Page 102 of The Holiday Grump
“Not very close. I still have the key to Fredrik’s store, though. I don’t think he’ll sleep there, so maybe we can pop in at night when he’s away. And during the day, we’ll figure something out.”
Grace raised her eyebrows. “Let’s make a copy of the key and return it. That way, he’ll think you’re not coming back and won’t be sitting there waiting. Because it sounds like he… might do that.”
I nodded. It was a terrible yet necessary plan that made me feel sick to my stomach. I didn’t want to run away. Never seeing Fredrik again was the worst punishment I could imagine. And it was exactly what I deserved.
“Okay,” I said. “I’m in.”
If I really loved him, I’d save him from the fallout of my mistakes.
CHAPTER 34
Fredrik
“She can’t have left!” I shouted, trying to get up from the bed Felicity and Jackson had imprisoned me in.
I’d been examined by the town doctor, then harassed by half the town after they brought me home to rest my fractured rib. Eileen and her friends had visited one by one, carrying pies and gingerbread, asking endless questions about Noelle and me, as well as about the handsome doctor in charge of my care. Thankfully, my mom and Felicity had taken over receiving them, sparing me from most of the inane conversation.
And now, I was staring at a photo of a CLOSED sign on The Christmas Wonderland window, papered over with pages of the latestAlmanac, featuring stories about me punching the town mascot and, of course, the Christmaslights in my store. I’d bartered with the reporter, trading a short interview on my complicated relationship with Christmas in exchange for them keeping Spencer’s name and face out of their publication. He didn’t deserve any publicity—positive or negative—especially if he was planning to sue me.
Jackson took his phone away. “I don’t know where she is. I’m just telling you that the shop is closed.”
“I need to get there.” I tried to get out of bed, but Felicity stopped me, shooting Jackson a furious look. “Are you trying to make him worse? Why does he need to know about the store? If Noelle decides to run off, there’s nothing he can do about it anyway. Two buses left yesterday. She could have been on either of them.”
“Does he not deserve to know?” Jackson asked, folding his arms. “If it were me… if I were head over heels for someone and actively looking for them, I’d be pretty pissed if my closest friend or sister was keeping things from me.”
He emphasized the wordsister, meeting Felicity’s gaze head-on.
“Wait, what have you not told me?” I demanded.
Felicity chewed her lip, looking torn. Finally, she cleared her throat. “I went in this morning to clean the bookstore, and she’d taken her things. All gone. The key was on the counter.” She dug into her pocket and handed me Noelle’s spare key.
“No note?” My voice cracked.
She shook her head. “Sorry.”
“She wouldn’t leave without saying goodbye,” I insisted, wanting so badly to believe my own words. “She wouldn’t just… leave.”
They both gave me a sorry look.
“What?” I shouted. “She loves me. I love her. We belong together, and we both know it.”
“Look at you!” Jackson grinned. “What happened to friends with benefits? You were so happy you didn’t have to worry about commitment or meeting her friends and family.”
He was a true multitasker, simultaneously poking fun at me and scandalizing my sister.
“Please tell me you didn’t say that!” Felicity directed her fury at me, and I swallowed hard.
“She suggested it, but it didn’t last long. I mean, I got so jealous I punched Ralph.” I tried to hang my head, but the pain flared in my chest, and I had to raise my chin again.
“Why would she suggest something that stupid?” Felicity huffed in disappointment. “I thought you guys were endgame, not some stupid hookup.”
“We are!” I whacked the bottle of pain pills off my nightstand.
As Felicity bent to pick it up, and Jackson focused on staring at her ass, I rolled out of bed, pressing a pillow to my chest.
If I avoided unnecessary movement, especially twisting, I was fine. I could walk. And I had to get to my store. I had to find the note. If she’d really left, there must have been a note.
“Three days of full bed rest, you idiot!” my loving sister screamed as I hobbled out of the room and out of her reach.
