Page 13 of Love Around the Corner

LLB: People think I’m pompous. I don’t have a winning personality, I guess.

Alfie hesitated over his reply. Not knowing LLB in real life made it difficult to judge, but it was difficult to imagine anyone not adoring the man he’d come to know over the last twelve months.

Maybe they just don’t know you, he suggested eventually.Maybe you should go out there and win them over.He bit his lip, then dared to add,You won me over.

His only reply was a smiley face and a heart. And then he was distracted from his phone by a sudden kafuffle. Glancing up he saw Leo Novak tripping over a chair on his way out of the coffee shop. He seemed to be in a hurry and, in contrast to last night, looked as scruffy as Alfie had ever seen him—a worn-looking sweatshirt over his ubiquitous skinny jeans, a heavy parker he was pulling on as he walked, his dark hair peeking out from beneath a dark beany hat. As always, Novak looked cute, but today he also looked pale and emotional. Alfie noted with surprise that he was scrubbing his eyes with the back of one hand as he yanked open the door and left, striding down Main Street.

Feeling upset himself after the emotional turmoil of the last twelve hours, Alfie experienced an unexpected pang of sympathy for Novak. He’d been a dick to the guy last night, and in retrospect Alfie wondered whether Novak had only sat with him in the bar because his own date hadn’t worked out.

Still watching Novak’s retreating figure, that precise, neat walk of his, Alfie stood up and went back to the counter. Dee had already made his coffee—an unpretentious Americano—and it sat waiting for him. “What’s up with Novak?” he said as he pulled out his wallet. Dee was unusually silent. Silent enough that he lifted his eyes to hers. “Dee?”

She gave a tight smile. “Maybe you should ask him.”

“Uh…” He pulled out five bucks. “We’re not exactly friends. You know that.”

Another silence as she took his money and fetched the change. “What I know,” she said, handing over a fistful of coins, “is that Leo Novak is lonely. He could use a friend like you.”

It was on the tip of Alfie’s tongue to say,Then he shouldn’t act like such a prick. But then he remembered LLB, and how people in real life didn’t know what a sweet guy he was, and he figured, in the spirit of spreading good karma, maybe he should reach out to Novak in the way he hoped someone might reach out to LLB.

With a smile for Dee, he took his coffee and headed out into the freezing morning. Last night’s promise of snow still hung heavy in the air, a few flurries blowing about in the bitter onshore breeze. He could see Novak at the end of Main Street. He’d walked past his store and was heading for the boardwalk. Alfie followed.

In the summer season, the promenade was full of life—ice cream vans surrounded by kids, the Surf Hut staff taking newbie surfers into the water, folks strolling along the boardwalk. But New Milton was a different place in the long dark winter. Quiet and empty. The benches running along the sea front, always full in the summer, stood desolate and there was nobody down there but Novak. He stood leaning on the railing and staring out toward the ocean which sat like slate beneath crouching clouds, the surf hissing against the beach.

Alfie hesitated, unsure how to approach. Then he remembered he had an apology to make and figured that was as good a way as any to start.

“Hey,” he said, joining Novak at the railing. “So I wanted to say I’m sorry about last night.”

Novak jumped, staring at him with that same deer-in-headlights look Alfie had found irritating yesterday. Today, somehow, less so. Maybe because the guy looked so distressed. “What?” Novak said in a scratchy voice, eyes wide behind his glasses.

“For being an asshole.” Novak just stared at him as if he didn’t understand, so Alfie soldiered on. “I wasn’t…in the best frame of mind when you ran into me at the bar. Sorry if I was a jerk.”

“Oh.” Novak turned back to the ocean. Was that relief on his face, or disappointment? Hard to tell. But it was a stark expression, some strong emotion Alfie couldn’t figure out. “That’s okay,” Novak said. “I— I guess I wasn’t expecting anything different.”

Alfie nodded tiredly. He felt fragile after a sleepless night of worry and disappointment, raw if he was being honest, and didn’t have the energy for his petty feud with Novak. Somehow, it felt senseless now. “How about we call it quits?” he suggested. “Start over.”

Novak turned and blinked at him. “Start over?”

“Sure.” He tried a smile and when Novak’s lips curved faintly in response, he felt a surprising pulse of warmth for the guy. Alfie held out his hand and, after a brief hesitation, Novak shook it. His grip was firm, even if his slender fingers felt icy, and the handshake lingered a couple beats longer than Alfie expected.

When Novak let go, he shoved his hands into his pockets and cleared his throat a couple of times before he said, “I should go open up, I guess. For what it’s worth.”

“Business slow?” Alfie said, as they turned back toward town together. In the distance he could see Don Brennan, from the Majestic Hotel, giving orders to the guys erecting the tree in the church parking lot, ready for the Christmas Market.

Novak shrugged. “It’s winter in New Milton.”

“I thought Christmas would be big for you.”

“Not really. Who has time to poke about in a used bookstore when they can one-click anything they need and have it delivered?”

Alfie slid his gaze back to Novak, took in the pensive press of his lips. On impulse, he said, “You should run a stall at the market on Friday.”

“The market?”

Alfie nodded toward the Christmas tree. “Dee’s helping organize it. Josh Newton used to do this carol singing thing every year with the kids from the school, but since he’s not around now Dee’s organized a Christmas market instead. You pay thirty bucks for a table, and then you can sell whatever you like. Might boost your Christmas sales?”

Novak looked hesitant. “It’s probably too late to—”

“No way! Believe me, the more the merrier. In fact, we’ve got a meeting about it tonight to finish up the final arrangements. Why don’t you come along? Seriously, you’d be more than welcome and having a stall at the market could be good for business. You’ve got some Christmas titles you could sell, right?” He made a rueful face. “I’ll be handing out flyers, but auto repairs arenobody’sidea of a merry Christmas.”

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