“It’s wonderful she and Siobhan have been friends for so long.”
“Still can’t bring yourself to call her ‘Sheryl’?”
She lifted her chin. “Her name is Siobhan.”
“Not the easiest to spell. Or pronounce.” He’d lucked out with “Kieran.” Most people knew how to pronounce it, although he did have to spell it out quite often.
“But it’s a lovely name, just like she is. Speaking of lovely...” She snuck another nibble of cake. “What did you and Emmy talk about?”
“She was running an errand, so we didn’t have much time to catch up.” In fact, he was realizing that he’d talked about himself the whole time. She hadn’t said anything about herself.
“I’m sure you’ll have plenty of opportunities to talk to her.”
Kieran shook his head, half grinning. “Don’t get any ideas, Mum.”
“Moi? I never get ideas.”
“You’ve been planning my future marriage since I was old enough to date.”
“A pointless endeavor, thank you very much.” She leaned back in the chair. “At least I thought you’d meet a sweet lass in Ballyton.”
“Here we go.”
“And what’s wrong with wanting my son to be happily married? You’re nearing forty-four, Kieran. Are you ever going to settle down? Never mind, I already know the answer.”
“Which is?”
“‘My life is fine the way it is,’” she said, her imitation of him startlingly accurate.
“Because it’s true.”
The landline phone on the wall near the fridge rang. “Hold that thought,” Mum said, getting up from her seat. “Wait,changethat thought.” She grinned and answered the phone. “Oh, hello, Pearl! Merry Christmas to you too. How are things in Kansas City?”
His mother’s conversation with her friend disappeared as he thought about Emmy again. More particularly, prom night. He’d been irritated when his date had called and told him she had to cancel—mostly because he’d already bought the tickets, not because they were romantically involved. At first it had been a little awkward when his mother had suggested asking Emmy. She was a sophomore and his kid sister’s best friend. He was sure she’d say no. But to his surprise she’d said yes.
At first he was just glad he had a date. Emmy had always been bookish and a little shy. But she was also nice, and they had a great time at the dance. Then the unexpected happened when he took her home and walked her to the front porch.
He suddenly, and inexplicably, had wanted to kiss her.
Thankfully he regained his senses and told her good night, quickly climbed into his mother’s Grand Cherokee, and peeled out of her driveway, bewildered by his sudden urge. He’d never thought of her as anything but Sheryl’s friend, and even during the prom the thought of kissing her had never entered his mind. He chalked it up to two things—being grateful he didn’t have to go to the prom on his own and ending up having a blast with her atthe dance. He kind of owed her for being such a good sport about being a last-minute replacement.
But he didn’t feel obligated to kiss her. She had looked so pretty that night, especially under the soft glow of the porch light. Her long blond hair was loosely gathered up with clips and pins, and several long strands framed her face. The blue satin dress she wore had sheer short sleeves, a modest neckline, and flared out from the waist, the hem just touching her knee.
He’d wanted to kiss her, just like he’d wanted to ask her to slow dance, only to chicken out each time. Emmy was a friend, and she probably would have shoved him away if he had tried kissing her. He didn’t want a great night to end on a sour note.
After the prom he didn’t see her much, mostly because he was focused on school and working to save up for his trip to Europe. He’d only planned to stay abroad a year... and that had turned into twenty-six. When he left Mistletoe, he didn’t give the town, or Emmy Banks, more than a second thought.
He sure was thinking about her now.
Two
As Emmy expected, on Tuesday the shop was busy all day long. By closing time, she was tired. Even Carina looked a little weary, but she had her date with Jeremy to look forward to, so she perked up toward the end of her shift. Normally Emmy loved decorating the store for Christmas, but considering her current fatigue level, it would be a chore. Still, when Carina offered to cancel her date and stay and help, Emmy refused.
“Absolutely not,” she said, practically shoving her daughter out the door. She flipped the Open sign to Closed and faced the tower of decorations in front of the counter.
Carina had brought down the ten bins of decorations Emmy kept stored in her 1940s-era apartment. It was a cozy, old-fashioned two-bedroom that was a product of its time, down to the radiator heating. Emmy didn’t mind living there. One, it saved her money on rent because she owned the building. And two, she had less than a two-minute commute to work.
But there were times she was a little lonely, especially after Carina moved out five months ago. Now she lived in a rental house with two of her friends from high school. She wasn’t far, just on the other side of Mistletoe, only a fifteen-minute drive away. Still, Emmy had to hide her tears when Carina had left, feeling more than a little selfish about wishing her daughter would stay.
