Page 36 of Sweet Christmas Wish
Will blinked. “Yeah, my reason was to reunite with Michelle.”
Clark laughed. “That’s what youthoughtyour reason was, but maybe it’s something else. Maybe it was to get to know a certain other person…”
Will chewed the inside of his cheek, actually letting himself think about Clark’s words. Sure, it was presumptuous of Clark, but he couldn’t deny that Clark had a point. He just hadn’t been letting himself think about it too much—but that was part of the problem. How could he try and rekindle something with Michelle when he was spending so much of his time now thinking about Michelle’s younger sister? It wasn’t fair, not to either of them. It was time he started being honest with himself. The problem was that he still wasn’t sure where his interest truly lay. Unconsciously, he grabbed an apple from a nearby stand and started tossing it from hand to hand in a gentle rhythm.
“Hey, man, I’m sorry if I’ve been too forward,” Clark finally said, breaking the long silence. “I just want you to be happy.”
Will gave him a half-smile, setting the apple back on the stand when he realized what he’d been doing. Before he could formulate a response, the sliding glass doors opening caught his eye. It wasn’t the movement so much as the person walking in.
The woman was short, but she caught his attention because of her strange attire—she wore a thick infinity scarf that came all the way up to her ears and her hair was entirely covered by a beanie. To complete the ensemble, she wore huge sunglasses, more appropriate for the beach then for a gray, snowy day in New Hampshire.
Something about her looked familiar and he focused on her, studying her.
Sure enough, he knew that pert little nose, those well-formed lips. Try as she might to disguise herself, he recognized Sarah trying to sneak into Burkman’s—a hilarious and ill-fated mission, he thought, since pretty much everyone knew each other in a town as small as Snowy Pine Ridge.
She glanced around furtively, scrunching down further into her scarf, before making a beeline deeper into the store, heading for the beauty section. Curious, Will said a hasty goodbye to Clark, clapping him on the shoulder quickly, then hurrying after Sarah.
He soon caught sight of her beanie-covered head, weaving through the aisles until she slipped down the beauty aisle. He waited until her back was turned to him before sneaking down the aisle after her, trying his best not to laugh aloud. It was all he could do to restrain it—the laughter gurgled in his belly, sliding up his throat and trying to escape. He couldn’t help it. She looked so adorable and ridiculous all at the same time.
Sarah stopped in front of the section full of boxed hair dyes, anxiously scanning the boxes as though searching for something specific.
Will tiptoed up behind her, leaning down to whisper in her ear, “Who are we hiding from so secretively?”
Sarah jumped, whirling around and accidentally whacking him in the face with the box of hair dye she’d just picked up. Will’s head jerked back slightly, stinging a little. Behind her enormous sunglasses, Will saw Sarah’s eyes widen with mortification and she gasped.
“I’m so sorry! I’m so sorry!” Sarah lifted her free hand, covering her mouth with total embarrassment and shock. “I can’t believe I just did that.”
Will rubbed his cheek. “It was my fault for sneaking up on you. Man, you have the reflexes of a ninja. What’s got you so jittery?”
“I… er…” Sarah looked down at the box of dye in her hands and the visible parts of her face colored in a blush. “I…”
Will’s heart suddenly melted as he realized what the problem must be. “If you’re not a natural blonde, there’s nothing to be ashamed of. You don’t have to sneak through the grocery store in disguise.”
Sarah stood up straight at that. “Iama natural blonde,” she muttered, looking down at her feet. “That’s the problem.” The last part was said so quietly he almost didn’t catch it.
“If you’re a natural blonde, why are you all bundled up in that silly disguise? What’s the point in sneaking around?”
“I…” Sarah sighed, her shoulders slumping. “I may have had a slight mishap when I tried to dye my hair last night. It… didn’t come out the same as the color on the box.”
Stunned, Will responded without thinking. “Why on earth would you want to dye your beautiful blonde hair?”
To his utter surprise, he saw tears welling up in the corners of her eyes and she reached up a trembling hand to wipe them away under her sunglasses. On impulse, Will pulled her into his arms, giving her a quick hug before releasing her, but not before the brief contact sent butterflies erupting in his stomach.
“Hey,” he said softly. “Don’t be so hard on yourself—I’m sure the color you dyed your hair doesn’t look that bad.”
Sarah shook her head, hard. “I assure you, it’s the most atrocious thing I’ve ever seen. I look hideous!”
Her chin wobbled, and he knew more tears were coming, though she tried valiantly to hold them back. Will wanted to hug her again, but he didn’t know if he could trust himself to do so for the right reasons. Was it really to comfort her? Or was it because he wanted to hold her in his arms again?
“Is there anything I can do?” he finally asked, feeling a little awkward. “I know you probably don’t want my help getting your hair back to normal, seeing as how you’ve hidden it under about a hundred layers, but I’m happy to help in any way I can.”
To his relief, Sarah managed a watery chuckle. “No, you’re one hundred percent correct. I donotwant you to see my hair this way, so I’ll try to manage dying it back on my own. I picked a color that should be close to my original color. Fingers crossed.” She gave him a half-smile. “Thanks for the offer, though. I really do appreciate it.”
Will shrugged, not sure what to say and feeling colossally useless.
“Well,” Sarah continued, “I’m going to get going. I don’t want to spend another minute with this awful color in my hair.”
“Okay, I’ll see you at the bakery tomorrow.”
