A Hippogriff for Christmas - Zoe Chant Page 0,15

a man like Beau seemed so overjoyed at going on a date with her, she couldn’t deny it was flattering as hell. She’d never have gotten up the courage to ask him out, that was for sure.

“Well, I mean… when would you like to go?” she asked.

Try to play it at least a little cool, she told herself, though by now, her smile must have been plain on her face.

“How about now? Didn’t your friend say your shift was over?” Beau said.

Annie’s mouth dropped open. “Now? But… shouldn’t I get changed or something? Do my hair? I don’t exactly look my best right now.”

Beau shook his head. “You look perfect just as you are.” He paused, grimacing a little. “Sorry – I mean, you really do. But if you’d prefer to go home and rest for a while, I can always come by later.”

For a moment, Annie was tempted to tell him that’s what she’d do. But then something in her heart fluttered, and she realized she couldn’t wait however long it would take to get back to her place, shower, change, whatever else to spend time with Beau.

Not to mention, to think about all the ways I could second-guess myself about this.

Swallowing down whatever self-consciousness she might have, Annie smiled, noticing the way Beau swallowed as she did so.

“No – don’t worry about it. I’m fine as I am. Let’s go.”

Chapter 5

I must be crazy, Annie thought as she stepped out into the cold air of the early afternoon.

The last few minutes were a blur – she knew she’d stuck her head into the storeroom and told Christina she was off, and had a vague memory of Christina making pistol-fingers at her and telling her not to do anything she wouldn’t do. She’d packed up Beau’s cookies and put the cherry pie into a cooler bag, and grabbed her jacket out of the staff closet.

Maybe it was better this way, though – if her brain didn’t appear to be functioning properly, then she couldn’t second-guess herself.

Swallowing, she looked at him now, flakes of white snow settling in his dark hair, and wondered if she wasn’t actually in her bed right now, having a particularly unrealistic dream. Men just didn’t really look like that, did they?

On a slightly ridiculous impulse, she rolled up her sleeve slightly, giving the flesh of her forearm a good hard pinch.

“Ouch,” she muttered.

“Sorry?” Beau looked up at her, cocking his head slightly. “Did you say something?”

Annie shook her head, already feeling kind of stupid. “No – uh, it was nothing.” She cleared her throat, rubbing at the red mark on her arm. “So. Where to next, then?”

Beau laughed a little sheepishly. “Well, to be honest, I hadn’t really thought that far ahead. But since I was hoping to convince you that Christmas isn’t all that bad, I guess we should start from there.”

“What – you mean like going shopping for presents? Drinking eggnog? Finding a partridge in a pear tree? Decorating a Christmas tree?” Annie shook her head, laughing a little. “I don’t even have a tree in my apartment.”

“No Christmas tree?” Beau looked at her, eyes wide, before he shook his head. “Okay, well, we have to fix that first. You know where we can get a Christmas tree around here?”

In fact, Annie did – old Ben Johnstone had been running a Christmas tree farm just out of town for the last thirty years. He was a drinking buddy of Mr. Dearborn’s, and they knew each other from way back. But in the two years she’d been here, she’d never bought a tree from him.

But now, there was something about Beau’s enthusiasm and obvious love of the holiday season that was… well, kind of infectious. Something about his smile warmed her heart in a way she’d never known before. It was a warmth that had already started to melt away the ice of cynicism around her heart.

Annie gritted her teeth.

She wasn’t going to let herself get swept off her feet as easily as all that. Beau might have gotten rid of Scott, and he might be ridiculously good-looking and charming as hell, but life had already taught her a lot of harsh lessons about people, and how they tended to leave her in the end.

But if it’s just for three days…

She could let herself live in a dream for three days, right?

Maybe Beau would leave her and go back to his family after that. But for the next three days, couldn’t she let herself