The One Night Stand Before Christmas - Jana Aston Page 0,19

you too.

“Hey, I heard Mr Owens has a buy-one-get-one free coupon for the Honey Jam Café and he’s looking for someone to accompany him to dinner tonight.” I raise my eyebrows suggestively, hoping she bites. I already gave Mr Owens the coupon and suggested it was Mrs Carrington’s favorite restaurant. And pointed out that the coupon expires today.

The Honey Jam Café doesn’t even have a buy-one-get-one free coupon. I went on my own lunch hour and convinced the manager to go along with my scheme, then spent twenty minutes making a fake coupon on my laptop to hand off to Mr Owens.

I’d really hate for all my hard work to go to waste. Besides, it’s never too late to find love, right? Be it the first time, the second time, or the tenth time. There’s no such thing as too much love. And I’m positive there’s a spark there. I think they just need a little shove in the right direction.

And then, who knows? Everyone deserves a happy ending. They might find one with each other.

“A buy-one-get-one-free coupon for the Honey Jam Café?” Mrs Carrington doesn’t look as impressed as I’d expected. I could have sworn it was her favorite restaurant.

“Doesn’t that sound lovely?” I push.

“I suppose it sounds all right,” she hedges. “But I was going to have dinner with my grandson today.”

“Surely he won’t mind rescheduling. The coupon expires today. And it’s a limited-edition coupon.” I nod my head very seriously to make up for the fact that I sound like an idiot. A limited-edition coupon? For fuck’s sake.

“Oh, dear. The expiring limited-edition coupon.” Mrs Carrington places a hand at the base of her throat, eyes widening ever so slightly. She’s got a stack of bracelets on that jangle with the movement. Mrs Carrington is the type of woman who is always put together. Hair styled, makeup applied, her signature stack of bracelets on. She’s also wearing a bright red cardigan today. The perfect Christmassy date outfit.

I nod again, face straight. I deserve an award for not cracking under the pressure.

“Shoot, it’s just that I have the same limited-edition coupon. Expiring today,” she adds with a rueful smile. Like hey, what can she do? She can’t control these make-believe limited-edition expiring coupons any more than I can. “So my grandson will have to come with.”

Gah. She’s gonna ruin this date with Mr Owens before it’s even begun. Why are people so stubborn when you’re only trying to help?

“You can’t bring your grandson on the date, Mrs Carrington. They’re buy-one-get-one free coupons. Besides, three’s a bit of a crowd, don’t you think?”

“I agree. That’s why you’re coming too. So we’ll have four. And we’ll get two tables.” Then she winks at me.

Yeah. I just got played by a grandma.

The surprises just keep coming because not a moment later I turn around and run smack into none other than Knockoff Teddy himself.

Chapter 11

“Teddy?” It’s one of those comical run-ins like you’d see in a movie. I actually turn around and walk straight into him, complete with the ‘oof’ departing my mouth and his hands steadying my forearms so I don’t topple over. “I mean Not Teddy. I mean, um, hi.”

“Noel.” He smiles at me, still holding onto my arms.

“This is my grandson Theo,” Mrs Carrington is saying beside us. “He hasn’t let anyone call him Teddy since he was in grade school.”

Theo… Teddy. I replay our first meeting in my mind. The way he shrugged and said, “Sure,” when I called him Teddy. Because I was close enough and he just decided to roll with it, I suppose.

“Noel can call me Teddy,” he says now, not taking his eyes off of me. And oh, holy hell, why is that making me feel things? Crazy things. Noel can call me Teddy. It’s nothing, really. But somehow… it’s everything. The tone of his voice, the way he’s looking at me, the permission to call him something no one else does.

Ugh, that’s stupid, right? To feel some weird secret thrill over that?

Wait.

Grandson?

“Teddy is your grandson?” I feel the need to repeat it, to clarify beyond all confusion this time, before he gets away from me again.

Yeah, yeah. I know technically I’m the one who ran away the first time. Don’t be a shrew about it.

“Yes, my grandson. The one you’re having dinner with tonight.” Mrs Carrington smiles triumphantly, clearly quite pleased with herself at finally arranging this setup.

Little does she know, we’re just a little past a setup. And now I’m blushing. Like