Page 37 of The Christmas Cottage
“And this isn’t too much?” Vanessa asked again, nervously. “He said to not wear a dress, so I assume we’re going to be outside at least a little. I hope it’s not… hiking or something. I’d feel embarrassed if it was.”
“It’s definitely not hiking,” Imogen assured her. “This time of year, unless there’s a special event, hiking out in the woods isn’t a good idea. Too much ice and snow. Not unless you’re experienced, and Jackson wouldn’t do that to you. He’s a really good guy,” she added, and Vanessa smiled.
“I know he is.”
“Anyway…” Imogen busied herself behind the counter, heading over to the hot chocolate bar. “I know just what you need. A little burst of serotonin to get your head in the right spot before your date, and some chocolate will give you exactly that. How does white chocolate and peppermint sound?”
“That sounds amazing,” Vanessa said enthusiastically. “I’ll never say no to a cup of your hot chocolate.”
“No one ever does.” Imogen laughed, as she started to make it. A few minutes later, she handed the warm cup over to Vanessa, who took it in her gloved hands and sniffed the steam coming from the cup.
“This smells amazing.”
“Careful,” Imogen warned. “It’ll burn your mouth, so don’t rush to drink it.”
“Thank you.” Vanessa smiled. It faltered a moment later, and she gave Imogen a sincere, soft look. “I don’t have friends back home,” she confided quietly. “Not true friends, really. People I know at work, or who I see occasionally, but I don’t ever make time to do anything outside of work. That’s not really conducive to making friends.” She let out a small, self-conscious laugh. “This means a lot to me. How welcoming you’ve been. It’s not something I’ve ever had before.”
“I’m happy I could do that for you.” Imogen flashed her a bright smile. “I’m always here if you need a friend. Me, and my chocolate.”
Vanessa laughed. “I will absolutely keep that in mind.”
She waved to Imogen, taking a small sip of the rich, delicious chocolate as she stepped out into the cold, snowy evening. It was almost fully dark now, and she had just enough time to walk over to meet Jackson, just as the Christmas displays across the town began to flicker on.
She felt much more confident about the night ahead.
CHAPTER TWENTY
Jackson shifted his weight from foot to foot, standing outside The Toy Chest as he waited for Vanessa. He knew he was a little bit early, but he’d been too excited to wait any longer to leave the house. He leaned up against the side of the truck, watching for any sign of her as a light snow fell, fluffy snowflakes drifting lazily down.
A few minutes later, he saw her walking toward him, sipping something from a to-go cup. She looked beautiful, he thought, illuminated in the brilliant lights from the Christmas displays, and he thought he’d never get tired of seeing her walk toward him… at Christmastime, or any other time of the year.
It was a little too serious of a thought for a first date, he knew, especially when Vanessa wasn’t staying. But he couldn’t help it. There was something special about her, and he’d felt it from the first moment they’d met.
“Hey, there,” Vanessa said as she walked up, a smile on her face. She took a final sip from the cup in her hand and tossed it into the trash can just outside of the toy shop. “Hot chocolate from Imogen’s,” she explained. “I stopped by for a second on the way over.”
“It’s impossible not to,” he said with a grin. “Every time I smell the hot cocoa when I walk by, I want to stop in for a cup. Speaking of warm drinks—” He cleared his throat, holding out a to-go cup of his own. “I grabbed a little something for you too. Hot apple cider with honey and cinnamon. Thought it would keep you warm.”
“Thank you.” Vanessa took the cup, smiling widely. “I’m going to be more than cozy now. Holiday drinks are definitely one of my weaknesses.”
“Oh, I know.” Jackson chuckled, walking around to open the door of the truck for her. “I make you those eggnog lattes, remember?”
Vanessa laughed. “I couldn’t possibly forget. I think about them every morning.” She blushed slightly, hopping up into the truck, and Jackson shut the door.
He got in on the other side, starting the engine, and he flashed her a smile. “I’m glad you could make it,” he said. “I’ve been looking forward to this ever since we made the plans.”
“I wouldn’t have missed it,” Vanessa assured him, taking a sip of her apple cider, and she let out small, happy hum at the flavor. “Where are we going?”
“You’ll see.” Jackson grinned. “It’s a surprise. How do you feel about surprises?”
Vanessa let out another hum, tilting her head to one side as she took another sip. “I don’t know,” she admitted. “I haven’t really had a lot of surprises. My grandmother springing it on me that she needed me to stay was one, and I thought it was a bad surprise at the time, but it’s actually turned out that it’s made me happy. I’ve been happier here lately than I have been in a while. So that turned out to be a good surprise. And the eggnog lattes were a surprise too,” she added. “That was a good surprise right from the start.”
“Well, after tonight I hope that I’m still at two out of two for good surprises,” Jackson said, chuckling.
They chatted a little as they drove, with Vanessa filling Jackson in on how things had been at the toy shop, and Jackson telling her stories of interesting customers that had come by the diner. The conversation relaxed him a little, distracting him from the nerves that had made him jittery all day, since long before he’d left the house to come and meet her. In fact, he thought he’d been nervous and jittery since he’d first started to think of asking her out at all.
But the conversation flowed so easily that it was hard to stay nervous. They made each other laugh, and got each other’s jokes, both of them finding humor in similar things. It had been a while since he’d felt so at ease with someone on a date, and he knew he’d been right to ask her out.
Regardless of how things went, he was glad that he’d have this memory.
