Under the Mistle-Foe (Christmas Falls: Season 2)

Chapter 11

CHAPTER 11

JETT

How could a smile be devastatingly handsome and yet break my heart at the same time? Or maybe that was his devious plan, to look all charming while delivering the fatal blow to my ego.

I was nice . And he was glad to have me as a friend . What was that saying?

Nice guys finish last .

They never got the girl in the end—or in my case, I’d never get the man. The man I’d been crushing on for way longer than I should have.

What sucked even more was the tiny glimmer of hope he would dangle over my head only to splash freezing water on me.

Like how yesterday he was all cute when asking what my plans were for today. Or the fact he’d actually come with me to the animal shelter, and the entire time it felt like we were fostering these cats together .

Even if I was doing this alone, I’d be the best damn foster parent they’d ever seen, but it was the principle of the matter. He couldn’t be all eager to hang out with me, making today feel like a date, and then call me his friend .

What was worse was the way he got excited about going to the store to buy things for Sugar and Spice. We brought the cats into the store with us, setting them inside the cart as Remy dragged us all over to find bedding, toys, and all sorts of things for them. Christmas Falls didn’t have a wide selection, but we found everything they needed.

While I stocked up on food for the fur babies, Remy disappeared. He returned not too long after with matching Christmas collars with bows—one red, one green. His eyes sparkled as he insisted on buying it for them, saying it was a gift from Uncle Remy.

My tortuous mind kept wondering why he couldn’t be Daddy Remy.

With all the items in tow, we checked out and stuffed his car full with all the cat stuff. He was still brimming with excitement as he made the short drive back to my place. I was half-listening to him, but I was mostly lost in thought and self-pitying as I petted my foster babies. Spice had stayed calm through this entire adventure, probably due to having his sister help comfort him.

“Jett, you okay?”

It wasn’t until I heard Remy’s question that I realized the car had stopped moving and we were parked outside my house already.

Remy was watching me now with worry lining his face. I quickly put on a smile—anything that would hide my emotions. “I’m fine. Was just thinking about if I needed to cat-proof the house.”

His brows furrowed. “Are you sure? Your smile seems off.”

Damn him for being attentive enough to know when I was faking a smile. Why did he have to go and make me like him more when what I needed was the exact opposite?

“It’s nothing. Just got tired all of a sudden.” The skeptical look he shot me said he didn’t fully believe me, but that was the story I was going to stick with. “Let me get the stuff out of your car and I can be out of your hair.”

I was out of the passenger’s seat before he could reply and placed the cat carrier inside the house first. Remy was close behind me, helping me bring in all the items I’d purchased.

It took another few trips before we got everything inside. My body was still on autopilot, trying not to think about Remy and how kind he was being or how cute it was that he’d stop to tease the cats before heading out to grab another load from the car.

I wanted nothing more than to invite him to stay to play with the cats. Maybe I could even get him to spend the night…

That didn’t happen, of course. Instead, I was being a rude host by keeping Remy in the entryway. I couldn’t let him into my space when my emotions were feeling this big.

Who knew if I’d do or say something that would effectively end this friendship? And god, even if my longing for him was slowly killing me inside, I still wanted to at least be friends with him.

“So…” I started. We stood by the entranceway, staring at each other and shifting on our feet. “Thanks for coming with me today, and for helping me get everything for the babies.”

Remy tucked his hand in his pants pocket. A piece of his long hair fell over his face and he reached up to tuck it behind his ear. “I can stay and help you set everything up?”

The earnestness in his question had my self-control wavering. I wondered if I would ever be able to build an immunity to this man. To one day be in the same room as him and just see him the same as everyone else. But that day wasn’t today.

“Maybe another time? I think it’s best if I get the cats settled in first,” I replied.

Remy looked almost…dejected by my answer. I told myself not to read too much into it or get my hopes up yet again, because I would only end up getting hurt in the end. So I turned away and forced myself to look at the cats.

Focus on the cats and don’t look at Remy. Don’t look at him.

I’d heard cats slept most of the day away, and it was obviously true since Sugar and Spice were still cuddled up together and sleeping inside the carrier.

Honestly, I was surprised these babies weren’t fostered out sooner. Sure, Spice had a little spice to him, but they were pretty chill overall. Not to mention so freaking adorable.

“Okay.” It took everything in me not to look at him at the sound of his soft voice. He didn’t have the stereotypical smoker’s rasp, but it was smooth like velvet and sounded so good to my ears. “I’ll see you tomorrow then? At the diner?”

This time I did look up, because why was there a hint of desperation in his tone? What did it mean when your crush, who made it a point to categorize you as a friend, wanted to see you every day?

