Page 34 of Wintertime Love (Holiday 2)

I huff. “I wasn’t crying.”

“You were about to and it was my fault,” he admits ruefully.

I turn my gaze away and rub my hand on the spot where the hot chocolate had fallen. It’s a little tender but the pain is fading away.

“Does it hurt?”

“No,” I lie.

From the look on his face, it is obvious that he doesn’t believe me.

“Just a little,” I amend my statement. “It’ll be fine. Honestly. It wasn’t that hot to begin with.”

Finn runs his hands through his hair, looking frustrated. “I’m not trying to sabotage your business, Clara. Even if I wanted to, I couldn’t.”

I blink. “W-What?”

He shoves his hands in his pockets and looks at me dead in the eye. “Everything you’ve built is based on customer service. I can’t compete with that. Your diner is like a home away from home for the people who come there. It’s a gathering place for friends. Somewhere, they can finish their food and get up to help you out with the extra work. Where they can just drag in an extra chair and not feel awkward at all. You give them an experience that my chain of coffee shops can’t. It’s like a community center. Everybody is welcome and taken care of. They come there for you and what only you can give them.” He lets out a sigh. “I don’t know how you don’t see that. It doesn’t matter how cramped it gets sometimes, people still want to come to your diner.”

His words make my heart flutter and listening to someone who is essentially an outsider, talk about my business with such praise, I feel a sense of pride, as if I’ve actually achieved something.

Finn grimaces. “Besides, it’s not like it’s a done deal. The sale went through because my business partner wanted to do this. I came here to see if this was indeed worth investing in. I haven’t drawn any conclusions yet.”

My lips part in shock as I ask, “A-Are you serious?”

He flashes a faint half smile. “Of course. Do you think I personally come and check out each place before setting up shop there? That’s for my marketing team to do. I just wasn’t sure initially and now, I think it’s a good idea but maybe the location by itself might not be financially sound. I’m the one who has too strong of a competitor.”

His words shouldn’t make me this happy but they do.

He must have seen the way my eyes just lit up and he chuckles dryly. “Heartless little thing.”

I tuck my tongue in my cheek and try to look a little severe by drawing my brows together.

This just makes him laugh as he smooths my forehead with his hand. “The layout of your diner right now is great. Don’t change anything.”

I look up at him. “I’ll think about it.”

He raises his eyes heavenward and then puts his hands on my shoulders, “Can I convince you to spend some time thinking about something else as well?”

I stare at him warily. “What?”

“Us.”

I bit my low

er lip, “There is no—”

“You know,” he begins, nonchalantly, cutting me off. “When my father came to Dublin, it was to meet a friend of his after ten years. He was going to be there for two days and then fly back. They met at a pub and the waitress who served them was my mother. He fell in love with her almost instantly. He pursued her, won her heart, and never left Dublin.”

My legs feel weak as I hear what he’s implying. “W-Why are you telling me this?”

He shrugs his wide shoulders. “Just something to think about, Darlin’.”

Chapter 7

Finn’s little story doesn’t leave my head for the next three days and I ponder over what he was trying to say. There is the obvious answer but I’m almost afraid to consider that. Instead, I decide to drive myself insane, racking my brains over it.

“Aunt Vee, are you sure it’s here?” I move through the attic, looking around. “I don’t see any box marked ‘Clara’s Hearth’ in here.”

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