Heart of Christmas (Curiosity Bay #4)

3. Chapter Three

Chapter Three

Audrey

The fact that my drink didn’t land in MacGregor’s face last night showed growth on my part.

Getting deep into my thirties brought a quiet restraint, and I was forever grateful that I didn’t ruin my sister’s magical night. I’d had plenty of experience with infuriating men while dating in Seattle, but I had nowhere else to go. I lived on an island with very few options. Everyone said to expand my horizons, so I spent every waking second of my free time trying to meet someone special just a ferry ride away. Who knew all that practice turning obnoxious guys away, year after year, would work in my favor? I didn’t explode at the one man I never wanted to see again.

The problem was that I compared every guy I met to MacGregor—the one guy I forever wanted to erase from memory.

And then he dared to pop back into my life again.

I scowled at the stereo in our family’s antique store and flipped on Christmas tunes as Dottie slowly moved behind the counter. We were babysitting her at the store today. I had the morning shift, and Brad had the afternoon shift before she returned to my parents’ home.

Deck the Halls triumphantly echoed into the shop with a cheeriness that didn’t quite hit the spot. I scanned the aisles of treasures and grunted in annoyance. I thrived during the holidays. It was a busy time of year for us.

Christmas was my season. It only happened once a year, and I certainly was not going to let one extremely sexy, cocky, know-it-all fling ruin my one time of pure bliss.

A few minutes before I opened the store, I wandered through the open door to Mae’s coffee shop. She’d built her dream right next door and opened the wall for each of our customers to walk back and forth. It was a genius move, and her little coffee shop had been a hit ever since.

Mae and Tyler had already boarded the plane for their honeymoon, but Stephanie was there bright and early.

“Morning,” she chirped. “Wasn’t Mae’s wedding a dream?”

I nodded, letting the goodness from last night wash over me.

I wouldn’t let running into MacGregor ruin all the joy from last night.

“Incredible.” I glanced at a few customers stationed around the coffee shop, relieved there weren’t any unexpected visitors. “She set the bar really high.”

“Right? And at the holidays?” Stephanie moved to the counter. “Now, if only we had men…”

I laughed and shook my head. “I’m not sure they’re worth the trouble.”

Stephanie snickered. “I’m close to agreeing with you on that one.”

I cocked my head and playfully frowned. “You’re in college. How can you already be turned off?”

“All they do is sit and stare at their phones.” She shrugged. “Or they hand me the phone and ask me to video them.”

“I’m so sorry,” I said with a giggle. “I think we might be doomed.”

“Your usual?”

“Yes, please.”

“One pumpkin spice latte with extra ginger sprinkles coming up.”

“You’re the best.” I slid my card through the reader and wandered to the end of the counter. “I hate to say this, but I think your best shot at finding a guy might be where you’re at now.”

She shuddered as she pulled the last espresso shot. “Don’t say that. Please, don’t say that.”

“I’m serious. Sure, you might find some duds more interested in staring at videos on their phones, but they can’t all be like that. Plus, you have a whole pool of them right on campus. Once you hit my age, they’re spread out, and trying to track a good one down is like trying to nail huckleberry jam to a wall.”

She pushed my drink to me and sighed. “Are you serious? Is it that bad? I assumed hanging out at a bar would make it easier. I’ve been dreaming of turning twenty-one.”

My eyes widened. “You’re not twenty-one? You seem so mature. Way more mature than I was at your age.”

“I just turned twenty.”

“And you’ve already given up on men?” I shook my head. “What is the world coming to?”

We chuckled, and I took a sip of my drink.

“You went to college, though, right?”

I nodded, sensing where this was headed.

“And you didn’t find anyone?”

“I was super shy. I was totally closed off from most people. I studied and worked at our store. That was it.”

“No way.” Her jaw dropped open, and I wanted to reach over and close it for her. “But you’re like…”

She didn’t have to say it.

“The wild child of the bunch?” I suggested to her.

“Yeah. Exactly. You’re never on the island. You always seem to be out and about.”

Yeah. Trying to recreate something I’d never been able to find since MacGregor.

My stomach knotted at the thought, and my shoulders raised with tension. “Yeah. I think that’s going to change. My methods aren’t working, and I’m getting tired.”

She nodded with sympathy plastered all over her expression. “It’s tough getting older. I get it. My mom’s always complaining about aches and pains.”

I scowled. “Well, I didn’t mean I was over the hill. I just meant I’m tired of trying to hunt down Mr. Right.”

She chuckled. “Sorry. No offense. My mom’s old. She’s like forty.”

My brows rose. “I’m like thirty-five.”

Stephanie’s cheeks flushed, and she reached for a towel to wipe down the counter. The door jangled as it opened behind us.

“Sorry.”

I chuckled. “No biggie. You'll see how fast time flies when you get to be my age. But seriously, maybe give some of those boys on campus a second chance.” I shuddered. “Because once you get to be my age, it’s slim pickings.”

Stephanie laughed as I made my way back to the antique store. I sipped the holiday drink and turned on the Open sign. My brother planned to come in around noon today, and I’d leave around three o’clock, so it was a pretty light day.

I wandered over to the box with the Christmas tree in pieces and scowled at it.

Maybe tomorrow.

A couple of customers came in, and I greeted them as they wandered through the aisles. As I turned around, I bumped into a solid mass.

“Oh, pardon me,” I said.

I looked up to see MacGregor’s dark green eyes staring down at me, and a flutter of excitement darted through me.

Jumping back, I gasped with a stomp of my right foot. It was some weird reflex he produced.

“What are you doing here?” I growled.

He scanned the store and shrugged. “Thought I’d kill some time before I had to catch the ferry back.”

