Page 57 of Love, Lies and Mistletoe
Joan knew him a little too well. Probably because he’d treated her like family since the very beginning. Jeff and all the part-timers too. He’d always shared details about his personal life, and his employees felt comfortable confiding in him. That was the downside of owning a small, close-knit company. His social life wasn’t all that secret, even on the rare occasions he didn’t want to share it.
He sloshed the dregs of his coffee around in the mug, considered finishing it, then got up to wash it out in the kitchen. He emptied the last of the freshly brewed coffee into his mug and returned to the office.
“Fine. It’s Layla. She hasn’t returned my calls or messages for three days.”
Her expression morphed into a sympathetic one. “You said she was sick that night. Maybe she didn’t feel like talking. When I’m sick I—”
He shook his head. “That’s not it.”
“Why do you think she’s avoiding you then?”
Brant sat on the corner of the desk, twirling a pen between his fingers. He’d wracked his brain, replaying the scene of kissing her in the foyer over and over again. Nothing stood out that might have upset her.
“I have no idea what I could have done. Everything was fantastic, couldn’t have been going better—”
“Did you kiss her?”
“Joan, seriously?”
“What? It’s important.”
He stuck the pen into the soup can pencil holder Joan’s younger son had made him at school last Christmas then looked back at her. “Yes, we kissed. She made the first move.”
Joan adjusted her glasses, scrutinizing him like the reason for Layla’s disappearing act was written on his person somewhere.
“And then what?”
“Then nothing. Someone I knew came up to talk. I introduced her. Then she excused herself to use the restroom. The next thing I know she texts me that she’s sick and staying in her room the rest of the night.”
“You two drove up to Hendricks together, right? So how was the ride back? Surely you said something to each other in two hours’ time.”
Their ride home the next day was chilly, to put it mildly. She’d been especially quiet, choosing to stare out her window. When he’d pulled in front of her shop, he’d asked when he’d see her again. He didn’t have the words out of his mouth before she grabbed her bag from the backseat and mumbled a “thanks for the ride” before closing the door.
“It was a quiet ride home.”
“Well, there’s only one way to find out. You need a face-to-face if she doesn’t want to talk to you.”
“Maybe I should leave it alone.”
“Why? If you think she’s mad at you and you have no idea why, she owes you an explanation at least.”
He nodded, wondering how she’d react if he walked into her store.
Joan gave him a small smile. “I’m sorry this happened to you. There has to be a simple explanation if she’s such a special person.”
“She’s amazing.”
“Then if she’s worth it, go after her. You’ve done nothing but talk about this woman for the last month and a half.”
Brant pushed away from the desk. He wouldn’t get any work done here until this was resolved anyway. He took his jacket from the coat-tree outside the door and shrugged his arms into it. “You’re right, as usual. Better to find out once and for all. Then I can move on when she shuts me down again.”
“Think positive, boss. When are people more forgiving than at Christmas?”
Brant didn’t know about that, but he was willing to give it a shot. What did he have to lose?
Nothing much. Only his heart.
The snow only grew heavier as he drove out of town. Wispy powder transformed into large dense flakes as he turned off the exit toward Copper Creek thirty minutes later. Up ahead, the yellow lights of a plow blinked as it crossed the intersection in front of him.
