Mistletoe Kisses

I fold the knife up and store it back in the glove compartment, then, feeling much better about life, I head back inside the bookstore.

Chapter Twelve

Noelle

After touching every single spine in the store, I’m finally ready to leave with only three books clutched against my chest.

Cal has been a trouper. I’ve gone to bookstores with guys before and none have ever been as patient as he is. He picked out a book for himself and stopped shopping a while ago, but he proceeded to follow me around without complaint as I checked out every aisle.

When I told him I should take up Egyptology in the historical section, he nodded as if he approved of the idea. When I made it to the Tudor section and remembered I wanted to circle back to fiction and see if they had The Other Boleyn Girl, he dutifully followed.

As we finally walk toward the register, I tell Cal, “I’ve been wanting to read this for a while, but it’s one of those books I always forget to look for when I’m actually in the bookstore.”

The saleslady smiles as we approach. “Find some things to read?”

“Yes, lot of things, but we’re going to go with these for now,” I say, setting my books on the counter. “This is such a great shop, I’m definitely going to come back here.”

It’s then that I notice my previous pile of books has vanished. “Where are my books?” I ask the saleslady.

Cal puts his book down on the counter with mine, then draws out his wallet. “Already paid for and packed away in the car.”

I glance up at him. “You don’t have to buy my books.”

“I really don’t mind,” he assures me. “All for a good cause,” he adds.

Mr. Scrooge has surprised me. “Thanks,” I say with a warm smile.

While the saleslady rings up our purchases and Cal pays, I pull my phone out of my purse to check the time. Oh, wow, it’s already past five. We spent a little longer in the store than I intended.

Cal reaches across the counter and grabs our shopping bag, then I thank the woman one more time for her help and we make our way back to the car.

I’m running a little behind schedule now, so I start calculating in my head. The snow is still falling—hasn’t stopped—so the roads are all dusted, with more falling all the time. That might mean Cal will have to drive home a little slower. I should still have about 10 minutes from the time he drops me off until Percy is supposed to pick me up, but just in case he comes early, I might tell him I’m running late. The last thing I need is him showing up at my house while Cal is still there—for all of the reasons.

I get a whiff of Cal’s incredible scent as he approaches, though I’m not sure why he is. I take an uncertain step back and look up at him, but he’s only opening the back door to put our bag of books in the seat behind me.

I slide into the passenger seat just to get away from him and close the door. Cal walks around to the driver’s side and gets in. He starts the car and I brace myself for him to put his hand on the back of my seat to look back while he reverses again, but we don’t make it that far. He’s scowling at some message that’s popped up to alert him that there’s a problem.

“What’s up?” I ask.

“Says I need to check the rear tire pressure. Hang tight, I’ll go check it out.”

I wait in the warm car while he goes to check the tire pressure. Rather than walk back around to the driver’s side once he’s finished, he stops outside my door. His mouth is set in a grim line, so I open it to see what he needs.

“I have a flat,” he announces.

“Oh, no! Do you have a spare in the trunk?”

“As luck would have it, no. I just put on winter tires and took the old spare out. Meant to buy a new one, but… well, that won’t help us now. I’m going to run back inside and see if the shopkeeper knows of any auto repair places nearby that might be able to help.”

“All right. Do you want me to come?”

He shakes his head, assures me he has it under control, and heads back inside the bookstore.

While Cal does that, I check my phone for text messages. There’s one from my mom, wanting to know if I’ll have time to eat dinner at home before my date picks me up so she can tell Adeline.

It’s not a date, I want to write back, even though I guess it is. I have a lot of doubts about going out with Percy, but I’m trying to be open-minded. I don’t think he’s my type, but maybe I’m misjudging him and he’ll surprise me.

In any case, if Cal’s dating already, there’s no reason for me to sit at home by myself and pine over him. Maybe I’ll have fun with Percy and maybe I won’t, but I owe it to myself to give it a shot.