Her pale blonde hair was long and loose, and she wore no eyeglasses, making the elfish attire look nearly authentic, especially with the pointy ears – part of the costume, obviously.
But this was hardly important.
As far as her appearance, I would've been glad to seeanyversion of her. I liked the nerdy version. And I liked this one, too.
This wasn't all.During the past day and a half, I'd come to one hell of a conclusion.Likingwasn't all I did. Sure, I'd probably known for a while, but it took our time apart to really drive the point home.
Combinethatwith a more recent discovery, and here I was – looking to put her mind at ease.
The sooner the better.
But at the moment, she was talking to a customer – a husky guy with a ruddy face who was looking a little defeated, as if the holidays had kicked him one too many times.
I watched as she gave him a warm smile and said something that made him perk up. I felt my lips turn upward at the sight.That was Gwen for you.
During the weeks I'd known her, she had been unfailingly kind, even to my grandpa, whose gruffness could be a challenge.
But not for Gwen.
Gwen had a way of softening his hard edges and making him see the world in better terms. She made him smile. Hell, she made himlaugh.
And she'd done the same with me.
Oh, yeah. I missed her, alright.
But this wasn't the only reason that I'd crossed the street to track her down. Thanks to what I'd just learned, I had some explaining to do.And I didn't want to wait.
When the customer left – looking a whole lot happier, by the way – I moved forward.It was time to set things straight.
Chapter 38
Gwen
As the customer hustled off to buy that foot massager for his wife, I stared after him, feeling just a little wistful.He obviously loved her.
Something sad squeezed at my heart.I loved someone, too.
Or at least, IthoughtI had. I blinked away sudden tears, only to blink again when I saw a guy who looked uncannily like Drake heading in my direction.
My pulse gave a crazy little jump.
Wait.He didn't justlooklike him. Hewashim.
As our gazes locked, I felt myself swallow. I hadn't seen or talked to Drake since yesterday morning when we'd argued in his vehicle.
Was he here by chance?
No.He couldn’t be – not if he was heading straight for me.
As he approached, I couldn’t seem to make myself look away – and not only because he was so frustratingly handsome. During the past day-and-a-half, I'd been starving for the sight of him, the sound of him, and the feel of him, too.
Our gazes held the entire time it took for him to reach me. And when he finallydidreach me, he did something that made my heart do a crazy little flip. He smiled. "Nice costume."
His smile sent a flurry of butterflies dancing in my stomach, and I let out a nervous laugh. "That's not what thelastguy said."
Drake's expression darkened as he turned and looked toward electronics, where my previous customer was headed. "Oh, yeah?"
"Oh, stop," I said. "He was actually pretty nice."
