What was wrong with me, anyway?
Chapter 9
Lexie
As we walked toward the deli, I gave Cole Henster a long sideways look before telling him, "Just so you know, you don't really have to do it."
"Do what?" he asked.
"You know." Heat flooded my face. "The whole lunch thing."
He smiled. "That's whatyouthink."
The smile caught me off-guard. "Why do you say that?"
"Because they're still watching."
Were they?I snuck a quick glance over my shoulder. Sure enough, the woman and her brother were standing at the candy store's main window, watching us through the glass.
Were they eyeballing my ears?
Probably.
Before leaving the candy store, I'd shrugged into my winter coat and removed my elf hat entirely, hoping to reclaim some of my lost dignity. But for some reason, it wasn't working.
I felt stupidly flustered and was wishing that I'd taken the time to brush my hair or suck on a candy cane – anything to make me feel more self-assured.
Iwasdealing with a monster, after all.
Oh sure, he was acting all friendly now, but Cole Henster wasnota guy to be trusted.
When we arrived at the deli, I felt even more ridiculous when he insisted on paying, as if this were a real date and not some silly sham to ward off unwanted match-making.
Soon, we were sitting at a small table near the front window – him with a club sandwich and me with a steaming bowl of tomato bisque.
Outside, the snow was falling in pretty little blobs, making the whole downtown area look like something out of an old-fashioned Christmas card. It made me think of the greeting card that Cole had retrieved from his mailbox only a week ago.
The recollection did nothing to quell my nervousness.To think, the guy was living across the street from me, and he didn't even know it.
Cripes, I didn'twanthim to know it, not even now, when he was being surprisingly civil.
All too well, I recalled his recent visit to my aunt's house when he'd returned the Kitten Cove sign. My sister had been incredibly rude – and with good reason, considering that Cole was the guy I'd been griping about for months.
It didn't help that during his visit, I'd been hunkered down like a total coward – hiding out of sight, but apparently not out of earshot, judging from his reaction when my disgruntled mutterings had gotten too loud.
Sure, my sister and cousin had done a decent job of covering it up, but Cole Henster wasn't stupid. If he learned where I was living, he would almost surely put two-and-two together and come up with the truth.
What truth, you ask?
The one that exposed me as the muttering psycho in the corner – and a barely employed one at that.
It was all too embarrassing for words.
During our impromptu lunch, we spent the first few minutes saying very little, and I figured the trend would continue until we were done.
After all, we weren't exactly friends.
And yet, hehadrescued me. What wasthatabout?
