Page 1 of Let it Snow
CHAPTER ONE
Max
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The familiar soundof his morning alarm woke Max from the same dream he’d been having for the last few weeks.In his dreams, Max was walking through the English countryside—a far cry from the bustling streets of London where he was raised—searching for something or someone.There was always joyful laughter in the distance, but every time he tried to follow it to its source, it disappeared, and he had to start all over again.
This time, he had felt so close to reaching his goal that when the alarm sounded, alerting him to the fact that he was indeed dreaming, he was even more irritated.As frustrating as never finding what he was looking for had been, overall, the dream was a peaceful one.Something about wandering through the snow-covered fields settled something within him, and for the hundredth time since the dreams had started, Max wondered if maybe it wasn’t an indication it was time to go home, maybe even for good this time.
He reached his arm toward his phone and blindly hit it until the alarm finally shut off.With a groan, he rolled over and stared out the window into the darkness that lie on the other side.The bleakness beyond the pane of glass held no answers to the restlessness that was churning inside him.His life had become stagnant, and he wasn’t entirely sure how to remedy that.It wasn’t as if Max had been avoiding moving on from his position at the patisserie per se, it was just that the shop he worked at with his best friend, Louis Balardi, had been so busy since they’d overcome the initial growing pains that came with every new business, that he hadn’t wanted to leave Louis in a lurch.
There was the other part of it, the part where Max had no idea what his own thing would be.Running his own shop had been a dream of his at one point, but after working with Louis for so long, and in Paris for about ten years before that, Max himself was craving a simpler kind of life, one that didn’t necessarily include all the ups and downs of establishing a new business.Max wasn’t someone who enjoyed the feeling of being stressed.Could he handle it?Absolutely.Did he want to handle it?Not if he didn’t have to.
Maybe he could find a job as the pastry chef in some grand hotel in the city, but even the thought of that made Max grumble into his pillow before finally sitting up.He continued to stare out into the pitch black as he ran his fingers through his short curls, missing the longer locks he was able to sport back in his teens.Once he started in the service industry, they had to go, and working in some bougie hotel certainly wouldn’t see them returning anytime soon.
As he stood and stumbled down the stairs to the lower level of his loft, he idly wondered if Louis would let him grow them out again without making him wear a hairnet.Of course, that would mean staying where he was, and even though Max had come to think of Sunset Cove as a lovely place to live in the short term, it wasn’t where he wanted to put down roots.He didn’t have the same ties to it that his best friend did, and while Max was happy Louis had found the love of his life and made a home with her here, he just didn’t see himself being able to do the same.
Settling somewhere permanently had been on his mind for longer than he had been dreaming of home, and as much as he enjoyed America and all that it had to offer, he knew he would never find what he was looking for here.For starters, he couldn’t get a proper cup of tea to save his life.Coffee and espresso were all well and good, but there was something about a hot cup of PG Tips with a splash of milk that was more comforting to him than any amount of boxed macaroni and cheese he could put away in one sitting.The colorful, cheesy pasta dish had become a favorite of his, but it couldn’t hold a candle to British tea.There were other reasons why America just wasn’t the country for him, but he didn’t have time to ruminate on them at that moment.
Dressing for work quickly, Max found his way down to the shop.After Louis and his wife Hailey had moved into a house, they graciously offered Max the apartment above the patisserie.Max jumped at the opportunity to be able to get an extra half hour of sleep in the morning and had been living there for the last few years.As comfortable and convenient as the space was, it still didn’t feel like a home.He wasn’t sure where home was yet, but he was hopeful he would find it eventually.Max smiled as he pushed through the door to the kitchen, nodding at Louis who was already hard at work.The short hand of the wall clock was just past the four.Usually both Max and Louis started at that early hour, but from the trays of croissants sitting in the bread proofer, it looked as if Louis had been at work for much longer.
“Oi,” Max called to his friend.“Why are you up so early?Usually, I have to pry you away from Hailey and drag you into the kitchen each morning.”On more than one occasion, Max had indeed had to remind Louis that his job was to create pastries and cakes, not make-out with his wife in the front of the shop.
Louis chuckled lightly as he placed dark chocolate rods into some more croissant dough.Soon the delicious smell of baking painau chocolatwould fill the air, and Max’s stomach growled in anticipation of the first bite of the crisp, buttery pastry he would claim for breakfast.“That is true, and while I would love nothing more than to be out front in the arms of my beautiful bride, she was up all night with her morning sickness and I with her.When I could not get back to sleep, I decided to come in and get a few things started.”
Max looked around at the completed pastries, fermenting dough, and the half-assembled entremets.“A few things?”he asked incredulously.“There’s almost nothing left for me to do.”
