Blame It On The Carols (Sugarplum Falls #6)

Three | Aiden

Three

Aiden

“I can help you here ,” Victor said, smiling as he stood behind the register. I was expecting Sam to be there this morning but was too tired from not sleeping last night to worry about it. I could catch up with him later.

“Thanks. Can I get a large black eye?”

“Woah. Sounds like someone had a rough night,” Sam said, coming around the corner. I knew Victor had worked with him for a few weeks now, but I couldn’t help but laugh at the shocked and confused look on his face as he tried to figure out what I had ordered.

“Something like that,” I mumbled, running a hand through my short hair.

“It’s coffee black with two shots of espresso,” he explained to Victor as he set a stack of napkins down on the counter behind them. “What’s up? You seem off.”

I stepped to the side and out of earshot of Victor and the other customers as Sam followed me to the end of the counter.

“Makayla showed up last night.”

Sam’s eyes widened as he folded his arms over his chest.

“As in your ex -girlfriend, Makayla?”

“The one and only.”

“The one who broke your heart and moved to LA to start a music career?”

“Yup.”

“The one who has won several awards, including album of the year?”

I tilted my head and leveled him with a look. He knew damn well who I was talking about.

“Wow. I don’t know what to say. What did she want?”

“Honestly? I have no idea. She said she’s in town because of her mom and the caroling competition, but I didn’t ask questions.”

“That’s crazy. Did she say how long she’ll be here?”

“A few weeks.”

“How do you feel about that?”

I shrugged and took the cup Victor handed to me.

“I don’t know. It kept me up last night knowing she was back in town. It was like she had already gotten under my skin, and we weren’t even around each other for more than ten minutes. I couldn’t stop thinking about the last time I saw her, and we all know how that went.”

“Maybe that’s a sign,” Sam said, cocking his head to look at me.

“A sign about what?”

“That the universe is bringing you two back together for a reason. If she’s already getting under your skin, maybe that means you never really got over her. And if you still have feelings for her, this could be your chance to act on them. To tell her how you really feel.”

“I appreciate your delusion with this,” I said sarcastically. “But it’s not like that with Makayla. Even if I still had feelings for her, she wouldn’t be willing to put her life on hold to be with me. Nor would I ask her to. That’s why we didn’t work out the first time and why things won’t work out for us now. Our lives and what we want are too different.”

“Don’t be so sure about that,” Sam warned with a grin.

I rolled my eyes and tried to fight the corners of my lips as they turned upward—not because I found any humor in this, but because I was exhausted and his smile felt contagious.

“You can be a hopeless romantic all day if you want. But some of us live in the real world, which means we have shit to do. And that does not involve trying to reconcile broken things from our past.” I tapped the counter with my knuckles and stepped away. “I’ll see you tonight. It’s karaoke night, so come prepared.”

“Alright, but only if you sing with me.”

“You’re my best friend, but there ain’t no way in hell you’re getting me on stage to sing.” I raised my eyebrows at him and pointed a finger.

“We’ll see about that.”

By the time I finished running errands and got to the bar, Jackie was already there. She was the assistant manager and had been working for me for years, which meant she was a godsend for me on days like today when my mind was scattered. She would somehow just know to take charge and get things done without me having to be present.

“Hey, how’s it going?” she asked when I walked in.

“Fine,” I answered with a heavy sigh. I didn’t want to keep talking about Makayla, but I felt the stares from people in town as they whispered about how they’d heard she was back. It wasn’t like it was a big surprise that we had strong feelings about each other, given we had been high school sweethearts and the whole town assumed we would get married and start a family with the way things were going between us.

“There’s a fresh pot of coffee ready and I ordered lunch. It should be here in half an hour or so.”

I arched an eyebrow and caught her eye.

“What?” She lifted her hands in the air helplessly. “You look like shit for one, and two, the gossip mill has already started. I just thought food and caffeine might be a good way for you to get your night started since you know people are going to ask if you’ve talked to Makayla yet. I just wanted to get as far ahead of it as I could and maybe make your night a little easier.”

“I look like shit? Gee, thanks.”

“You know what I mean,” she replied with a laugh. “I’m not saying you won’t still have women throwing themselves at you after a few rounds. Just that I can see the dark circles under your eyes from here.”

“Maybe I should wear sunglasses and hide in the back?”

“No can do. You’re running the karaoke tonight.”

“Since when?” I frowned as I stepped behind the bar to pour myself a cup of coffee—not that I wasn’t already over-caffeinated as it was.

“Since Justin called in sick. I’ll cover the bar, and you can deal with the drunk women who think they can sing.”

“Why don’t I handle the bar, and you take over karaoke?”

“Because, you know no one does it when I try to run it. People look forward to interacting with you. It’ll go so much better if you do it.”

I rolled my eyes and took a sip, allowing the hot liquid to burn down my throat.