Page 12 of A Not So Merry Kiss-mas
“Melanie,” his deep voice says softly, sending tiny shivers down my spine. I’m frozen, staring at his outstretched hand.
Cole and Noelle’s expressions fall a bit as their gazes bounce back and forth between the two of us, trying to figure out what’s going on. I glance up at Michael’s face and catch a beseeching expression in his eyes.
“Remember that sometimes first impressions are not always an accurate depiction…”The words from the letter float through myhead. Another crack splinters the sheath around my heart.
“Michael,” I croak, as I slide a shaking hand in his. His fingers wrap around mine gently, solidly, and a fluttery sensation unfolds throughout my chest. My brows shoot up, and my mouth parts slightly. “I think Mrs. Fletcher would enjoy this turn of events.”
He doesn’t let go of my hand, but instead just grins at me.
“Wait?” Noelle and Cole say at the same time, before Noelle points at Michael while looking at me and asks, “He’s your annoying neighbor?”
“And she’s the one you’re crushing on?” Cole says, pointing at me.
“Yup,” we both answer.
“Wait. You have a crush on me?” I ask sheepishly, heat creeping up my neck, overly aware of the fact that he still hasn’t let go of my hand.
His blue eyes darken as his gaze roams over my face before answering my question with a question: “Have you glanced at yourself in the mirror recently?” A memory of me freshly rolled out of bed with my hair sticking up floods me, and my cheeks get warm. “How could anyone not have a crush on you?”
He tilts his head, his smile getting impossibly wider, “I’m annoying?”
“You know you are,” I grouch, giving his hand a slight push. “Especially when music is blasting through your walls.”
Michael’s gaze softens, and the playfulness in his eyes fades. He gently squeezes my hand. “I’m really sorry about that, Melanie. I promise to be more mindful of the time from now on.”
A throat clears next to us, and we glance at Cole and Noelle, who are both wearing smug grins. Which, if I’m honest, is a tad bit irritating.
“I’m curious.” Noelle’s head tilts as her brows pull together. “How come you call each other Melanie and Michael?”
“Mrs. Fletcher,” I say, just as Michael says. “Mrs. F.”
“We were never formally introduced, and I only learned his name from her.”
Noelle’s quizzical expression turns into a cheeky grin as she studies each of us. “I think I would love your neighbor.”
“Come on, Ladybug,” Cole says as he takes Noelle’s hand. “Let’s leave these two to chat for a bit.”
She turns and whispers something in Cole’s ear that makes him crow, and when he gazes down at her, his face is full of adoration.
“I’m pretty sure he’s going to ask her to marry him after they visit Noelle’s grandmother in Utah,” Michael says just loud enough for me to hear as we watch them walk away.
“You think?” I glance down at my hand still in his and watch as he drags his fingers away slowly.
“He hasn’t said anything about an exact time frame, but I know he wants to spend the rest of his life with her.”
I take hold of the hand he just released and attempt to rub away the reminder of how his felt. “Yeah, they’re pretty smitten,” I say, watching the happiness oozing from both Cole and Noelle as they walk around the buffet table, grabbing some appetizers.
Turning back to the man who has exasperated me for months, I try to figure him out. What I find is him watching me with a slight grin on his face and a gleam in his eyes. My lips tug up at the corner, and my stomach quivers. I roll my eyes. “What?” I ask shyly.
“I’ve been hoping for an opportunity like this from the first time I saw you talking to Mrs. F six months ago. But then I had to go and play some ridiculously loud music.”
The first time I woke up to a bass drum in my ear at what felt like dawn but was actually more around 8 a.m.. I had had a particularly rough shift the night before where an entire family was rushed in after an accident on the interstate. They were in critical condition for a while. It was a brutal shift.
“I remember how mad I was.” My reaction to that was harsher than usual. After banging on his door, I went back to my apartment and cried.
Michael’s face takes on a faraway gaze before meeting my eyes again. “Music is what I use when I need to relieve stress—the night before definitely called for it.” His eyes are filled with sincerity and a tinge of regret. “In the past, I’ve asked any new neighbor if they're okay with me occasionally playing it loud. But anytime I knocked on your door, you never answered.”
Sucking in a breath of air and holding it for a moment before slowly pushing it out. I can see he’s telling the truth, and I believe him. Everything Mrs. F ever said about him comes to me, and the next thing I know, I’m telling him about me. “I’m a pediatric nurse doing my residency at Cedar Vale General Hospital. Right now I’m working more than I’m not.”
