Page 132 of Holidating
VOICEMAIL FROM NICOLETTE TO DAMIEN
Damien! This is Nicolette again.
I forgot to say that I decided to go by Nicolette, not Nicky or Nicole.
If you have any sense, you’ll delete this message and pretend you never got it.
Or—this would be helpful but still preserve your sanity—you can make a weird excuse, like you are going to be busy shampooing your cat, and helpfully connect me with a Burlington-based taxi service.
So…yeah. If I don’t hear back, I’ll know why.
Oh—wait! My flight is American Airlines from Washington D.C., arriving Thursday December 23rdat 2:35. I should have led with that. Um, bye!
Beep.
VOICEMAIL FROM DAMIEN TO NICOLETTE
Hey Nicolette! I totally remember you. I’ll start adding a few extra sets at the gym this week so I can handle your luggage.
Also, my cat was recently shampooed, so we’re all set for Thursday. I’ll pick you up and take you over to the mall. I could stand to do a little Christmas shopping myself. I have a lot of nosy siblings, so I tend to leave it to the last minute, anyway. No closet is safe for surprises.
Just call me if your flight seems like it’s going to be late?
I’ll see you Thursday.
Beep
CHAPTER3
ON THE STORE’S SOUND SYSTEM: “ROCKIN’ AROUND THE CHRISTMAS TREE”
“Okay, which one?” Nicolette asks, her tone a little anxious. “I can’t decide.”
Damien studies the two shallow, handmade bowls she’s considering. They’re both beautiful, although their purpose, apparently, is just for show. “They’re both cool, but the glaze on the green one is special.”
“It is, right?” She runs a fingertip around the rim of the bowl. “I love it. But blue is her favorite color, so…” She sighs.
Indecision puts a little furrow in her perfect brow. He’s not quite sure why she’s struggling. At their first stop—a bookstore—she’d chosen a gift for her dad inside of three minutes. “Coin flip?” he suggests. “Rock paper scissors?”
“Sorry I’m so indecisive,” she murmurs. “I just want to get it right.”
“Because your…step-whatever is a great gift giver?” he asks.
Nicolette laughs, and then gives him a sideways glance that, in spite of its brevity, still makes his breath catch.
He’d thought he’d remembered how beautiful she was. But he hadn’t. Not really. Since picking her up an hour ago, he’s felt a little tongue tied. And overwhelmed.
It isn’t just the perfect curve of her cheekbones, or the bottomless blue of her eyes. It’s her energy. It’s the sunny sound of her voiceand the way she listens with her whole body. Like he’s someone who matters. Nobody else looks at him like that.
“Actually, she’snotthe best gift giver. I mean—her taste is fancy.” She makes a face. “She’ll probably give me a designer fragrance that I’ll forget to wear. Or a big silk scarf. The last time I tried to wear a scarf, I looked like someone who’d just lost a wrestling match with a tent.” She smiles, and her eyes crinkle in the corners.
“So then why are you sweating this?” He waves a hand over the two bowls. They’re both made by the same Vermont artisan, and they both cost over twohundreddollars. If he ever bought a bowl for that price, it had better include a wish-granting genie.
She runs a hand lovingly across the green bowl again. “This woman is the first person my father has dated since my mother died. So it’s important to try.”
Ah. “Get the green one, then. If it calls to you, maybe it will call to her, too.”
“All right,” she says. “Why not?”
