Page 23 of There's Only One Sleigh
I almost choke on the sip of coffee I just took when my phone buzzes in my hand with a text message from Rob.
Leave some cookies for the family.
I laugh out loud, setting my coffee down. Then I glance over my shoulder to see if I’ve attracted Penny’s attention. When she doesn’t come in from the kitchen, I snuggle deeper into the couch.
I know this is a small town, but you’ve already heard I raided the stash Penny’s making to hold you all over?
Just a lucky guess.
Mr. Wilson neglected to tell me the innkeeper would be leaving and the entire Byrne family would be moving in.
Not all of us.
I type out a somewhat flirty comment, telling him that was too bad, and then I delete it. And then I can’t think of another response and then the panic sets in because if he was watching his screen, he’ll have seen the dots and then the pause. He’ll know I was going to say something and thought better of it.
I’ll leave a few cookies for you,I finally type.
The storm’s finally winding down, so the roads should be clear in the morning. We’ve got a lot to do, so if you’re not comfortable driving, let me know and I can pick you up.
I’ll let you know in the morning.Either way, the first thing on the list is visiting the General Store for coffee.
I like that plan. See you tomorrow.
When I find myself clutching my phone to my chest like a middle school girl who just got a phone call from her crush, I force myself to open my email app again to refocus myself.
Maybe I should switch to decaf.
Chapter
Eighteen
Rob
The roads are clear enough for Whitney to drive herself in by late morning, and I’m not surprised when she shows up with a coffee for each of us.
I spent a decent chunk of time last night lying in my bed, wondering what the vibe between us will be. Will it be awkward? Will I get to kiss her hello, or is she going to pretend it never happened?
It’s no wonder I can barely think over the sound of my heartbeat as she crosses the equipment bay toward me.
“Today is not only Monday, but half the day is gone, and the Christmas fair is Saturday,” she says, handing me one of the cups. “We need to get to work.”
She doesn’t meet my eyes when she says it, so I assume that’s her way of answering my unasked question of where we go from here.
I guess we’re pretending the kiss didn’t happen. Okay, then.
“We should go scope out the main street,” I tell her. It’s going to be nice today and tomorrow, but we’re in for a cold snap Wednesday and Thursday nights.”
“A cold snap? Has it notbeencold this whole time, including so cold we got dumped on by snow?”
I chuckle at her indignant expression. “By cold snap, I mean dipping down into temps that will turn any cute, fluffy piles of snow into frozen boulders. We need to look at the map we sketched out and make sure that anywhere we plan to set up activities gets cleared out before it freezes.”
“This may come as a shock to you, but I’m not great with a snow shovel.”
“So what I’m hearing is that you need practice.” When her eyes widen, I laugh. “We’ll make a list of trouble spots and I’ll get it to town hall so the Public Works guys can get on it.”
“I have the map on my phone.”
“And while we’re out driving around, we should stop by my place and grab the paint for the sleigh.”
