t be long, so scheme fast, Jordy.”
Other than a snort of laughter, the little conspirator is silent as I leave the room. The diner is still packed, mostly with the older crowd who come in for the early bird special. There are a few small groups of teens too, some in uniforms I recognize from the private school Evie went to for the last two years of high school, and others in regular clothes. A group of four teen girls is huddled in the booth my friends and I have always sat at. For a second, I’m transported back in time as I watch them talk and giggle. I could be gazing into the past if it weren't for the fact they’re passing their phones back and forth, and we didn’t have cells until college.
One of the bus boys zips by me in a flash of color and clinking dishware. He backs up and pauses in front of me long enough for me to set the dirty dishes inside. Bea is busy with a table of white-haired women, and I can hear faint strains of Horatio’s familiar rumbling voice calling out to the kitchen staff. I catch a glimpse of his shiny bald head through the pass-through window as he moves around the stove.
I wait a few minutes and then return to the office. Jordy already has her jacket on and Spencer is winding his scarf around his neck.
Jordy’s face brightens when she spots me. “Hey! Spencer has agreed to help us run an errand.”
“An errand?” I ask.
“Asecreterrand. Meaning you can’t ask questions. Do you trust me?”
“The gleam in your eye makes me want to say no.”
Jordy lets out a wicked laugh. Beside her, Spencer bites his lip and ducks his head, trying to hide the uncontrollable twitching of his lips. “Come on, youknowyou trust me,” she says. She picks up my coat and crosses the room to hand it to me. This close, I can see the genuine excitement in her expression. Sometimes I forget she’s only seventeen—still a kid, despite the weight of the world she’s had to carry all these years. She hasn’t had many opportunities to act her age and have fun without worrying about responsibilities someone her age shouldn’t have to consider.
“It’s fun when it’s the three of us, isn’t it?” she asks quietly, looping my scarf around my neck. “Don’t you want to hang out with Spencer a bit longer?” When I don’t answer immediately, she says, “Would it help if I let you think you were doing this for me? I’ll be leaving town soon and I want to cram in as many things as I can.”
“Ouch,” I murmur, thumping my closed fist in the center of my chest. “Emotional blackmail.”
“Did it work?”
I laugh and shake my head. That’s apparently all the confirmation she needs because she whirls to face Spencer. “Let Operation Secret Errand commence!”
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Jordy’s Operation Secret Errand takes us to the Christmas tree lot. I’ve never been here before because I’ve always had an artificial tree—or, as in the case of the last two years, no tree at all.
The scent of pine, woodsmoke, and apple cider hang heavy in the air. Twinkle lights are strung on every available surface, and Christmas music plays softly from hidden speakers. People wander the lot in various states, some meandering and checking their options carefully, others darting from tree to tree, but they all wear smiles. No one’s smile is as big as Jordy’s, though.
And, because we’re apparently in a Hallmark movie, it started snowing a few minutes ago. I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t allowed myself to imagine, just for a moment, that this was my life and not a temporary blip in time. That after choosing a Christmas tree with a handsome man and a girl who has stolen my heart, I’ll get to return home and continue this picture-perfect holiday scenario. But the man isn’t mine and neither is the girl, at least not for long. It’s because of her and the excitement painted all over her face that I push away my maudlin thoughts and follow her through the tree lot, allowing her to pick out a wreath for my front door, buying her a cup of cider, and not arguing when she chooses a massive Scotch pine.
“Okay, what about decorations for the tree?” Jordy asks as one of the workers straps the tree to the top of my car. “Do you have enough at home?”
