Although she should be glad he was still working the friends-angle, Lily’s heart plummeted.
“Yes, of course…friends. I’m just surprised to see you, that’s all.”
“Well, I hope it’s a good surprise.”
Every fiber of her being screamed,
Great surprise!
But she refrained from admitting it. Instead, she continued to stumble over her mixed emotions, hoping nothing idiotic poured from her mouth.
He held the door wide for her. “After you.”
Sorry, Mom
. Lily prayed to the darkening sky before stepping over the threshold.
Once inside, her stomach clenched from hunger as an aromatic wave of everything delicious hit her; she could almost taste the fragrant feast in the air.
Overheating under the bulky clothes, she pulled off her gloves and shoved them in her pockets. She kept her hat on and head down, hoping to go unnoticed, especially when Britney beelined in their direction.
“Well, well, well. Looky here. If it isn’t Captain Knight. Remember me, from CPR class. I haven’t seen you in here once, the whole time you’ve been in town.”
Nick shrugged. “I usually call for delivery.”
“Would you like to see the Thanksgiving Specials?” Britney cocked her hip. “I can have ’em wrap it to go.”
“We’ll just take a booth in the back.”
“
We
?” Britney’s eyes bounced from Nick, down to Lily hiding in his shadow. “Oh. My.
Gawd
. Don’t tell me you two are together? Follow me.” She sauntered in tight orange pants that made her big ass look like a pumpkin. “Your waitress will be right over.” She handed Nick a menu with a whisper, “Let me know when you’re tired of playing with children, I have a fire you can put out.” Then she tossed a paper menu wrapped around a pack of crayons and sneered at Lily. “What’s the matter—can’t find any brats your own age to play with?”
Lily refused to respond. It wasn’t worth losing her cool over Britney. At least not in front of Nick. She held her breath, waiting for her rival’s heels to fade away.
“Didja steal her boyfriend or something?”
“Seriously—you think I could steal a guy away from her?” Lily hitched a thumb over her shoulder.
“Sure, why not? She’s hot, but…I like my girls sweet. What’s her problem with you anyway?”
“I don’t want to talk about it.”
“Come on...You can tell me.”
“No. I can’t. Just forget it. Okay?”
“Oo-kay. But if you change your mind, just let me know. I’m all ears.” He flipped open the menu. “So, what’ll it be?”
“You know what? I’m not so hungry.” Confronting Britney was an instant appetite suppressant.
“Seriously?” He blinked and closed the book. “What’s wrong? Maybe I can help.”
“Nothing’s wrong. It’s ancient history and doesn’t stop repeating itself. I’ll tell you some other time—like in a hundred years.”
“Do you wanna get outta here?” Nick poised to slide out of the booth.
It would be worse to leave and let Britney think she won, than to stay and just suck it up. Lily didn’t want anyone accusing her of being a spoiled high-maintenance baby. “Do you mean outta town? Or the diner?” She joked with a small smile, but they both fell flat.
“I meant the diner—but I can see why you might wanna skip town.”
“Forget it. I’m fine. I’m used to her. She’s no big deal. I’ll just have, um…a hot chocolate.”
“Really?” Nick gave her slanted look. “That’s
it
? Hot chocolate.”
“Yeah.” She waved it off and finally shrugged out of her coat after a bead of sweat trickled between her shoulder blades.
“Fine.” He nodded, peeling off his jacket and scarf.
Lily winced at her reflection in the polished silver accent décor. Lost inside the oversized marble-gray sweatshirt, her figure looked similar to
Jabba the Hutt
, while his fitted charcoal-colored sweater accentuated the biceps budging beneath. What a mismatched combination they were.
“Hot in here, huh?” Nick dug his fingertips into his collar, stretching the neck hole.
Not as hot as you.
“So, is this how you usually spend Thanksgiving—in the diner?”
Escaping for a long walk sounded too weird and would probably generate more questions she wasn’t in the mood to answer. “Not really. This is a first. I usually spend it at home. Alone.”
“Yeah. Me, too. I can live without the family drama.”
When the waitress appeared with two glasses of water, Nick ordered for them both.
“Two hot chocolates, please…” Heat flared in his eyes as he asked Lily, “You sure that’s
all
you want?”
She thought of a dozen things she wanted—all of them required scrubbing her brain with soap. “I’m sure.”
