Sweet Christmas Kisses (86 page)

His head jerked back as if she’d slapped him. “Well, I’ll let you get going.” He shut the door gently, firmly, and walked toward the house without looking back.

Sofia blinked at the burn in her eyes, but no tears came. Why did he pick this year to come home for Christmas? This was already going to be a bad time for her. Last Christmas she’d had Devin to do all the little couples things with. He’d even played twelve days of Christmas, giving her ever-increasing boxes to unwrap. When the final box revealed a tiny black velvet box inside, she’d thought her dreams had come true. Thank goodness she opened it before saying anything.
Earrings. How lovely.

They’d gone to Katie’s Royal Oak Bar and Grill on New Year’s Eve, counting down with the crowd as the ball dropped on the big screen TV in the corner. Devin had kissed her and tweaked her nose the way he always did, then drove her home. As she lay in bed watching
When Harry Met Sally
, she got to the part where Harry says, “When you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with someone, you want the rest of your life to start right away.” She’d lost it.

In that moment, Sofia burst into tears along with Sally, but not for the same reason. In that moment, Sofia realized Devin was not the man she wanted to share the rest of her life with.

She fought with herself over it for weeks. There was nothing wrong with him. He was going to dental school, which meant he’d have a nice day job—none of the ships passing in the night like her parents. He was willing to consider moving to White Oak after he finished his schooling. His only aggravating habit was that his food couldn’t touch other food on his plate.

She broke up with him a week before their college graduation.

Closing her eyes, Sofia forced herself to let it go. This was supposed to be the first Christmas of the rest of her life. And she wasn’t going to let Nick, or anyone else, ruin it for her.

Sitting in a metal folding chair in the community center, Nick watched his mom, Sofia and Katie Wooten herding kids from toddler to middle school age onto the small stage. He was surprised Katie didn’t have a lasso in hand, since she grew up on a ranch. It took a good fifteen minutes of chatter and scatter before they got the kids to sit across the stage.

Mom came to sit by him while Sofia led the kids in a song. Leaning close, Mom whispered, “Everyone says such good things about Sofia being a teacher. She is so good with children.”

“She always wanted to teach. I’m happy she found a job here in town.” She’d always said she wanted to stay on the mountain when she grew up.

“Kerry Mitchell is doing construction on his own now. They build those bigger houses you passed on your way into town.”

“That’s great, Mom.” He heard the hint loudly—he could look for work locally, too. He didn’t really care what some kid he once played Little League with did for a living. She probably wanted him to move back home, too. And Mom would babysit Holly after school when she started kindergarten. He tugged at the collar of his shirt. The idea of moving back was smothering.

“I don’t think Sofia has been dating anyone since she came home from UCLA.”

“That’s too bad.”

Mom looked up at him. “You and she got along so well in school. I was certain you two would start going out together at some point.”

“Please, give it a break.” He shifted on the cold, hard seat. “Sofia and I aren’t getting together. And I don’t see the need to move back here.”

“It would be good for Holly to grow up here.”

“She’s happy with the friends she’s making in Valencia. There’s a girl in our apartment building who’s her age and in the same class. She and Holly play together often on weekends.”

“Oh, well that’s good. You aren’t working seven days a week, at least.”

He didn’t admit he was usually on his laptop and phone while the girls played in Holly’s room. That wouldn’t change no matter where he worked. He had a daughter to provide for. It took a lot of hours to give her the lifestyle he wanted for her.

Sofia directed the kids to their feet, moving through the motions that went along with the song. The play and its songs were written by a local resident, and they’d been doing the same play year after year for as long as he could remember.

In his earliest memories, Sofia had played the littlest angel, the role Holly was given this year. Nick had played the elf, who spent most of his stage time near the little angel. Sofia had been afraid of the crowd, almost to the point of forgetting her line, but he’d whispered to her and gotten her through the moment.

How far Sofia had come since then. Directing the kids in her soft-spoken manner, in full command of the stage, tiny as it was. She’d changed in college. She looked more comfortable in her skin, more at ease with who she was. Not that she’d been totally awkward.

