Page 25 of Wintertime Love (Holiday 2)

I don’t see Finn that night and nor do I see him the next morning.

The café is filled with people for some reason and I’m too busy to think about the Irishman and his little bag of tricks. However, exactly at noon, a small snow white teddy bear is delivered to me, holding a red heart with an ‘I’m sorry’, sewn on it.

I stare at it as the delivery man tries not to smirk.

“Not a word,” I warn everybody.

And I put the bear behind the counter and get on with my day.

Exactly half an hour later, another one arrives. This time the bear is of a different color but it’s holding a similar heart. I don’t comment and toss the bear with its brethren. But it doesn’t stop.

Seven bears later, I’m fuming. I’m now, trying to reign in my temper and trying not to be charmed by this man who’s doing his best to crawl under my skin. “Stupid, stupid, stupid,” I keep muttering and it doesn’t escape my notice that nobody is meeting my gaze, their lips twitching as they try to hold in their laughter. I slam the takeaway box down next to Nick, who’s laughing openly. “Here!”

“I didn’t order takeaway,” he protests. “I specifically said I wanted to eat it here.”

I glare at him. “If you value your life, you’ll take the damn box and leave.”

“You’re no fun.” He pouts, putting on his jacket. “If I was wooed like this, I would have given in by now.”

“Nick,” I say, sweetly.

He gives me a wary look. “What?”

“Shut up or I’m going to beat you up.”

He runs his eyes over me, looking doubtful, “You can’t take me.”

I put my face close to his and whisper in a dangerous tone, “Don’t be so sure of that.”

He hesitates before saying in an uncertain tone, “You can’t.” However, he doesn’t wait to find out.

I’m in a black mood the whole day. It doesn’t help that the teddy bears are so darn cute and I like how they are in different colors. What irks me is that I can feel the control of this situation is being neatly taken away from me and I hate it. I told him I would think about it but Finn, without even showing a glimpse of himself is making his presence so blatantly known that I want to find him and wring his neck.

By the time I close up, the floor behind the counter is littered with multicolored bears and I’m exasperated.

That night I don’t run into Finn again.

On Monday, it’s heart shaped chocolates.

On Tuesday, it’s balloons.

On Wednesday, it’s small figurines.

The whole town is now talking about how the Irishman is showing his devotion to me and even the few tourists that are in town at this time of year, find themselves drawn to the center of the drama.

I’m determined to ignore it.

I have not seen hide or hair of the man and I’m beyond pissed.

My aunts are enjoying the whole thing and refuse to divulge Finn’s whereabouts. They keep saying that they have no idea and since I can’t force it out of them, I have no choice but to accept it and move on. Everybody else seems to have seen him. I round a corner and I hear about him from somebody or the other. He’s moving within town but he’s avoiding me.

There had been no movement in the building across from mine. When I asked Mayor Roger, he just shrugged, saying that Finn hasn’t said anything so far. My frustration is building up and by Friday evening, I am seething.

I let Stacy off as soon as the last customer is gone and decide to take out my resentment by doing some cleaning. There is no trace of the gifts that have been sent by Finn as I have seemingly distributed them or destroyed them. But in my office, where no ones aside from me goes in, I have kept one item from each. I don’t know why I didn’t toss them out with the rest and I don’t want to think about the why of it.

The door opens and I say loudly, “We’re closed.”

“Oh. Too bad.”

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