Wrapped Up in Christmas Joy

“How come none of the puzzles are done?”

“It’s a new book,” he answered, then gave her a sideways glance. “Why did we decide to pair up partners, again? You didn’t need me for any of this today.”

“What makes you say that? I’m glad you’re here.” She tucked the crossword book safely under the edge of the seat so she wouldn’t accidentally step on it or bend the pages.

“All I did was carry boxes.”

“And be there. Sometimes just being there is enough,” she pointed out while buckling her seatbelt. She’d been dreading their outing, but so far, the day hadn’t been that bad. “Besides, it’s always best to travel in pairs rather than alone.”

“Not always.”

Sophie waited for him to say more, wanted him to say more, but he didn’t, just started his SUV.

“Surely when you were in the military, they taught you to travel in pairs.”

“You’re thinking of the Boy Scouts.”

“Seems like the same principle would apply in the military,” she countered, twisting in her seat to watch him. “Isn’t it better to have someone to watch your back?”

“Depends on what your job is.”

Having read his journal, Sophie knew what some of Cole’s jobs had been. It seemed that he had been part of a special ops team. Had Cole been alone on some of his missions?

He asked, “Where to now?”

“Lou’s Diner would be great.” She glanced at her watch. “After that, I’ll need to get back to the shop to take over the register so Isabelle can work on the books and online stuff.”

She was sorry that her afternoon with him was reaching its end. Because, although he was quiet and stood in the background when they were around others, she enjoyed being with Cole. Especially during the times when he seemed to relax a little.

Lou’s was busy with the usual lunchtime crowd, but there was a booth open in the back of the diner. Since Lou was tied up with customers, Sophie and Cole decided to order lunch prior to talking to the owner about the toy drive.

“Lou’s joke of the day was funny, don’t ya think?” Sophie asked as they made their way to a vacant booth. Cole shrugged. “Did you even read it?”

“‘What do you call it when it’s raining turkeys?’” Cole recited, proving that he actually had noticed what had been written on the dry-erase board.

“‘Fowl weather,’” Sophie answered, grinning at the joke as she sat down across from Cole.

Their waitress took their order, then Sophie went back to talking because that was what she did, particularly when nervous. They’d had a good day, much better than she’d have expected, really, but Cole did make her nervous so she couldn’t stop the chatter, not even after their food arrived. Occasionally, he’d comment.

“You run a shop, sell quilt kits online, sell pet bandanas in local shops, volunteer at church and community projects.” His eyes glittered. “Tell me, Sophie, is that why you’re still single? Because you’re too busy for a relationship? Or is a previous bad relationship why you stay so busy?”

His personal question caught her off guard and she paused before answering, taking a bite of her veggie burger. Finally, she shrugged. “I enjoy all the things I do. And I admit to having an attention disorder.” There were so many interesting things constantly distracting her. Like him, for instance. “There’s no previous bad relationship.” Not a lot of previous good ones, either. “When I meet the right man, making time for a relationship won’t be a problem.”

Because she figured it would be years and years before she met him. By that time, The Threaded Needle wouldn’t be mostly owned by the bank. She and Isabelle would be able to hire more help at the shop than their three part-time employees, which would lessen the number of hours she worked, herself.

Not that she didn’t enjoy the work. She did. But she’d love to devote more time to other projects such as church events and Quilts of Valor. Especially at this time of year. The need for volunteers always picked up around the holidays. Plus, she’d been inspired by the man sitting across the table from her to work on a new patriotic quilt. She’d sketched out a pattern on graph paper, had chosen the material, and was mulling the design over in her head prior to making the first cut.

She really would love to make him a quilt but suspected he’d refuse. Maybe with time, he’d warm to the idea, though.

“What?” he asked, obviously noticing her scrutiny.

“Nothing,” she said, taking another bite of her sandwich and smiling at him from across the booth’s table.

Nothing except he might not have been looking for a friend, but too bad, because he’d found one.

Sophie’s smile was making Cole nervous. Why did she keep looking at him that way? The way that said she knew something he didn’t and if he did know her secret, he wouldn’t approve.

Sophie liked to push people outside their comfort zone.