“That’s all.” He dismissed the waitress, and at the same time his cell phone rang a sick song from inside his pocket, but he didn’t answer it.
“You just said you were hungry.” Lily halted the server. “Wait a minute please.”
“I can’t eat in front of you while you just sit there watching.”
“Give me a break. You can eat whatever you want.”
“
Whatever
I want?” His devilish smile spread slowly, making Lily’s skin tingle. “Well, then, can we add a few big cookies?”
“Cookies and cocoa,” the waitress confirmed before walking away.
“Sounds like the Santa Claus diet.”
“We’re grownups. Whose gonna stop us from eating cookies for dinner? I’m sure we can find a bite to eat later. Maybe hit the mall, too.”
“You gotta be kidding.” Lily giggled. “It’s Thanksgiving. The stores are closed.”
“The radio said they’re opening at midnight for early
Black Friday
shopping.”
“I don’t go near there on a regular day, never mind Black Friday. Shopping’s not my thing.”
“I thought it was programmed into the female-chromosomes—the shopping gene.”
“Nope. Not this female.” It was much better excuse than venting about being broke.
“Do you wanna come with me?” His voice dropped an octave, making a trip to the mall sound so seductive she couldn’t say no. Made her wish he’d ask the same question in her bed.
“We’ll see.”
“Aww, come on. I’d like to get Chief Maresca something more than a bottle of scotch for giving me the job.”
She sighed, tapping her nervous fingers on the tabletop, getting the feeling he didn’t take no’s very easily. “Okay, fine. But don’t say I didn’t warn you. I guarantee the mall will be a zoo, and you’ll wish you listened to me.”
“Probably.”
The waitress delivered steaming mugs of cocoa overflowing with whipped cream and marshmallows alongside a mountain of cookies—a bunch of rainbow squares, an oversized black-and-white, and a few linzer tarts. She left the check, which Nick paid in cash on the spot.
“Hey.” She reached into her bag and took out some crumpled singles. “I owe half.”
“Put your money away.” He gave her the same look as he did when he told her not to walk home from Brawny’s farm, so she put the money back.
After they gobbled the cookies, he pointed to her cheek. “You have some crumbs…right…there.”
She swiped her chin with the back of her hand.
“Almost…over more. It’s still there. Here, let me help you.” He reached across the table and wiped them away with his thumb, leaving a sizzling trail where skin touched skin.
It wasn’t the first time he put his hands on her, but it was the first time she saw stars in his eyes, staring musingly at her lips, making her lick them on impulse.
“Um, thanks.” She dropped her chin to hide the secret crush blooming in her soul. Could he sense the puppy love? Could he see it in her eyes? She needed to change the subject before she said something outrageous regarding her unraveling emotions. “So, tell me…how’d you get stuck playing Santa Claus this year?”
Nick chuckled. “Well, let’s just say the chief’s a pretty persuasive man.”
The chief’s not the only one.
Chapter Eight
“A little early for a snowplow, isn’t it?” Lily asked, as Nick directed her toward his silver pickup truck, parallel parked across the street.
He skipped the details regarding his compulsion to mount it right before Thanksgiving, in time for the first snowfall, and simply said, “What can I say? I like being prepared.”
“Just like a boy scout.” She smirked, climbing inside.
“Kinda.” He chuckled, slamming the passenger door.
They meandered around Scenic View on a guided tour through Lily’s sentimental eyes. Her topographical knowledge of dirt roads, backwoods, and dead ends beat his GPS system’s incorrect interpretation every time.
He shared his pack of cinnamon gum while she shared her opinion of the local territory. From Alphabet Town Preschool where she spent her formative years, to Zhang’s Chinese takeout where they made her favorite spring rolls.
“See that building on the right?” Lily pointed to the abandoned-looking warehouse, next to a gentleman’s club called the
Devil’s Oasis
, as they passed the marina, heading uptown toward the railroad station. “Doesn’t look like much, but that’s the
Sound System
recording studio.
Broken Zipper
made their first album there. Just a little Scenic View claim-to-fame,” she said with a haughty twang.
Embarrassed to admit he never heard of the band, he nodded and smiled anyway for effect. “Oh, wow, that’s cool.”
The more he learned, the more he liked—about her, and this place.
