know, do this?”
My shoulders fall, and I shake my head. “Don’t say that. After all the work I’ve done for it… it would be a big blow.”
Tillie sets her hand on mine, and I know I should let her go, she has a few customers lining up. “I know, sweetie. I shouldn’t have said anything.”
“It’s fine,” I say, saying goodbye. “Tonight, we’ll catch up more.” I leave the food truck and begin winding my way through the rows of trees, not wanting her doubts to cloud my mind. It’s Christmas — I’m here to be happy, to be thinking of something besides Sophia’s wedding.
Just then, a little girl runs up to me. It’s Scout, dancing in circles of excitement. “It’s you! From the bakery!”
Her excitement is infectious, and I find myself laughing as she grabs my hand, dragging me to… Brooks. “Papa, look who I found!”
Brooks’ eyes reach mine and I can feel my cheeks burn. Last night completely changed my thoughts on what sex could be.
He knew what he was doing… and it felt so freaking good. He made me laugh and swell with delight. He kissed me and woke something up that no one ever tried to awaken before. One night with Brooks was a terrible idea because he has now ruined me for sex with all other men.
“Noelle,” he says with a big grin as if we were old friends and not ex-lovers. “It’s so good to see you.”
It’s genuine, his happiness in seeing me. I know, because I feel it too. Happy. To see him. He isn’t just some guy. He’s Brooks. A man who saw my heart and handled it so gently.
Why, exactly, did I let him walk away?
“What are you doing here?” I ask, immediately regretting the stupid question. He is here buying a tree, just like me.
A woman I’ve met once, Brooks’ mother, Coralee is there and says, “Oh hello, Noelle. Brooks told us all about your afternoon.”
My eyes lift, and Brooks fills in. “I told her how beautiful the lodge is, and how we grabbed dinner afterward.”
“How is Dean doing?” I ask her. “I’m so sorry to hear he took a fall.”
Coralee shakes her head. “He hates the idea of sitting still, but I told him we can get the tree ourselves.”
“Are you getting a tree too, Noelle?” Scout asks.
“I am.” I smile. “My apartment wasn’t looking very Christmassy.”
“So are we. Papa said I can put the star on the top.”
I meet Brooks’ gaze. Is this man even real? He seems so perfect… in every way except the fact that he lives hundreds of miles away.
“You know,” Coralee says. “Why don’t you come over and have an early dinner with us? It’s so cold out and I have a big pot of chili on the stove.”
“Oh, I couldn’t. I wouldn’t want to impose.”
Coralee sets her hand so her hips. “I won’t take no for answer, Noelle. Unless you have plans of course?”
I look to Brooks to see what he thinks of his mother’s suggestion.
He smiles broadly. “Agreed, you’ve gotta come. Let’s get some tress picked out and head home.”
Home. A word that hasn’t held much meaning since Mom and Dad died. When Brooks says it, I wonder what it makes him think of. His home is so far away.
Scout and Coralee walk away, looking for a tree, and Brooks turns his attention to me.
“Now what kind of tree do you like?” he asks me. “It’s an important question.”
I smile, nerves fading away every time Brooks speaks to me. How is it a man I hardly know, can make me feel so comfortable in my own skin?
“There is only one kind of tree I’d choose.”
He smiles, his eyes so bright, so full of life, that my belly flipflops. He makes me feel more alive, just by being around him.
“Let me guess, a sad little Charlie Brown tree?”
I laugh. “How did you know?”
He rests a hand on my arm. “I don’t know what it is, Noelle. But I feel like I know you. In so many ways.”
I bite down on my bottom lip.
The truth is, I feel the exact same way.
Brooks
After we get the tree set up in my parents’ house, I haul out the boxes of ornaments, so my mom and Scout can get to work decorating. As they start stringing lights, I notice that Noelle looks a little uncomfortable. I know we just met yesterday, but it’s surprising seeing her out of sorts.
Noelle is standing in the living room, taking it all