The Christmas Cookie Crush (Arcadian Falls Christmas #4)

Chapter 13

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Austin

Giving myself twenty-four hours to plan a date means I don’t have a lot of time to psych myself out about it, and working all day at ChristmasFest provides an excellent distraction from my nerves. But it also means I don’t have much time to plan. I kinda still can’t believe she actually said yes. When she asked if it was a date, I knew she was going to say no. That calling it a date was the killer.

But also, that’s what I want. A date. Not platonic friends or anything else.

That’s the real reason I can finally admit to myself that I want her to not hate me. I think she’s pretty and I want to date her and get to know her as an adult. I want to find out what she does for fun now. What she’s getting her degree in, what her plans are after graduation—assuming she’s in college. Or if she’s not, what she’s doing when it’s not ChristmasFest time.

After asking her out at the open house, we walked back to the party together and largely went our separate ways, both of us claimed by conversations with other people vying for our attention. But I caught her looking at me several times as the evening progressed. I couldn’t help looking for her over and over and over again, wondering what she was doing, who she was talking to, watching her sway to the songs she liked, mouthing the words with her sister, dancing with the little girl who must be her niece or something.

I left while the party was still in full swing, wanting to have time to figure out where to take Nora tonight. I’ve landed on a couple of options, and I’m planning on letting Nora pick what she’s in the mood for. If she wants drinks and appetizers, then The Filling Station. If she’s up for a more standard dinner date, then I think we’ll go to Seasons.

I wore my usual Give and Cake T-shirt for work today, but I paired it with khakis after saying a prayer to the bakery gods that I don’t spill anything on myself today, or if I do that it’s only on my apron. By mid-afternoon, so far, so good. I have a button-down hanging in my car that I’ll put on before I meet Nora so I can look like I’m actually dressed for a date.

That was one of the trickiest parts—figuring out what to wear that looks like I made an effort but doesn’t require going home to change.

I think—I hope—it’ll be okay.

Of course, since I’m having this type of clothing crisis, I’m hoping I didn’t put Nora in an awkward position. She usually changes clothes entirely, though, so hopefully she has something she feels good about wearing on a date that’s easy to change into here.

I mean, she can wear jeans and a T-shirt or her elf costume for all I care. But I want her to feel comfortable.

Give and Cake is slammed today. The whole ChristmasFest is packed since it’s the weekend before Christmas, and it only gets more crowded as the day goes on.

One nice thing about both of us working here is that we’ll both understand if the other doesn’t get done exactly on time. On days like today it’s a challenge to get people to leave when the day’s over, and some of them like to linger long past the eight o’clock closing time.

I can imagine visits and pictures with Santa are even worse than a bakery kiosk. If they get behind or a kid is having difficulty, how do you politely but firmly get back on track? It’s been a while since I’ve spent much time around the Daniels family, but I can’t imagine Mr. Daniels being like, “Time to go, kid! Get off my lap and go away! Merry Christmas!” He’s nothing like the Santa in that old movie where the kid asks for a BB gun and gets told he’ll shoot his eye out then shoved down a slide with Santa’s boot in his face.

My dad thought that movie was hilarious and insisted on watching it every year, while my mom hates it. Though she did get him a leg lamp ornament for Christmas one year, and it’s his favorite thing. She rolls her eyes when he gets it out to hang it on the tree, but she’s smiling the whole time, so even if she hates the movie, I can tell she likes making my dad happy.

Despite the crowds, I manage to catch a few glimpses of Nora, and she even stops by on one of her breaks. I’m so busy, I don’t even see her get in line, so it’s a surprise when I glance up after helping a customer and notice she’s three people back.

She grins and waves at me, and I smile back but quickly resume helping the next person in line. Of course, the sooner I get through the people between us, the sooner I can talk to her.

She’s still smiling when she reaches the counter. “Hey,” she breathes, seeming suddenly shy.

“Hi.” We stare at each other for a second, both of us at a loss for what to say. Then it hits me that she’s probably here to buy something. “What can I get you? A scone? A cookie? I don’t have any elves left today, and I gave you all the ones that look like you. There’s just snowmen and Santas left.”

“Oh, uh …” Blinking, she looks at the pastry case, her expression blank.

Chuckling, I lean against the counter and pitch my voice low. “Did you just come by to say hi?”

Her cheeks pink, and she bites her lip. But then she shakes her head. “No,” she rasps. Clearing her throat, she tries again. “No. I mean, yes, I did want to say hi. And make sure we’re still on for tonight? But I also want a cookie. Since you’re out of elves, I guess I’ll settle for a snowman.” She makes a big show of being put out by the cookie choice, and I chuckle.

“Yes, we’re definitely still on for tonight,” I answer as I get her cookie for her. “I didn’t make this batch of cookies, so you’ll have to tell me how mine compare later.”

Her eyes twinkle as she accepts the bag, and her fingers brush against mine, once again sending a zing through me. “I’ll be sure to give a detailed report over dinner.”

“I look forward to it.”

A throat clears loudly behind us. “Are you two going to flirt all day?” says the middle-aged woman standing behind Nora. “Or can I get a cookie too? Or”—her eyebrows wiggle—“do all cookie orders come with that kind of flirting?”

“How much do I owe you?” Nora asks quietly as I laugh awkwardly, her eyes still dancing with amusement.

