Page 25 of Grinch Girl

“Apologies, J-Bird,” he said, holding up his hands. “You have a truly excellent arse.”

“Don’t you forget it,” I called at him, giggling, as I headed to my car. It was kind of fun to have someone to joke with during this thing.

Chapter Eight

On Friday nightat nine p.m., I flipped the wine shop’s open sign to closed. There’d been an uptick in visitors in the past couple of days since it was so adjacent to the Christmas Village. Which was good, but the trend needed to continue exponentially for the shop to survive the winter.

Hopefully, tomorrow night’sSingle Bellsdates would help with that. The first night dates had been to feature the grand opening of the Christmas Village, but the dates tomorrow were intended to highlight local businesses. Carol had sent out an instructional email to all of the web series participants this morning:Purchase Christmas gifts in the wine shop or the thrift store. Grab holiday goodies in Diane’s bakery or enjoy one of the brand-new Christmas-themed cocktails in Jim and Nicole’s pub. Fill your trucks’ tanks in Michael’s gas station, highlighting how convenient it is to the Christmas Village for tourists.

I had tacked my own rude follow-up onto Carol’s message:You guys, we need more viewers on the web series. Do not be overly polite or boring on your dates. Say interesting or scandalous things! Make out if you feel like it! Swear! And when episodes are available, share on social media! If you have any friends with big online followings, please get them to share! The more eyes, the more tourists!

It was a lot more exclamation points than I normally used on anything, but I wasn’t happy with the number of viewers so far on our first episode. Less than a hundred people voted for thepairings on the second round of dates. We needed a much wider reach.

Since I’d be on aSingle Bellsdate myself, Carol was going to man the shop’s register tomorrow night during filming. With a critical gaze, I examined the space one more time before closing. I’d put out Greta’s holiday decorations, and the small store was at its best. White lights twinkled over the displays. Classic figurines of Santa were sprinkled all over the store. Bing Crosby was ready to croon on demand. While I was out, Bella had dropped off two fresh wreaths. One hung outside on the door and another hung just under the register, making the shop smell like pine and spruce.

The wreaths were just the finishing touch the décor needed, but the fact that they came from Bella made me snarl. I hadn’t had an ounce of time to think about how I would buy her half of the shop out. I needed several hours with my laptop and spreadsheets, to look at my savings and research interest rates on loans. But between my various jobs and the web series, I hadn’t been able to carve out that time. Driving home in my truck, I wondered if I had the energy to tackle that project tonight.

My stress thoughts were interrupted as I pulled into my apartment building’s parking lot. Nate was there, dragging a big duffel bag into the vacant apartment on the other side of Sean’s.

I slammed my car door as I got out, and he reappeared in the parking lot, this time going for a bag of groceries. “Hello, neighbor,” he called.

“You were able to get a one-month rental?” I asked.

“Yup! This unit was partially furnished, so here I am.” He held up the groceries. “Very relieved to have a different dining option than the resort restaurant.”

“I bet.” I pulled my keys out and walked to my door.

Nate leaned back against his car and looked up at the big, black winter sky. “It’s so dark here,” he said softly. “I can’t get used to it.”

His awed tone made me laugh. “It’s night. Of course it’s dark.”

He smiled at me, looking sheepish. “It doesn’t get dark like this in the city,” he said, tone still soft as if trying to be reverent of the night. “The streetlights are always on. Lights from all the buildings and businesses. Constant car headlights.”

He moved his body in a slow full circle. “I’d forgotten.”

“Forgotten?” I asked, pausing with my key in the lock.

“Yeah.” He shifted the groceries in his arms. “I grew up in a really small town in northern England. Not all that different from this. I owe you an apology, actually.”

Huh? I turned to face him with a crinkled brow.

“It was very rude of me to call this place a shithole in the bar when we first met. I’d been having a frustrating day, and being in Falworth was reminding me of my own hometown. Not the good parts. But there’s no excuse for insulting a place I didn’t even know. I’m sorry.”

I waved away his apology, kind of fascinated by the fact that he was from a similar town. He was so sleek and urbane, it was hard to imagine him originating from a rural place. “But you got out,” I said without thinking. “Like Bella.”

“Is that a note of jealousy I hear, J-Bird?” He took a few steps toward his door but kept his gaze on me.

Probably. “When I was younger, I’d always planned to move away from here,” I admitted. “I wanted to live in a city. To have an entirely different kind of life.”

God knew why I was talking about this. Maybe it was because the nightwasso big, black, and achingly quiet around us. Silent and magnetic, pulling out intimacies with its gravitational force.

“Why didn’t you?” His soft tone emphasized the short, simple question.

A simple question that did not have a very simple answer.

“Reasons.” My voice was more curt than I intended. I turned the key in the lock and pushed open my door.

I was halfway inside when I heard his soft follow-up. “Are there still reasons?”

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