Page 90 of The Holiday Grump
Fredrik
“You have a date with Ralph?” I tried not to raise my voice, but it came out loud regardless. “Ralph Peabody?”
“Larry theLobstah, actually.” Noelle picked up another clementine slice and popped it into her mouth. “It’s just a fake date to boost his social standing.”
It was Saturday morning, and she’d asked me to meet her for breakfast at the closed Christmas store since, as she put it, it’d be on “her turf.”
I couldn’t say I totally understood, but anywhere she wanted to meet was fine with me. She’d been so busy I’d barely seen her for the past couple of days and was starting to spiral. I worried she was keeping something from me, and I hoped to God it wasn’t about her next cruise assignment.
Now I wasn’t sure this Ralph news was any better.
“But, why?” I asked, trying to find a more comfortable sitting position.
Noelle had managed to fit a picnic blanket on the floor between two shelves, and the racks of Christmas crap dug into my back.
“I’m just dating him to throw everyone off the scent about us, okay? It’s all fake.”
“Doesheknow that? He’s not the sharpest tool in the shed. Or the junkyard.”
“He knows,” she insisted. “He promised to stay quiet about us, and he’s kept his word all week. There was nothing inThe Almanac. I checked! And now I have to keep my word.” She took a sip of her coffee.
“He’s blackmailing you?” Now I was definitely shouting. “That is not okay!”
“We made a deal.” She gave me a stern look. “It’ll take twenty minutes. We’ll meet at The Shore Thing after he’s done with the lobster gig. We have one drink, he walks out, I pout for five minutes, then leave. It’s no big deal.”
“Why do you have to pout?”
She side-eyed me like I was a bit slow. “Because I’m sad I lost my chance with the town mascot.”
“That’s what he’s asking?”
What kind of sick game was that halfwit playing?
I tried to calm down. I had no right to act this jealous or possessive. She’d set up this beautiful breakfast for me. She was hanging out with me. The air smelled of citrus, baked goods, and plastic. Noelle had bought every fruit and yogurt the Hideaway Grocer stocked and picked up fresh croissants from the bakery.
I’d brought the coffees, lovingly made by Eileen. According to Noelle, she knew about us but had been sworn to secrecy. Watching her try to act normal was quite entertaining, like watching those aliens inMen in Black.
Noelle cast me a beseeching look. “Please don’t make a big deal about this. We’re friends, remember?”
I couldn’t match the lightness of her tone. “If it’s not a big deal, why didn’t you tell me about it earlier? And how does he know about us in the first place?”
She bit her lip, her gaze flicking about like she was searching for words. “He was at the crochet club. Did I not mention that?”
“I don’t think you did.”
Why did she look so guilty? What was Ralph really getting out of this? A dry hump? A muscle in my jaw ticked, and my hand tightened into a fist.
“Oh yeah. He popped in with this business idea but then changed his mind. He seems… special. Felicity said he was tested, and he’s not on the spectrum. But maybe he’s on the far end ofanotherspectrum that hasn’t been discovered yet?”
“Like the IQ spectrum?”
“Don’t be mean! He’s just looking for his place in the world.”
I sighed. “Aren’t we all?”
She smiled her gorgeous smile, the one that always turned my insides into jelly. “Thanks for understanding. I just want to keep our secret safe.”
I wasn’t jealous of Ralph or afraid she’d run away with him. I was angry with myself. Why had I agreed to this? It should have been me going out for drinks with her. Holdinghands with her. Pulling her into a kiss and holding her close, in privateandin public.
