Tic-Tac-Mistletoe - N.R. Walker Page 0,65

face was telling her more than I was. But I’d never talked about guys with her, or with anyone in Hartbridge, to be honest. It was strange to be doing it now, but it felt so good.

“You like him,” she said fondly.

“I do. Which is crazy, right? It’s so fast, but he’s just . . . he’s perfect.”

She shook her head and gave me her mom-like tsk sound. “It’s not crazy at all. I knew the day I met Mr Barton that he was the one for me. I just knew it. I’ll never forget it either. The moment I knew. We were on our first date and he was taking me to the diner when old Mrs Adderly was coming out of the store and the bottom of her grocery bag split, and he rushed to help her. I knew right then. He was wearing a brown jacket and the sunshine made his hair look golden, and that was it. I was sure of it.”

I smiled at her memory. “Can I tell you something?”

“Of course you can.”

“The day after we met, I was taking him to Robert’s to see about his car. We were in my truck and he had Chutney on his lap.” I let out a nervous laugh, not sure why I was admitting this to anyone. “But he had my dog on his lap, and she had her front paws on the door, looking out the window, and he was talking to her, pointing out all the things we drove past, and I can’t be sure . . . Well, I probably can be, but maybe I don’t want to say it out loud . . .”

“But you knew.”

I nodded. “I think so, yeah.”

“He must be special.”

I don’t know why I got emotional, but just saying this all out loud hit me right in the heart. “I think he could be.”

She put her hand on my arm, nodding, a bit teary like me. “Then you take it in both hands and hold it close for as long as you’re able.” She nodded before composing herself, breathing deep and raising her chin. “I do expect to meet this young man, I hope you know.”

I barked out a laugh, blinking away my tears. “I’d like that.”

“Good. Now let’s put these containers in the fridge and open up the store,” she said, all business again.

Of course, she knew I was gay, but this was the first time I’d openly discussed my love life with her, and more specifically me seeing another man, and it felt . . . I couldn’t even describe how it felt. Amazing. Renewing. Validating.

I nodded, trying not to grin, feeling happier and lighter than I had since before my dad passed away. Mrs Barton had said to grab a hold of happiness with both hands and don’t let go, and I had every intention of doing exactly that.

Chapter Thirteen

Hamish

It had been four days since I’d seen Ren. We’d texted a lot, we’d spoken on the phone a lot, and we FaceTimed so Chutney could join in, but it had been four days.

I’d unpacked my clothes, done some laundry, sorted through the boxes I’d shipped over earlier, and even bought a car. Well, it was an SUV-type thing. I was not a ute kind of guy, or a truck as they called them here. Ren’s truck suited him because he was basically a lumberjack hardware man. But I was more of a creature-comforts kind of guy, with seat warmers and tinted windows. And a sedan didn’t make much sense considering the damned snow. With my inability to drive in it, it was safer to go with something bigger.

Even if the salesman didn’t give me a discount for the steering wheel being on the wrong side. It wasn’t my fault he didn’t have a sense of humour.

I’d been in contact with work and got everything prepared for my first day being fully remote, and I was excited for that to start. I’d even done some googling on places to rent. Nothing had grabbed me so far, and Liv was in no hurry for me to find my own place, but it didn’t hurt to start looking.

I’d seen the very short list of sights of Mossley, which was all fine and well. I took Liv out for lunch, we did some shopping, and it was wonderful to spend time with her.

But my God, I missed Ren.

“Just go,” Liv said. “Go and see him. Surprise him or tell him.