“You know what,” I nearly laughed at the thought of William’s tree winning, but I held it together and said, “I’ll take that bet. The community is going to vote for a tree that has real meaning—something that reflects the true spirit of Christmas and the team that made it. I know your tree isn’t going to win.”
William turned in his stool toward me. He leaned against the bar. “You’re that confident?”
“Certain,” I said turning my stool to face him. William cocked his head to one side, and the corner of his lip rose in a crooked smile that was incredibly cute.
William put his hand out as if to shake my hand and said, “Okay, deal.”
“Deal,” I said confidently. We shook hands but then held on a little longer than necessary. I looked up, and our eyes met. I felt a little flutter in my stomach, and I pulled my hand away. I swallowed a lump that formed in my throat and sat up straight so that I would appear confident again, and I said, “I can’t wait for tomorrow’s announcement.”
William shook his head and turned back toward the bar. “I also can’t wait for tomorrow’s announcement.”
Ray came to take our plates. “Want another round?”
I looked at William. The truth was I did want to sit there with him longer, but instead I said, “I really need to go home and get some sleep. Big Christmas Tree Competition announcement at the library tomorrow.”
“One check?” Ray asked.
“Yes,” William said.
“Two,” I said at the same time as William.
Ray tried to hide a smirk. William said, “Just one. I got it.”
“You don’t have to do that,” I protested.
“No, I really do. I ate all your breakfast bagels last week,” he said looking at the bill that Ray had laid on the counter in front of him and pulling cash out of his wallet.
“That was you!” I cried. “I thought it was Aunt Rita. My name was written on those.”
“I know. That’s why I ate them.” William chuckled. “I guess we’re even now. Wanna walk home together?’
“Yeah,” I said hopping down from the bar stool and putting on my jacket. I hated that I really did want to walk home with him.
I couldn’t help but notice how the two women watched us leave the bar together, and I tried not to feel good about it.
As soon as we stepped out of The Pub, the cold air hit us. William pulled the collar of his peacoat up around his neck. I wrapped my scarf all the way around me and zipped up my long puffer jacket. The walk home was only about four blocks.
We were quiet for a block. William finally said, “I don’t know if I’ll ever get used to how quiet it is here at night.”
I turned and looked at him. He had his hands jammed into his coat pockets to stay warm. I could see his breath as he blew air between his full lips. He looked down at me, his dark eyes twinkling, and I looked away quickly.
“I guess I lived in the city for too long. I got used to all the noise.” He shrugged. “I like the quiet. It’s just different.”
“I get it,” I said. “Growing up I spent every summer with my dad. He’s based out of D.C., but he traveled a lot for work. He’s a journalist, and every summer he took me with him no matter where he was on assignment. It was exciting to go to all those places with him, but when I’d get back here,” I sighed. “I don’t know. The silence and the darkness. I just feel at peace here.”
I turned to see that William was watching me. I hoped he couldn’t see me blush. He probably thought I was hopelessly corny.
We had arrived at our front stoop. William waited for me to open the front gate and he followed me up the walkway to the front porch. I hurried up the front steps and paused when my hand was on the doorknob.
“Hey, thanks for dinner.” I turned to see that William was closer than I expected.
He was right behind me, looking down at me with his crooked smile. “Thanks for the bagels.”
I chuckled, turned back around, and pushed the door open. A warm blast of air hit me in the face. I knew my face must be flushed and red from the cold. As I walked farther into the foyer, I saw that Aunt Rita and two of our renters, Aaron and Liz, were sitting in the front room.
“Hey, Kit. You’re out late,” Aunt Rita said. Then I saw her eyes go wide as William came in behind me. “Oh! Hi, William. We left a plate in the oven for you.”
“Thanks,” William said. “But Kit and I just had dinner. I’ll eat it for lunch tomorrow.”