Nick chuckled softly. Yeah, for a few years she’d been totally awkward. But in such a cute way. She seemed to be trying to find herself in a bottle of hair dye, or some crazy fashion trend. The popular girls had teased her, but most of the guys liked it. Probably the only thing that kept those guys from going after her was Nick’s threats of bodily harm to anyone who hurt her, or took advantage of her.

Mom leaned close again. “What was that smile for?”

He instantly frowned. “What smile?” Jeez, he’d have to watch himself. Mom was all set to have something happen between him and Sofia. If it weren’t for Holly, he’d leave the rehearsal now, but his daughter would be disappointed if he did.

He pulled out his phone and checked his messages and email. Since everyone at the office was on vacation, there wouldn’t be much happening that required his response, but it kept him from daydreaming and giving Mom fodder for matchmaking.

He was pretty certain Sofia would want no part of that pairing up, if by some odd chance Mom succeeded at making it happen. Neither one of them had made any effort to stay in touch once he graduated, so there was nothing to base any interest on.

When rehearsal ended, Holly launched herself into his arms. “Daddy! I remember my line. ‘All good children deserve good gifts.’”

“That’s great, honey.”

Katie approached him while the children scattered to find their parents, or just ran about screaming like banshees. Katie hugged Nick. “It’s so good to see you. Are you staying in town long?”

“Until Christmas Day.” He set a squirming Holly down to go talk to her friend.

“That’s great. You can come to the Royal Oak tonight. We’re having our holiday party. You’ll know almost everyone there.”

“The Royal Oak is open again? I thought the Watsons sold it after the fire.”

“They did.” Katie’s chin lifted and her expression turned smug. “I bought it. It’s been open since summer. It’s quite the place to be seen, if I do say so myself.” She burst out laughing, as if the bragging was all an act.

Mom chimed in. “It really is a nice place to eat. Katie does a lot of the cooking, along with her boyfriend. We’ll have dinner there one night while you’re here.”

“I guess I’ll stop by later,” Nick said. “Thanks for the invite.”

He drove Mom and Holly home and dug through his dresser to see what was still in the drawers. He hadn’t lived at home since the summer he graduated high school, when he and Morgan married.

As he expected, what he found was too small and really only suited for yard work if he could fit into it. He hadn’t thought he’d gained weight, but his current waistband was two sizes larger than the jeans in his room. After a quick trip into town for necessities and a couple of shirts and pairs of pants, he ate dinner with his parents, and was ready to face his old friends.

The interior of the Royal Oak was lit up by what Holly called fairy lights, the blinking white strings so popular at Christmas. In the rustic, open-beam room where garlands of greenery draped the walls, the atmosphere was cheery and the crowd large.

Nick ordered a beer at the bar before Katie saw him. “You came! The party is in the back room for the most part, although as you can see, some came for dinner first.” She motioned to the tables filled with young couples. He hadn’t thought there were that many people their age in White Oak.

Katie took his arm and led him back, stopping in front of a guy in his mid-twenties. “I want to introduce you to someone. Nick, this is Juan Diego Santiago, my boyfriend.”

Juan Diego shook his hand. “Katie said you might come by. I suppose you know everyone else?”

Nick scanned the room. “Maybe half of them. Some might have been behind me in school, or moved up here later.” He didn’t see the one person he wanted the most. And he wasn’t going to ask about her and start people gossiping.

“I’ll let you mingle,” Katie said, dropping his arm and wrapping hers around Juan Diego’s waist. “I have to go back out front and play hostess.”

Saluting the couple with his beer bottle, Nick worked his way into the room.

Sofia laughed at the joke Pauly Keller whispered in her ear, then saw Nick approaching her and her laughter cut off abruptly.

“What?” Pauly stretched on his toes to search the crowd. A few inches shorter than the average guy, he couldn’t see past the three men between him and Nick.

“It’s nothing.” Sofia turned her back to the crowd and took a sip of her drink.

“Ohhh, I see. When did
he
get to town?”

“This morning. Apparently he’s actually staying the week with his parents.”

“And you don’t want him to know you’re here?”

“Not really.”

