Page 21 of Christmas in Comets Valley
“There’s not much to do around here on a Saturday night except go to Sal’s,” she explained. “Andbased on your selection, you seem like you’re looking for a date outfit, yeah?”
“I’m sure you know Elliot?”
She let out a small laugh. “Only since kindergarten.”
“Really?” I tilted my head to one side while adjusting the top in the mirror. “What was he like when he was younger?”
“He’s always been smart, obviously. He was a bit of trouble in high school, partying and whatnot. But in a small town like this, there isn’t much for teenagers to do but drink and have sex, anyway.”
A laugh spilled from my lips. “Sounds about right.” I raked my eyes over my new top in the mirror before pushing the curtain to one side and stepping out. “What do you think?”
Calliope placed a hand on her hip and gave me a once-over while biting her bottom lip. “Something’s missing,” she said after a beat.
I turned around to look in the mirror again and nodded to her.
She perked up for a second, then waltzed out of sight. “Stay right there. I’ll be right back.”
A few seconds passed, and she appeared out of nowhere holding up a cherry apple-colored top with a squared neck and exaggerated balloon sleeves.
I sucked in a breath. It was perfect.
She handed me over the hanger, and I instinctively looked inside to see the designer listed on the tag but frowned when I didn’t find one. “Do you know who made this? It’s stunning.”
“Me.” She crossed her legs at the ankles and dropped her gaze to the floor for a moment. “I made everything in here.”
“Everything?” My jaw dropped as I looked around the store at all the clothing racks filled to the brim with handmade items. “Well, if you ever decide you want to come work for Inamra, there will be a job waiting for you.”
“Really?” she squealed, throwing her arms around me and trapping me in a tight hug. “Thank you, thank you, thank you!”
Twenty minutes later, I was dressed in my newest outfit, and Calliope was leading us down the snow-covered street toward Sal’s. A bell chimed above us as she opened the large wooden doors to the town's one and only bar and the two of us shuffled inside.
Stripping off our jackets, we placed them on the coat rack before ambling deeper into the crowded room. There were a few couples sitting at the bar throwing back shots like they were at a frat party, and small groups gathered around bar top tables, munching on appetizers while nursing pints of beer.
“Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays” by NSYNC boomed through the speakers, and the jaw-droppingly handsome barkeep waved at Calliope from across the room.
“That’s my brother, Penn,” she told me, adjusting the sleeves of her cropped knit sweater. “Let’s grab a table, he’ll bring us over some drinks in a minute.”
I flashed my gaze around the room, hoping that Elliot’s winter gray eyes would meet mine. Disappointment felt like a punch to the gut when I came up short.
“He should be here soon,” Calliope soothed, grabbing my hand and pulling me toward one of the table tops.
As promised, Penn brought over a tray full of booze and a few appetizers for us to enjoy. And forty-five minutes and a couple of drinks later, I was thoroughly buzzed, yet Elliot was still nowhere to be found.
7
ELLIOT
The bellabove the door outside Sal’s Pub sounded as a group of thirty-something-year-old couples stumbled out of the bar and down the now desolate Main Street.
Aside from the one and only gas station on the outskirts of town, Sal’s was the only place for miles that stayed open past seven on the weekends. Unless there was a game on, most Saturday nights you could find people gathered in cliques around the bar drinking their asses off as the latest hits thundered through the speakers.
Grasping the door moments before it slammed shut, I swung it open once again. “All I Want For Christmas Is You” by Mariah Carey could barely be heard over the crowd of bar goers singing along terribly off tune.
I paused in the doorway, and a smile tugged up the corners of my lips. It was moments like this that drew me back here after I’d moved away.
After I left Juliet’s this morning, I took a quick trip to Seattle to meet with one of my old clients for lunch, and I’d been in such a rush to meet up with Tony and Gabe that I lost my coat somewhere between here and the jet.
First my shirt, and now this. What was going on with me?
