Page 36 of Christmas in Watch Hill
TWELVE
JESSICA
Iwas being cowardlyand stubborn.
I didn’t know how to be any other way. Discovering I was pregnant had shocked me and knocked me off my axis in a way I could hardly describe. I’d always wanted a family and expected to be a mother, but doing it this way, with a man I hardly knew—no way. No way did that make sense. And while I needed to talk to Ian, the idea of doing so after our disastrous dinner turned my stomach in a way no hormones ever would.
Avoidance was a better idea.
“So glad you’re back at work,” Steve said to me as we made two spicy cappuccino orders. My employee smiled. “And we’re going to crush the next few days. Finish strong.”
“I hope.” I placed the lid on the first cappuccino, then took the one Steve finished working on. “We can use a few good days.”Ican use a few good days.
Steve moved a little closer to me. “You’ve had a lot on your mind lately. The holidays are hard, and I know you dread them. Plus, you haven’t been feeling well.” He paused. “I just want you to know I am here for you no matter what happens next.”
“Thank you.” I walked the warm drinks over to the cash register and gave them to the customer. When I walked back to Steve, I made sure to smile at him. Maybe if I acted brave and assured, I would feel that way, too. “There are a lot of exciting things happening for the new year, and with you working here, I’m sure we are going to have an even better year than this last one.”
“That’s great—” Steve looked past me and his expression brightened. “Oh, hey there, Molly.”
My stomach twisted as I turned in the direction of my longtime friend. She carried a bag from The Pink Box, and wore her puffy coat pulled tight. “Hi.” I tried to sound upbeat. “Did you have a great Christmas?”
“I did.” She stopped in front of the deli case and addressed Steve. “I’ll have the usual, if you don’t mind.”
“Great. One small Mexi-Cocoa coming right up.”
Molly nodded. “I’ve been craving that all day.”
“It’s by far our best-selling drink,” I replied. “We should look into trademarking the recipe. Maybe that can be something we are regionally known for.”
“That would be awesome.” Then her face fell. “But that’s not exactly why I came here.” She paused, still studying me. “I talked to Ian this morning.”
My stomach lurched again. “You did?”Did he tell her?
“He said your date ended abruptly.”
“Oh, that.” I exhaled a little. “You know how things like that go. We had chemistry when we met, but . . . I mean, it would be long distance.” I gave a semi-convincing chuckle. “In the end, that’s probably not fair to either of us.”
Steven arrived with her drink, which he handed to in her exchange for her credit card. We didn’t speak again until the transaction was over.
“He really liked you.” She sipped her drink. “No, not liked. Likes.”
“I like him, too.” I braced myself against the bakery display case that showed off an array of iced cookies and chocolate croissants. “But I don’t see how it could work.” I didn’t know what else to say.
“Just think about it,” she said. “There’s more to this than you think.”
