Page 20 of Christmas in Comets Valley
I gasped. “Oh, my god. You totally had sex with Ben, didn’t you?”
“Pshh, no…” she scoffed. “Now, tell me all about how you met my brother. He wouldn’t give me the full story, and I wantallthe details.”
“Oh no no no, you’re not changing the subject!”
“Fine. Ben and I have been hanging out a bit, but there’s nothing scandalous to report… yet.”
“You with Ben and me with Elliott… I can’t believe this,” I mumbled to myself.
“Speaking of Elliot…” I could sense the smile in her tone from seven hundred fifty miles away. “He came by to grab the key from the lockbox after you left so he wouldn’t have to mess with it in the dark when he comes back to feed Mr. Whiskers later tonight.”
“Shit.”
“You’ll have to grab the key from him. I think he mentioned he was going to Sal’s tonight?”
“Would you mind if I stayed another night?”
“Not at all.” I could hear Ben in the background calling her name. “Have fun, bye!”
So as much as I didn’t want to stay in Comets Valley another night, I didn’t have much of a choice. I wasted so long wrestling with my broken suitcase and forgotten tablet earlier that the sun was setting already. Even if I left again now, it would be early tomorrow morning by the time I made it back to my condo.
The only upside for getting stuck in this hellhole was the hope that I’d be receiving a second round of mind-numbing orgasms from Elliot later this evening.
And even if the night didn’t pan out as I hoped, at least my new plans gave me an excuse to go shopping for a new outfit to pass the time.
Grabbing my purse from the passenger seat and locking the car door, I made my way toward the town center Juliet mentioned was roughly a mile walk from the house.
Since when did a mile become so far?
I could’ve sworn it was a lot shorter than this back in high school when the physical education teachers would force us to run incessant circles around the track.
At long last, I rounded a corner, and the charming town center came into view. My eyes lit up as I watched the townspeople bustle around with coffee cups and shopping bags in hand.
Two elderly couples stopped in the middle of the street to hug and chat with each other, and there weren’t any drivers honking or screaming expletives out the window demanding they move.
What I loved most though, was the picturesque Christmas tree in the center of the square. And that all the small shops were decorated to the nines like they were in competition with each other.
I stood on the street in awe at the fact that Comets Valley looked identical to the pictures on Juliet’s profile. No, scratch that, it was better than the pictures.
For the first time since I’d arrived, a wave of excitement flooded over me. Elliot was right. I shouldn’t have tried to leave without coming downtown first.
I passed shop after shop with antiques and trinkets before settling on a small boutique on the corner of Main Street. The door to the shop creaked open and a short-haired brunette who appeared to be in her mid-twenties popped up from behind the counter. Her eyes brightened as I knocked the excess snow off of my boots and onto the welcome mat.
“Are you Aera Chase?” she gasped, abandoning the cash register right as another shopper came to checkout.
“That’s me.” I smiled at her, sticking out my hand and slipping it into her extended one. I instantly drew my eyes to a mannequin in the corner dressed in a deep-cut black blouse that was calling my name. “Could I try that one on?” I nudged my head over to the display.
“Of course you can! My name’s Calliope, by the way.” She turned back to me with a smile before strolling over to one of the clothing racks. “What brought you to Comets?”
“I was trying to take a quick break from work for the holidays, but it’s proving to be more difficult than I thought.”
“If I had your job, I’d never take a break. Ever.” She beamed up at me.
“I said the same thing, yet here I am.” I laughed as she handed me over the blouse and pointed me in the direction of the dressing room. Shutting the curtain behind me, I peeled off the jacket and sweater I was wearing and hung them on the hooks.
“Are you going to Sal’s tonight?”
“How’d you know?” I questioned, slipping my arms through the sleeves of the shirt.