“Go waste someone else’s time. I’m far too busy to babysit a grown man around breakables.” I brought my gaze to his.

A smile met MacGregor’s lips, which only infuriated me more.

“Slim pickings? Did the world wear you down enough to realize I’m not that bad?” he prompted.

My arms folded over my chest as I took another step back. “You were eavesdropping.”

His smile widened, and something in my belly stirred with the same feeling that got me into trouble so many years ago.

“I don’t think it’s eavesdropping when I happened to stop in for a coffee and overheard you speaking with the barista.”

My arms straightened at my sides as A Holly Jolly Christmas echoed into the store. “You are so…”

“Charming? Handsome? The one who got away?”

Fury chugged through my veins with the pounding of each heartbeat. “You are infuriating.”

I scanned his empty hands.

“Why would you say something like that?” His eyes sparkled with a mischievous undertone that spoke volumes. He loved getting me all riled up.

“Where’s your drink?”

He scowled and shook his head with a shrug. “My drink?”

“You said you overheard me at my sister’s coffee shop. So, where’s your drink?”

“I’ll go get one later. After I saw you dart into this store, I had to come to check it out. Cute place.” A genuine smile appeared on his lips, which only annoyed me more. “Is this the store you told me about?”

I was surprised he remembered anything about what I’d told him. Everything had been a sham, a ruse.

“I don’t remember,” I mumbled, pushing past him.

I glanced out the window to see a few snowflakes fall gently to the ground. It was a good thing my sister and brother-in-law got to the airport earlier. Our little island didn’t always hold up well in the snow. Things shut down like ferries, streets, stores, restaurants…

I froze and turned to look at MacGregor.

“You have to get out of here,” I told him, pointing out the window.

His brows shot up. “What if I want to buy something?”

“Then buy it and get out.”

“I have to find it first.”

I rolled my eyes and noticed a family carrying an antique wooden rocking chair and an even older Raggedy Ann doll toward the counter.

“If you’ll excuse me, I have actual customers I need to help,” I whispered.

“Be my guest. I’ll mosey around and pick that perfect something.”

“Whatever,” I muttered, spinning around and going to the counter.

I could feel his eyes on me the entire time. When I finally reached the register, I looked over at him, and he didn’t bother looking away. His eyes fastened on mine, and a flush covered my body. Even my arms got warm and red.

“This is so cute.” A woman with salt and pepper hair pushed the Raggedy Ann doll before me and untied the price tag from the rocking chair for me.

I nodded in agreement. “It’s adorable, and I love this chair. I can see it by a fireplace with Christmas pillows filling the seat.”

“Exactly my thoughts,” the woman agreed.

Her husband walked over to the window and whistled. “It’s coming down hard now.”

My eyes flashed to the window. The white flakes were enormous and flitting around with each gust of wind. The winter storm had hit, and I had MacGregor poking around my store without a care in the world.

He needed to get on that ferry, or he’d be stuck here, and I needed him anywhere but here.

I handed the woman the receipt, and her husband came over to take the rocking chair out.

MacGregor rushed over to the couple. “Mind if I help?”

“Oh, you don’t have to do that,” the woman said, shaking her head.

“My back is on the fritz,” the older guy told MacGregor. “I wouldn’t mind the help.”

MacGregor smiled at me like he'd saved the world. “Not a problem.”

I watched MacGregor swoop in and carry out the rocking chair as if it were as light as the doll. Once the door shut behind him, I let out a big sigh of relief.

At least he was out of my hair and would head off to the ferry and make it before the terminal shut down.

This just wasn’t how I'd pictured the holidays starting. I sipped my latte and took a seat behind the register. With this winter storm hitting today, we’d probably see absolutely no customers the rest of the day.

I reached for my thriller novel and opened to where I’d last left off. Sure, there were some items I needed to inventory upstairs, but the book was calling to me, and it would hopefully distract me from thinking about MacGregor.

Before I realized it, twenty minutes had passed, and it wasn’t the story carrying me forward.

I’d been daydreaming about MacGregor!

That was one of the many things that made him infuriating.

The one who got away?

As if.

At least he was off the island. He and the other couple should have had plenty of time to get to the ferry and cross the water.

If I couldn’t focus on my book, maybe I could at least decorate our front counter. An alert dinged on my phone as I reached for a box of garland.

I glanced at my phone and saw the message. The late afternoon and evening ferries had been canceled.

Talk about timing.

Good riddance.

I shook my head, thinking back to MacGregor, and was relieved he’d left the store earlier to make the ferry.

As much as I hated to admit it, the man was still as gorgeous as ever.

But not my problem any longer.

I was proud of myself for taking one for the team. I didn’t cause a scene. I refused to bring up the past with him. I had no desire to discuss any of it.

It didn’t matter that he’d managed to sneak into my dreams now and again. Dreams weren’t reality.

I untangled the fake pine garland wound with twinkle lights and grabbed some reusable hooks, happily anchoring them onto the counter. The snow was coming down sideways, and I thought about how Mae would be bummed she missed it. We didn’t always get a big snow in December, but when we did, it was special.

Humming We Wish You a Merry Christmas under my breath, I hung the garland and happily thought about the afternoon ahead. The store always provided comfort, and the winter weather outside made it even cozier.

As I anchored the end of the garland, plugged in the twinkle lights, and sipped my latte while admiring my work, I heard a man clearing his throat behind me.

My eyes clenched shut, and I slowly spun to see MacGregor.

“Beautiful,” he said, smiling.

I narrowed my eyes at him. “It’s just a garland.”

His smile widened. “That wasn’t what I was talking about.”