Louis’ shoulder bobbed nonchalantly.“Sorry, mon ami.”He looked at Max, a teasing smirk on his face.“You could always head down to the diner for some coffee and pie if you need something to do.”
Max shuddered at the thought of going to the local diner and running into the manager he had made the mistake of sleeping with once last year.The woman was attractive and went after what she wanted, which at the time had been him.They had a good time in bed together, but there was nothing more between them and Max figured it was one and done.For her part, Diane seemed to think he was now her permanent booty call and would corner him any time he went into the small eatery, running her hands along his arm in a proprietary manner that he didn’t welcome from someone he had so little in common with.Max had been fine with hookups in the past, even welcoming them in lieu of a relationship for a long time, but things were different now.He was almost thirty-three years old.He wanted to meet someone special, someone he could spend the rest of his life with, and Diane was definitely not that person.
Max shook his head vehemently.“Absolutely not, and you’re a complete wanker for even suggesting it.” As Louis chuckled in reply, Max moved over to the partially assembled cakes and started to finish what his friend had started.“I think I need to meet a nice girl.Someone who wants me for more than my sexy accent.”
Louis raised a brow in question.“Since when does sounding like a posh idiot from London work on the ladies?”His smile widened as he finished placing the croissants on the tray.“Now, speaking to a woman in a French accent?That I could understand.”
A scoffing sound came from the door to the front of the shop, and Max smiled when he spotted Louis’ wife, Hailey standing there, her arms crossed over her small baby bump.“I better be the only woman you’re using your accent on, Louis Balardi.”
Louis’ eyes widened in panic for a moment, probably as he remembered all the ways in which Hailey tried to make his life hell when he first opened the shop.Once she realized Balardi’s was no competition for her family’s bakery, she stopped her fighting long enough to fall in love with the charming Frenchman.Max wanted something like what they had for himself, albeit without the bickering and competitiveness they shared in the beginning.With long strides, Louis made his way over to his wife, kissing her cheek as he placed a hand on her slightly protruding stomach.“You know you are the only one for me,mon amor.”Louis spoke in his native tongue, and held his wife close as he continued to whisper to her.
Max turned away and tried not to listen in, wishing for the thousandth time since Louis and Hailey became a couple that he didn’t understand French.It wasn’t the first private moment of theirs he had been privy to, but they were getting harder and harder to witness without him feeling a pang of envy for what his friend had.It was clear as day that Louis and Hailey loved each other.They had the real thing, the kind of lasting love that people wish for, and Max couldn’t help but feel a little jealous of his friend.Could someone love him the way his two friends seemed to love each other?Max liked to think of himself as a nice guy, one who worked hard and was fun to be around, but he had never felt that sort of intimate connection with a woman before.Maybe it just wasn’t in the cards for him, but he would never find out if that were the case if he continued in the same pattern he had been in for the last several years.
“I’m thinking of heading back to England for Christmas this year,” he announced suddenly to the cake in front of him.When he turned to look at Louis and Hailey, he expected to see surprise on their faces.Instead, they both turned to each other with a knowing look before their eyes met his.“We wondered if you might not want to go home for the holidays,” Louis said.His friend walked over to Max and clasped his shoulder.“I know you miss your family and your homeland.Feel free to take as long a vacation as you would like.Ken will be on holiday break from school, so I can always pull him in for extra hours to help out.”
Ken was their intern who was nearing his graduation from culinary school.The thought of being so easily replaced caused his stomach to sink slightly, but after putting that aside, Max felt grateful there would be someone to help his friend keep the business going, especially if Max’s vacation eventually turned into a permanent one.“Thanks, Lou.You’re a good friend.”
Louis narrowed his eyes.“I thought I was a wanker?”
Max bumped Louis’ shoulder with his own.“Don’t sell yourself short, Lou.You can be both.”
Louis shoved him lightly.“Asshole,” Louis muttered in French.The words were harsh, but the smile on his face and the twinkle in his eyes told Max just how fond his friend was of him, and it warmed his heart.
Hailey rolled her eyes at the two of them and walked over to her husband, brushing her lips against his cheek.“I’m going to work.Love you.”
Louis kissed the top of her head.“Love you, too.Take many breaks and let your dad do most of the work today, please.”She waved over her shoulder as she made her way out the front, causing Louis to run his fingers through his hair in frustration.“She never listens to me.All this time on her feet cannot be good for the baby.I’m going to have to tie her down to a chair to get her to take a break.”
Max picked up a cake scrap and tossed it at his friend.“Keep your kinks to yourself, mate.There’s such a thing as knowing too much about your best friend’s sex life.”
Louis laughed and tossed the scrap back at him before pulling Max into a tight hug.“I am going to miss you, Maxwell Harris.”