“What’s with all the junk?” She referred to the stockpile clanking around in the backseat anytime he turned a tight corner or made a hard stop.
“Just stuff. Spare clothes. Work gear. You know, the usual.”
“The usual?” She poked her nose over the seat. “I don’t usually keep an
axe
in my car.”
“You mean the
Halligan bar
? It’s a forcible entry tool. Never know when it’ll come in handy.”
She shot him a dirty look, then turned her head and crossed her arms.
“My job really bothers you that much, huh?” He made a mental note to clean out the backseat
Asap
. If, by chance, she went out with him again, he didn’t want to spoil it with reminders of why she refused to date him in the first place. “Please don’t let it ruin the night, okay?”
“
I’m
not letting anything ruin the night,” she hissed, as pissed as a rattlesnake.
“Then smile, will ya?”
“There. How’s that?” She flashed a fake smile before pouting again. “Happy?”
“Come on, Lily. I thought we were past all that.”
“Me too. Guess I’m not. Seeing all your gear… I don’t want to think about it…it’s so…dangerous.” She glared at the windshield, not giving him the consideration of looking him in the eye.
“So, what—you want me to take you home now?”
“Why? You
wanna
take me home?” She unsnapped her seat belt. “You know what—I can walk from here.”
“What the hell are you doin’?” He yanked her elbow and swerved off the road onto a patch of dead grass. “Are you nuts?”
“You’re breaking my arm.”
“Better than letting you break your neck.”
“I’m not jumping out. I meant drop me at the corner. You can let go of me now.”
He released her with a deflated sigh. “What are we fighting for?”
“I dunno. Let’s just forget it.”
He put the truck in Park. “No. Let’s finish it, now. You hate my job, and you won’t date firemen—I get it. That’s why I haven’t made the effort to see you.” He hesitated, gathering his thoughts, not mentioning how he staked out her place and followed her downtown today. He was tired of wasting precious time with childish games. “Whenever I see you, it makes me wanna see you more.”
“Well…if we’re spilling our guts, the truth is I’ve tried hard to forget you. I thought time and space would get you off my mind, but it didn’t work. Every time I see you, we connect…or maybe it’s just in my head. All this talk about life, and us, and everything…I don’t want to get so far ahead of myself thinking this could go somewhere. Who knows when we’ll run into each other again after today?” She calmed down and put on the seatbelt.
All he got out of her rambling, he summarized in a whisper, “You tried to
forget
me?”
“Sorry…but, yeah, I did. Let me tell you, it’s not easy.” She bowed her head, shielding her face with the collar of her coat.
“Is it just because I’m a firefighter? Or does it have anything to do with me being so much older?”
“Nick.” She shook her head. “Age is a number.”
“Lily, I’m thirty-six. And you’re—God…you’re not even close.” He shook his head, disgusted by his lustful intentions.
“That doesn’t bother me. I lived through more than most people my age. Twenty-four’s not as young as you think.”
“So, it’s just my job you have a problem with?”
She shrugged. “It’s not that I have…
a problem
. It’s…it’s hard not to imagine something bad happening in your line of work.”
“I’m sorry you feel that way.”
“You don’t have to apologize. That’s not what I’m looking for.”
“Then, what are you looking for?”
“I-I don’t even know any more.” She sighed like there was something else to say.
“You still wanna go home?”
“No.”
That was all he needed to hear as he put the truck in Drive and tore down the road before she changed her mind. He circled around town, killing time, taking the long way up steep hills and down winding roads.
They cruised past the Scenic View Inn, decked out with the most holiday flair, covered with icicle lights, miles of garland, and giant bows.
Coasting past Town Hall and the Center Square, he whispered, “Whoa,” at the sight of the huge Christmas-Star-of-David menorah-tree.
“Pretty, right?” Lily exhaled dreamily.
“Pretty impressive.”
“Turn here.” She pointed to a side street—a private road that didn’t register on his GPS.
Behind wrought iron gates and manicured landscapes, McMansions on the bluff overlooked Scenic View Harbor. Each miniature castle was dressed in full holiday grandeur, more remarkable than the next. Nothing gaudy or over-the-top here. No plastic Santas. No reindeers on rooftops. No inflatable snowmen. Just classy crystal lights like tiny stars outlining the fine architecture.