“I’ll fix that.” Pauly nudged her a few feet into the corner and pointed at the ceiling. “Mistletoe.”

Before Sofia could look up, he placed his palms on either side of her face and gave her a long, slow kiss. Her eyes widened. The minute he broke away, she snapped, “What was that for?”

“Now he’ll think you’re with me.” Pauly winked, slipping his arm around her shoulders.

She gave him a one-armed hug. “Everybody knows you’d rather kiss him than me. But thanks for the effort.”

“Everyone else knows, but does he?” Pauly tipped his head in Nick’s direction. He grinned. “That frown looks like he wants to bite my head off.”

Sofia stole a glance, but was caught looking. Nick nodded at her, and in two long strides he stood glaring down at them. “Hello, Sofia.”

“Hi. Do you remember Pauly?”

The look Nick offered Pauly could have lit the room on fire. “You were a year behind me in school, right?”

Pauly slicked his hair back with one hand. “I’m surprised you noticed me.”

Sofia rolled her eyes and poked her elbow in Pauly’s side. If he flirted any harder with Nick, he’d ruin his attempt to make it appear Sofia was taken.

The band chose that moment to begin their first set, and it became impossible to carry on a conversation. That suited Sofia just fine. Until Pauly grabbed her hand and pulled her toward the stage where the crowd was clearing a space for dancing.

The country line dance let her get that nervous energy out of her system. Her feet knew the moves, so no thought was required.

How could her body react this way to seeing Nick after so long? Winter of her junior year, her feelings of friendship had turned into a crush, sudden, hard and unexpectedly. When talk began to steer toward the senior prom, she’d been certain Nick would ask her.

Then Morgan Winslow threw a party for her eighteenth birthday while her parents were out of town. Everyone went. Some of the wilder kids brought beer and wine, and things got even crazier than most of the parties Sofia had been to.

She didn’t see Nick disappear with Morgan, but that was all she heard about in the week that followed. Someone had seen them stumble out of a bedroom, adjusting their clothes.

Sofia had tried to convince herself it could have just been a lot of kissing and a little bit of other stuff, but the next thing she knew, rumor had it Morgan was pregnant. Nick took Morgan to prom, and a week after graduation they ran off to Vegas with both sets of parents to get married.

Turning left in the dance when she should have gone right, Sofia came back to the present in a rush. Pauly grinned and spun her in the right direction. “Daydreaming about me again?” he yelled in her ear.

She shook her head and laughed with him. She would be forever grateful to have a friend like Pauly, who pulled her from her wandering thoughts more often than not.

The song ended and Sofia wiped the sweat off her forehead with the back of her hand. Desperate for a drink to cool down, she began to walk toward the bar but found her path blocked. She looked up into Nick’s narrowed, hazel eyes. “Oh, hello.” Way to play it casual.

“Are you dancing?”

“At the moment, I’m hoping to be drinking.”

“I’ll buy.” Placing his hand on her back, Nick guided her into the bar area.

Sofia told herself to stay calm. He was only in town for a week. She could get through this.

After the bartender handed her a drink, she sipped. And sipped. The little red straw didn’t offer enough to quench her thirst, but it kept her from having to make conversation a few moments longer.

“This place is really popular,” Nick said.

Sofia nodded.

“It’s great there’s a new place to hang out.”

She nodded again, sipping away on the decorative straw and looking about the room.

“You know, you’ll enjoy that thing a lot more if you throw away the straw.”

She offered him a half smile, half grimace, and gulped some of the fruity ice down.

“Let’s get a table.” Nick motioned to one where Katie was cleaning up some glasses. He led the way. “Is this one free?” he asked Katie.

“It is. Will you be ordering? I can send your waitress over.”

He nodded. Cheyenne, Katie’s best friend, approached with a pad and pen ready, and he ordered some appetizers.

“I’ve already eaten,” Sofia said. She wasn’t going to let this turn into a date.

“So have I. You don’t need to watch your figure. Have a potato skin. We can dance it off when you finish your drink.”

He was acting as if five years hadn’t passed since the last time they spent more than five minutes together. She half expected him to invite her over to play the latest version of Halo on his Xbox.