AllFreeNovel
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Some people are born with the gift of gab but I was never one of those people.
My parents were, though. My mom and dad were both born and raised in a small town just like Cherry Falls. We lived up in the mountains in this little tourist spot and they owned a gift shop and a small ice cream parlor right on Main Street. They could make anyone who walked through the door feel like family. It was a gift, really.
Me, I liked working in the back where I could stick to myself. There have only been a handful of people that I feel comfortable around. Jacob and Caroline are the only ones that I’ve ever met where I felt at ease as soon as I saw them. Maybe that’s why I’m so obsessed with Caroline.
I head to the back office, grabbing another box of sweaters that I need to stock and carry them out onto the floor. As I work, I think about Caroline and how to approach her.
She seems a little shy, at least around me. I wonder if that’s a good sign or a bad one.
The bell on the front door jingles and I look up, smiling when I see Jacob walking in. He waves at me and I set the box of sweaters down on the counter and head over to him.
“What are you doing here?” I ask him with a smile.
“I came to see if you wanted to grab a late lunch with me, but I’m guessing that you’ve already been across the street,” he says and my eyes flick over his shoulder to the Virgin Street Diner.
“Yeah, I just got back.”
“Did you finally ask her out?” he asks, but I know he already knows the answer to that question.
“Not today.”
Jacob sighs, hanging his head dramatically.
“She was busy,” I try to defend myself and he just groans.
“You’re killing me, man.”
“I’m killing myself,” I mumble.
“Why don’t you just bite the bullet and ask her?”
“I just don’t want her to reject me.”
Jacob mulls over my words and we’re silent for a few minutes, both lost in thought. Finally, he comes to a conclusion.
“Why don’t you take a break, then? Regroup. You could go up to your cabin for the weekend and decompress. Come back on Monday and have a plan to ask her out or move on. Watching you watching her is getting old, man.”
I snort at the last part but I’m sure that he’s right. I flip over his words in my head.
Maybe he’s right. Maybe a break is just what I need. My subconscious reminds me that Caroline is taking Charlotte camping this weekend and will probably be up near my cabin. I decide to keep that piece of information to myself.
Maybe I’ll run into her. Maybe that will be the sign I’m looking for. If I see her, then I’m meant to ask her out and take the leap. If not, then maybe I need to try to get over my infatuation with her.
Infatuation seems like too tame of a word for what I feel for her and I don’t think that I’ll ever be able to just get over her.
“Yeah, maybe you’re right.”
“Of course, I’m right,” Jacob says with a smile and I laugh at his cocky smile. “I’ll leave you to your stocking. Have a nice weekend.”
I wave as he heads to the door, letting him know that I’ll talk to him on Monday before he heads out the door and across the street to the diner.
I get back to my stocking, all the while wondering if I can really go two whole days without seeing Caroline.
ChapterThree
Caroline
“Hurry, Aunt Caroline!” Charlotte cries, racing out to my car.
