Page 3 of Mr. Merry Ex-Mas
I force myself to keep walking, refusing to look back and see if she’s watching me. I step out onto the sidewalk in front of the school, and the air smells like Christmas, all pine, cinnamon, and crisp air wafting through the breeze. Starlight Bay always does everything big, but Christmas? It’s over the top, just like Sadie. She makes Christmas magical, even though every event leading up to it is run like a drill sergeant is in charge.
But that’s part of her charm.
I’m still flying from the weird high I always get from pushing her buttons. The flash in her eyes right before she snapped?
Right before she’d throw herself at me.
Yeah, I miss that.
She thinks I don’t care. That I make fun of her and poke at her schedules and obsessive timelines because they are strange to me. She has no clue that my teasing is the only way I ever figured out how to get her to show the same fire for me as she does for her schedule.
We grew up here in Starlight Bay together, though we weren’t really friends. She was younger than me in high school, being the little sister of my friend Matt Byrne’s girlfriend, Kylie. It wasn’t until I came back after college and began teaching at our school that we ran into each other and spent some time together for real. But it seemed no matter how good it was, there came a point where we always ended up playing defense. I’d poke at her, she’d snap, and the next thing we knew, we were wrapped up in each other in bed.
We couldn't figure out how to get her type-A personality and my laid-back one to get along, but our chemistry was unbelievable, and that was the best part. There was no plan to get there; it just happened.
I wish she would let down her guard and see how good we really were. And I wish she would relax and realize she doesn’t always need a plan. She’s more than capable of moving with the wind; she just doesn’t want to. My job was to stir that wind, let it swirl around her, blow through her hair, and get her to notice she doesn’t have to live a life of chaos—just moments of it. That’s what makes life exciting.
So, as if the stars aligned just for us, the town has just tossed us right back together into planning the magic of Christmas—or mayhem. I grin, thinking how fun this is going to be.
I’m also not an idiot; I know she’s not happy about this. The moment she heard my voice, her back straightened, and she was forcing that wall up between us. That first spark in her eye wasn'tlust, but probably more about her remembering how I switched the ginger and garlic spices in her alphabetically arranged cabinet. Or how I would change the tops to her markers with the wrong color.
That second spark, though. That fire in her eyes when I stepped in close, invading her space? That was when she was remembering how I made her scream. How I was the only one who could. I’ve never forgotten how she feels, and I definitely didn’t mean to end things the way we had. Or rather, let them get so out of hand that we werereallyfighting, and there was no making up afterward.
Honestly, Sadie Johnson scared me. She still does. She’s driven, hard-working, and extremely focused on the end goal. Whereas I let life happen, days go by where I just do the same thing over and over. I’m happy, but there’s nothing outstanding.Sheis what was outstanding in my life. And I'm never going to fit into her perfectly planned future. I can’t be that disappointment for her.
And though we’ve seen each other here and there, since we run in the same circles, our banter today showed me our fire is still alive. Every gesture, every sarcastic comment, every little twitch of her perfectly arched eyebrow made it clear that she hadn’t changed. And I don’t want her to.
I just want a second shot. A real one where we both give in a little.
This time, maybe I can be steady enough to catch up. And maybe she can bend just a bit from her timeline. Because if there is one thing I know for sure, it has never just been about the fighting.
It’s how good we are after. And if I play this just right, maybe there will be no end this time.
3
DANNY
Grape Expectations Winery - 6 months ago
The music is too loud,the lights are too low, and the only people left on the winery patio are the ones who don’t want to call it a night. My best friend Matt and his fiancé Kylie have planned a surprise party for me here at Grape Expectations, the winery in Starlight Bay. But it’sherwho makes the night what it is.
Sadie paces in front of the dessert table, muttering to herself, rearranging fruit cups and evening out the half-cut cake. From what I’ve heard, she fought planning this party for three months. It wasn’t until Matt threatened to take her off payroll as the event organizer at the winery that she finally relented. I can’t blame her. We’ve been broken up for over a year now, and our run-ins since then have been less than appealing.
But seeing her tonight, knowing she did all this with me in mind has me remembering everything good about what we were together.
“You realize no one cares if the plates look half-eaten, right?” I say, leaning against the wall, sipping a glass of red wine.“Everyone here’s already drunk. They’d eat dessert off the floor if you let them.”
Sadie freezes mid-rearrange and slowly turns to face me, her all-black dress showing every curve I know personally.
With a raised brow, she says, “Presentation matters, Danny. It's a reflection of the host. Which tonight, is technically me.”
“Technically,” I echo with a smirk, “it’s Matt. You’re just theunofficialboss of everything.”
She rolls her eyes and walks toward me. “You think it’s cute to make fun of me, don’t you?”
“No,” I say, my voice low as I push off the wall, stepping up to her. “I think you’re cute when you’re about three seconds from snapping.”
She stops, holding her breath before she whispers, “You’ve been drinking.”
