Page 7 of One Christmas Eve
“Not bad. Had to do some errands today, so I thought I’d see what kind of pies Rissa baked this morning.”
Preston had learned on his first visit that the owner’s name was Clarissa, but the locals all called her Rissa for some reason. He’d also learned she baked exceptionally good pies.
He nodded, trying to figure out how to frame a question about Joe’s ability to mandate what could and couldn’t be displayed in the bookstore’s window.
“Everything going okay?” Joe asked. “You look like a man with something heavy on your mind.”
“Everything’s good,” he replied, but he must have hesitated because the older man gave him a questioning look.
“You sure?”
“Interesting neighbors.” When Joe just looked at him, Preston felt the need to add “The bookstore.”
“I can’t really tell if that’s a good interesting or a bad interesting.”
“Not bad, exactly. But the window displays can be a little scandalous for next door to an estate planner.”
Joe chuckled. “A little fun before facing your mortality isn’t a bad thing.”
“Maybe you haven’t seen the current display.”
“Oh, I’ve seen it. Hell, three different people texted it to me on my way over here.” He chuckled again. “I’m going to go out on a limb here and guess you’d already spoken to the girls about the Halloween window?”
“I spoke to Zoe about it yesterday, yes. When I was picking up the key.” Preston winced. “It...didn’t go well.”
“The more you push at Zoe, the harder she’s going to push back. Maybe something to keep in mind.”
“You know her well, then?” He wasn’t sure if he was asking because he hoped for tips on navigating her personality, or because he wanted to know more about her.
“They’re my granddaughters. She and Carly, I mean. Zoe’s my older son’s daughter and Carly’s my younger son’s.”
“Oh.” Preston shut his mouth for a few seconds, not wanting to say anything stupid. He’d searched a long time for an office space that suited his needs. He also hoped Joe hadn’t looked over Preston’s shoulder before he sat down and seen him checking out the Cedar Street Books Instagram account. Oh, and staring at his granddaughter sucking on a candy stick.
Joe smiled at the server who delivered a coffee without even having to ask and listened to the pie list before ordering the blueberry with vanilla ice cream on top. “I guess when I told you they had the key, I didn’t give their last names. I should have told you they’re my granddaughters.”
“She didn’t mention that,” he said, once he was sure he could say it in a totally normal tone of voice.
Joe laughed. “No, she wouldn’t. Neither of those girls have ever liked being told what to do, but Zoe even more so since her divorce.”
Divorce.So she was single, then. Not that it mattered, of course, since she wasn’t his type.
But the heat that had flooded his body as he looked at her photo forced him to admit he might be wrong about that. And it wasn’t even the red lips wrapped around the candy, so much. It was the sparkle in her eye. The challenge. He had no doubt the true theme of the window had nothing to do with National Candy Day and everything to do with pushing his buttons, and it was working. But under the sexy and the sassy, he could see the humor and he didn’t totally hate this game they seemed to be playing.
Chapter Three
Two days later, Zoe and Carly stood on the sidewalk outside their bookstore and looked over the window display to ensure it looked as good from the street as they’d planned.
Maybe it wasn’t fun and sexy, but Zoe thought it was her best display yet, by far.
“This is your best one yet,” Carly said, echoing her thoughts so exactly, she side-eyed her. Having a psychic cousin would be so bad since Zoe used to tell her everything, but now it was onlyalmosteverything.
She had no intention of mentioning she’d woken up that morning sweaty thanks to a very steamy dream about a certain uptight nerd she didn’t care to talk about.
“Make sure you take a picture,” Carly added, giving her a pointed look.
Yes, she would take a picture of the new display to email to the town hall in order to prove compliance with the very stern letter they’d received yesterday. Hand-delivered even, by one of the selectmen. And that letter had been the follow-up to the email they received about two hours after she finished the National Candy Day window.
Everybody at town hall was pissed, which annoyed the hell out of Carly and their grandfather. And the worst part was, the only reaction she’d gotten from Preston had been the look on his face when he walked by the window. She’d been hoping for more from him.
