Page 4 of One Christmas Eve
“Okay, but this isn’t elementary school. We’re business owners and so is he and, who knows, you might even like him if you give him a chance.”
Oh, Zoe knewexactlywhat she meant by that. She’d been dodging Carly’s attempts to set her up for the last two months. “The last thing I need in my life is an uptight nerd.”
“You talked to him for maybe two minutes. He might not be as uptight as you think.”
“His name is Preston, Carly.Preston.”
“And?”
“There’s no nickname for Preston. His parents gave him a preppy name that can’t be shortened, which means they’re probably as uptight and nerdy as their son. I bet they drive gray sedans, too.”
Carly laughed, which just annoyed her more. “This guy really got under your skin.”
“He’s not under myanything.” Zoe walked over and took a sip of Carly’s coffee, even though she’d been trying to give up caffeine for months. “You know what’s going on here? You got married and now you won’t be happy until I’m married too.”
“That’s a movie cliché.”
Zoe gave her a pointed look. “Oh, you mean like going on a trip, pretending to be your best friend’s girlfriend, but there’s only one bed so you end up living happily ever after with him? That kind of movie cliché?”
“That’s different.”
“Not really. Sometimes clichés are clichés because they’re true. Like women who get married and then feel a sudden urge to shove their friends to the altar.”
“I’d like to shove youoffour altar,” Carly muttered, and Zoe laughed because her cousin had gotten married on their grandfather’s boat dock. “Go talk to him, Zoe.”
She couldnotbelieve the words coming out of her cousin’s mouth right now. “Talk to him about what?”
“I don’t know. It’s a one-year lease, so he’s not going anywhere anytime soon. Just...be neighborly.”
“Oh, should I run home and bake him a pie first?”
“I’ve had your pie and I’m going to vote no.” Carly wrinkled her nose. “I don’t think that would help. You could buy one at the market, though. Maybe if you sprinkle some flour on your shirt, he’ll think you baked it.”
“And yet you deny you’re trying to find me a husband.”
Carly set her coffee cup down with a thump that would have sent coffee flying if it wasn’t almost empty. “Or maybe I just don’t want to get caught up in a battle of wills—or legal complaints—between you, this guy, the town and our grandfather. So what if he gets a little snotty about the sexy stuff. He’s not the first and he definitely won’t be the last, so why is his attitude even a thing for you?”
Zoe started to open her mouth, but she didn’t actually have an answer that made any sense, so she closed it again.
She had no idea why Preston Wheeler’s disapproval got under her skin—because despite her denial to her cousin, it most certainly had—or why he’d been in her thoughts almost constantly since she’d spotted him through the window. He’d even cost her some sleep, since she’d done a lot of tossing and turning as she relived over and over that buzz of attraction being short-circuited by the look he gave her. Or that he gave her window display. Either way, it had the same effect.
She’d actually—finally—felt a strong jolt of desire for a man and he’d gone and ruined it. And yeah, she was mad about it.
“Fine,” she snapped, just because she didn’t want to talk about this anymore. “I’ll go talk to him. And I’ll try to make nice.”
“Try hard, Zoe. I mean it. Granddad giving us a break on the rent is one of the reasons we could open this place, so we don’t need to be making things more difficult for him.”
Since Zoe lived in the apartment over the bookstore and her rent also got the family discount, she knew very well how much their grandfather helped them out.
Rather than risk making a snarky comment and dragging this conversation on until it became a rare fight between them, Zoe rolled her eyes and headed for the door. Maybe it would be smarter to give it a few minutes and figure out what, exactly, she was going to say, but she didn’t think it would help. And she’d just have to put up with Carly’s two cents and she wasn’t in the mood.
Once she was standing out on the sidewalk, she did take a second, though. The gorgeous stained glass set into the blue door always made her smile, and she let the sense of pride and accomplishment fill her heart. She’d done this. She’d left behind a man who didn’t deserve her—and her parents who’d implied she didn’t deservehimby taking his side—and the life she’d thought she was going to live. Instead, she’d shown up in town and told Carly it was time to reach for their dream. Now they were living that dream together, she was happier than she’d ever been, and she needed to stop letting minor annoyances—like judgmental business neighbors—temper her joy.
The bare window made her twitchy, though, so it was time to get this over with so she could go back to decorating it.
The glass window in Preston’s door was frosted, and the words Wheeler Legal Services & Estate Planning had been added in very subtle gray vinyl letters. Sheer drapes hung in the window between their two doors, offering some privacy to whoever was inside his office. Between the drapes and the glass hung a small, tasteful sign readingPlease Come In.
Of course it was tasteful. That sort of thing was obviously important to him. After allowing herself one final eye roll, Zoe took a deep breath and then opened the door.