There was also the fact that I had no clue what his type was. Sexuality wasn’t a huge deal around these parts—another reason why I loved Christmas Falls. The residents here didn’t care who you loved. It didn’t need to be announced like it was a big deal, because it wasn’t. Everyone was accepted.

I realized the only issue with that mentality was that I had no way of knowing Remy’s preferences unless I straight-up asked him, and there was no way in hell I was doing that. Because what if he told me he was straight? What if he wasn’t …

I couldn’t really be too sure, because I’d never seen him date anyone . In high school, he was always so focused on his dream of taking over the diner from his dad. He was there every day after school, diligently helping around the place like the little boss.

His smiles were more carefree back then, though I’d seen hints of the old him in the past few days. Less stressed, less grumpy .

He was anything but grumpy at this moment. More vulnerable as he quietly waited for my reply and watched me with those shiny eyes. How was I supposed to do anything but agree with whatever he wanted?

Remy left with another one of his carefree smiles, while I stood there feeling a little lost and a whole lot hopeless. But I wasn’t able to stay in my thoughts for long before the meowing started.

Sugar and Spice were finally up from their third nap since I’d met them and were eager to leave the carrier.

I comforted them in a baby voice—because who didn’t talk to their pets like they were babies? Then brought them to the downstairs spare room. I’d read online that it was best to have cats settled inside a smaller room first before introducing them to the entire house.

They sniffed every corner of the room while I brought in all their items: bowls, litter box, cat tree, cat beds, window perch, every single toy the store had, and the collars Remy had bought them.

I hadn’t intended on getting collars for them since it seemed too much like claiming them when I was only fostering them until the animal shelter was fully back up and running.

Glancing at the happy kitties once again snuggled up together in the cat bed looking so darn cute, then at the collars in my hand, I sighed. I could already smell a foster fail brewing.

Two hours later, I’d gotten everything inside the room organized as well as the cat tree set up. Sugar and Spice had taken to the thing immediately, climbing up and down the towers while wearing their little Christmas bow collars. Remy had good taste.

And there I went, thinking about the man again. Even when he wasn’t with me in person, he stayed in the vicinity of my thoughts. I set up my laptop inside the cat room, thinking work might distract me.

As soon as I settled into the chair, Sugar climbed onto my lap and made herself at home. Not to be left out, Spice jumped on the table and whacked my laptop screen, probably curious about the contraption.

“Not your toy,” I gently scolded him and moved him to the side of me so that I could work.

I only managed to wake up my laptop before Spice waltzed his way over again and sat squarely on my keyboard. He slowly turned his head toward me with a glare that practically yelled, ‘I dare you try to move me!’

I laughed and gave him little headscritches, which he graciously allowed. It didn’t seem like I was going to get much work done today, but I was completely willing to work overtime if it meant I kept these little babies happy.

I spent the rest of the afternoon playing with Sugar and Spice and, most importantly , not thinking about Remy . The cats helped some with that issue, though I couldn’t say I was entirely successful in keeping the sexy man from my thoughts.

My mind ping-ponged from thinking of ways to win his heart and trying to convince myself I needed to be satisfied with his friendship and let this crush go. The only thing this tug-of-war inside of me accomplished was making my thoughts more chaotic.

I was so lost in thought that the sound of my phone had me jumping. I answered it mostly on instinct.

“Hey, Jett. How are you doing?”

It took me a second to place the voice as I still tried to gather my thoughts. It was only then I looked at the caller ID and confirmed it was Nick. I’d signed up for his matchmaking services a few months back.

While he’d set me up with some pretty amazing guys like Harvey, I’d end up leaving those blind dates with another friend instead of a potential partner. But the reason why things never worked out with the men didn’t lie with Nick. It was on me to keep hoping for a spark with someone new when I hadn’t resolved my old feelings yet.

After making small talk for a couple of minutes, Nick changed the topic. His tone was more professional as he said, “So I have a new potential match for you.”

My stomach dropped. The idea of going on more dates hadn’t even crossed my mind since Remy’s return.

“His name’s Leo. He’s a great guy, gay, and looking for his person. He’s easy on the eyes too.”

“I don’t know…I haven’t had the best luck with men recently.” Even Nick talking the guy up didn’t raise my interest.

I was so whipped.

Remy’s voice repeated inside my head.

Nice. Friend. Nice. Friend.

Those two words were now the bane of my existence.

“You never know. He could be the one.” Was that a hint of bitterness in his voice or was I projecting my ownindignance?

Either way, Nick was right. This Leo dude could be the one , or maybe I’d end up leaving the date with another friend .

Who knew? But trying was better than sitting around and moping at being put in the friend zone.

“Okay. Give me the deets.”