I quote her the price, though part of me wants to tell her it’s on the house. With our current audience, that might end up with that lady asking for special treatment too, and I don’t want to deal with that. Plus, the point of working here is to help Grampy and Nana run the bakery. That means I can’t give away all the cookies I want to Nora.

It takes me a moment to drag my attention away from Nora’s retreating form and back to the next customer, who’s watching me with amusement stamped on her face. “You guys are cute,” she tells me.

“Thanks,” I murmur and clear my throat. “What can I get you? A cookie?”

Grinning, she shakes her head. “Nah. I was just busting your balls. I need a muffin and two loaves of pumpkin bread. They make great hostess gifts at parties, and I have two more coming up. Can you believe it? One tomorrow and another one on Monday? Honestly, who schedules a Christmas party on a Monday night?”

Shrugging, I collect her order. “Someone who can’t find another date that works?”

“I guess,” she grumbles, but it sounds mostly good natured. “At least the kids don’t have school the next day, so I won’t feel so bad about them being out later than normal.”

Nodding and smiling in agreement, I ring her up, more grateful than normal when she walks away. Usually I don’t mind conversations with customers, but with her interrupting Nora and me, that one was just awkward.

The nerves don’t really hit until after I’ve successfully closed the Give and Cake kiosk for the night. I need to dart out to my car and get my shirt, but the temperature has dropped and it’s snowing, so I can’t go too quickly. No need to risk falling and breaking my ass. That’d for sure ruin the date.

Though I can think of plenty of other ways for it to get ruined without anything that dramatic. What if we run out of things to talk about? What if she’s just pretending to give me another chance but this is really an opportunity to get her revenge? What if she is giving me another chance and I blow it somehow? I’ve nearly screwed up every interaction we’ve had so far, why would I think this will go better?

Hissing at the cold when I take off my coat, I hurriedly put on the button-down, button it up, cuff the sleeves, and shove my arms back in my coat sleeves, hopping around as much as I can without slipping and falling on my ass to stay warm. Then I hurry back inside so I can meet Nora outside the North Pole area.

I’ll probably have a few minutes to wait if she needs to change, but I don’t want to leave her there waiting for me if she got done faster than me with either closing up or changing. It helps that she doesn’t have to try to sprint through snow and ice to get to her change of clothes.

When I get back inside, I breathe a sigh of relief at the warmth, striding quickly through the space, my steps oddly loud now that only the remaining stragglers closing up shop are inside. The North Pole is strangely empty. There’s usually someone here already when I arrive at ChristmasFest in the mornings, either Nora or one of the other elves setting up, Santa and Mrs. Claus making sure everything is just so for the kids who come to see them.

I admire how hard they work to make this place magical. And now that I’m standing here with time on my hands, I marvel at the attention to detail in the setup. It’s not just cheap spackle and spray paint that looks good far away but cheap and tacky up close. No, the chair looks like it’s upholstered in real velvet. The greenery is fake, but it’s the kind where it’s hard to tell until you get close and feel it. And, oh, some of it is real. The garlands and wreaths are pine. That’s not just an air freshener making it smell like that, even if the trees are fake. The decorations hanging around all look like authentic old world ornaments, rich and luxurious and I’m sure they come from the Christmas Emporium. Or at least the suppliers where they get their stock.

I smile when I spot a pickle in the Christmas tree. My family never did that tradition, but I had friends whose families did, including Dylan, now that I think about it. So it makes sense it’s on the tree here.

One year I found the pickle on their tree, and Nora got so mad, saying it wasn’t fair, that I was stealing the prize. It was meant for her family, and I wasn’t part of it.

I can’t help smiling at the memory. She was so feisty as a kid, which I thought incredibly annoying at the time, but seems adorable to adult me. Does she still have that same fire?

“Hey.” Her soft greeting has me whirling around to face her.

She has her hair pulled back with curls hanging down to frame her face in a style that looks adorable. No, not adorable. Gorgeous. She’s gorgeous, and her outfit is chosen to highlight that fact—a white cable sweater paired with red velvet pants that I want to pet, black boots peeking out from beneath the cuff, her coat draped over her arm.

“Ready?” she asks, returning my smile and once-over, though with my coat on, she can’t see much of what I’m wearing.

Even though I dressed up a little, my puffy winter coat makes me feel underdressed, especially when I notice the tan wool coat draped over her arm.

I’m so used to seeing her in her elf costume that I never noticed how effortlessly fashionable she is. A far cry from the little girl with grass-stained jeans and a ratty ponytail I used to know.

I duck my head in a quick nod. “Ready when you are.”

She grins again and falls into step beside me as we walk to the exit. “Where are we going?”

“Well, I thought I’d let you pick between The Filling Station, if you want something more casual like drinks and appetizers, or Seasons if you want a proper dinner date.”

Putting her coat on as we walk, she shoots me an amused glance, her lips pressed together like she’s suppressing a smile. “Hmm.” She scrunches her face as she considers the choices, then shrugs, tying the belt of the coat around her waist.

God, she looks so classy and beautiful. I might be way out of my league here.

“Let’s do Seasons.” She inclines her torso in my direction. “I’ve been hanging out with my sister Sarah and her group of friends that goes out drinking a couple times a month. And while drinks and appetizers are nice and all, we just did that last weekend. I think I’d rather have a real meal at a real table with servers if that’s okay with you.”

“That sounds great.”