Page 49 of OMG Christmas Tree
This time of year was a dead zone for jobs. I’d been researching event planning and the companies in the area. I owed my coworkers a lot of shifts, so I couldn’t quit Drip yet. Starting my own business sounded thrilling but terrifying. I could stay at the cafe and book events...but I already knew staying wouldn’t satisfy me for too much longer.
When the party paused to count down the new year, I held my breath and made a wish.
The room exploded in cheers at the stroke of midnight.
Around me, couples kissed, friends embraced, and the band kicked back into gear with a classic Prince cover.
The calendar flipped over and my wish remained a wish. I was still alone.
I returned behind the coffee bar and tidied up. Was I really alone? I lived by myself, sure, but I had a family of co-workers. My friend Sadie invited me to an upcoming estate sale to hunt for treasures. My parents—yes, parents plural—loved me and were eager to visit Chicago as soon as the snow let up.
I couldn’t help feeling down about blowing it with Nick. Then again, what would have come of us anyway? He wouldn’t act on leaving his hometown and I only had interest to visit. As much as Crystal Cove dazzled me with lights and an excellent flat white, I hadn’t been converted to a small town gal.
Still, his kiss remained imprinted on my lips.
Yes, silly conscience, itwasstupid to hang magical New Year’s hopes on a guy who probably right now danced with a girl home from college, kissing her under some mistletoe. Oh, you pesky mistletoe. How you betrayed me.
A solid truth settled in. My dreams were my responsibility. Whatever happened next had nothing to do with invented holiday magic. Fireworks weren’t destiny. I made my own destiny.
One week later, my life changed. Sadie introduced me to a woman who owned a corporate event planning company in Lincoln Park. She needed part-time, temporary help while one of her staff went on maternity leave. I sent her my resume and we did an interview. Despite my limited experience, since I could start right away and had excellent references, all I had to do now was say yes.
A real change. Another step toward discovering my capabilities.
I typedyesand hit send.
Another two weeks later, I slid my phone into my pocket and washed my hands in the break room before returning to the coffee bar. I was staying on at the café while I transitioned into work at the event planning company. Today, I had a nice long shift to look forward to on a zero-degree day with windchill dipping into the negatives. Store traffic would be slow. Time would tick even slower.
The door flew open and an icy gust of wind barreled in. A figure in a fur-lined hood stood letting the heat escape. A duffel bag hit the floor.
“Do you need help?” I circled out from the counter. “It’s brutal out there.”
The person—a guy—attempted to close the door, battling the fierce wind. Our shop didn’t have a revolving door, which would have greatly helped reduce chilling wind gusts. Drip lived in an old building that soaked up a lot of money in regular maintenance of old pipes and drafty windows, with not much left for bigger improvements. Though maybe now with the added rental income, a new door could happen.
Something the next Drip manager could fix.
I pulled the door the rest of the way shut. A gloved hand rested on mine. I looked up and gasped. The face inside the hood was familiar but the setting all wrong. “Nick Bennington?”
Nick’s smile lit his face. “You walk here from the train every day?”
“Today I drove. Too cold to walk.”
His jaw hung. “You can park around here? I didn’t think—I mean, I figured I had to take the El. I couldn’t figure out the bus routes.”
His gloved hand still covered mine, both of us holding the door closed. I slid my hand back to my side, stepping back. “Nick, what are you doing here?”
He tugged off his gloves and rubbed his hands together. “As of today, I live here.”
“You...you do?” I couldn’t have heard him right. “What happened to Madison? Or the town hall job?”
“Those jobs are still there. For somebody.”
I couldn’t speak. This was what speechless felt like.
He took in the empty cafe. “Are you the only one here?”
“Cam’s in the back doing stock.”
His focus moved to the chalkboard menu. “I’ll take a flat white. I hear they’re good.”
