online.”
“I’ve got one in my bag.”
I laughed. “Perfect. I rely on you for my leisure wardrobe.”
Renee grinned. “It’s not easy to get more leisurely than scrubs.”
“Believe it or not, they don’t have enough give. They weren’t meant for bodies like mine.”
Renee waved her hand in my direction. “Your body is insane.”
“No, your body is insane. Mine functions…sometimes.”
“Have you been doing the stretches I told you to do before your shift?” Her brow arched, and I pretended to flash her an evil eye. “Do I look like I have?”
“Yes.”
“And that’s why you’re the best sister in the world.”
My cellphone rang, and I quickly picked it up when I recognized the number as being local.
Within seconds, I was relieved I didn’t let it go to voicemail.
My sister stared at me and asked who it was, and I mouthed back letting her know it was the butcher who needed to close early.
Her eyes widened, and she poured the piddly amount of coffee that had brewed into one of my aunt’s travel mugs as I hung up with the butcher.
“He had a family emergency, so he asked if I could come early to pick it up,” I explained.
My sister grabbed my arm with her free hand and pulled me down the hall. “We’re not missing out on turkey.”
I chuckled as I swiped the keys off the foyer table and threw my purse over my shoulder as we waved at my parents, and my sister hollered something about a turkey crisis.
By the time we’d driven into town, it was dark, but all of the festive Christmas lights were on full display.
My sister whistled and let out a happy sigh as I slowed going into town. “This place is absolutely magical at this time of year. I wonder what Francisco is doing with his night.”
“That’s right. I inherited a dog.”
“A scrappy little mean dog if memory serves me right.” Renee giggled. “Hopefully, he mellowed with age.”
“Maybe I should pick out a little Christmas sweater for him or something.” I nodded, refusing to feel too festive as I took in the white twinkle lights outlining the buildings, windows, and doors. The giant red bows strung across the streets bobbed in the wind once more, and I glanced at my sister.
“Do you think those things have ever come down?”
My sister craned her neck, pressing her cheek to the window. “What things?”
I pointed. “The bows. Those enormous bows.”
My sister shook her head. “You’re so weird. Even if they did come down, nothing would happen.”
I chuckled as I parked in front of the butcher shop. “Wanna come in?”
She brought her knees up to her chest and slid down in the seat with her feet on the dash. “It’s kind of cold.”
“Seriously?” I smiled and got out of the running car to keep the heater on and headed into the shop with jingling bells ringing over the door to announce my arrival.
A small Christmas tree with tiny red and silver gift cards hanging all over it welcomed me inside, and poinsettias lined the counter leading the way to a boisterous man behind the counter.
“Sasha Jones for a twenty-two-pound hen?” he asked. “You must have quite the family gathering.”
I laughed and nodded. “Believe it or not, we’re just a family of four.”
The man grinned. “Sounds like my kind of family. Thanks for coming early. The wife’s at the airport and her mother’s flight got rerouted. Things are going haywire. I’ll go get your bird and you can be on your way.”
I nodded just as the bells jingled behind me. I turned around to see if my sister had changed her mind, and my eyes widened the moment I spotted him.
The extremely good-looking man without the pink balloons. I quickly turned around and stared at the glass case of steaks.
He walked up beside me, and just his mere proximity made my knees weak for no apparent reason.
“Fancy meeting you here.” His voice was as velvety as I remembered.
“What are the odds? A woman picking up a turkey the day before Thanksgiving,” I said wryly, glancing at him.
I noticed a smile. “I must really bring out the best in you.” He snickered and rocked back on his heels.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” I turned to face him.
Bad idea.
Too attractive.
He cocked his head. “I think when I bumped into you on the sidewalk, you were pretty frustrated, and if memory serves me right, you slammed the door on me that night.”
“First of all, it’s not you, it’s the season.” I scowled and folded my arms