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But as she checked in on everyone and helped break down the equipment, her mind was racing. What had just happened? What did it mean?
The answer to that was simple. It meant nothing. Nic was going back to Virginia at the end of the weekend, no matter what happened. He’d made it clear almost as far back as middle school that he couldn’t wait to get out of this town.
And it was clear that he was happy now. She had no idea what he did for a living, but he seemed relaxed. Compared to the stress ball that she was twenty-four seven, that said a lot.
When she finally came back around the stage, Matt was standing at the bottom of the steps. “Thanks for all your help.”
“You’re welcome,” Charity said, suddenly realizing this was the first time she’d slowed down long enough to take a solid breath since that kiss.
Speaking of that kiss… She really could use her best friend right now.
“Have you seen Noelle?” Charity looked around. If anybody would know where her friend-turned-tree-lighting-elf was, Matt would. “I was trying to find her when I got caught up in helping break everything down.”
“She went off in that direction.” Matt pointed toward the area of the square with the statue. “I assumed she was going home.”
Charity let out a long, shaky breath. That was what she’d feared. She could, of course, drop by Noelle’s place. It wasn’t out of the way. Or she could just call her. Mostly, she felt like she needed a lifeline right now. She was like someone drowning, grasping for the nearest object.
She didn’t need that, though. She was fine. She was a grown woman. She’d gotten over Nic once. She could certainly get over the most amazing kiss of her life. A kiss that should have been familiar but wasn’t. A kiss that had gotten deep into her heart and buried itself there.
“Is everything okay?” Matt asked.
The concern in his expression made Charity aware that the distress in her head had no doubt taken over her expression. She shook her head.
“I’m just tired,” she said. “I should get home. I have a dog that needs to be fed.”
Matt nodded but didn’t look convinced. They said their goodbyes, and she headed straight for the statue. She wanted to steer clear of it, but her assistant had gone to check on the mistletoe and disappeared. Charity checked her phone several times for a message and found absolutely nothing.
Okay, maybe part of the reason she checked her phone was to see if there was a text from Nic. She had, after all, invited him to track down her phone number on her website.
That was before the kiss, though. Before he’d reminded her just how devastating their breakup had been to her.
Charity’s steps slowed as she neared the area surrounding the statue. It was completely deserted. Most importantly, the mistletoe that had been hanging from the finger was gone. Her hot cocoa cup was gone, too. Was Nic responsible both for its cleanup and the mistletoe removal?
There was one way to find out. Pulling her phone from her back pocket, she called her assistant.
“Hey, Jayne,” she said, working hard to remove all traces of stress from her voice. “Where are you?”
Charity looked around. It was a useless maneuver. This part of the square was as empty as it was on a normal day.
“I was waiting to hear back from you,” Charity continued.
“Oh, sorry,” Jayne said. “I was taking those ornaments back to storage, remember?”
Charity squeezed her eyes closed, took a deep breath, and let it out. Yes, she’d completely forgotten that was what Jayne was supposed to do after the event. But she’d expected her assistant to at least communicate whether the statue was back to being legal or not.
“Did you take the mistletoe down?” Charity asked.
“No, it was gone when I got there. There was nobody around. I just assumed Officer Reeser grabbed it.”
Enzo Reeser was the police chief. He could be a bit of a Scrooge, but Charity remembered him from high school. Although he’d kept to himself back then, he’d grown up to be a handsome, super competent police officer. But she felt like he had to play tough guy to ensure people took him seriously.
“I’ll come help you,” Charity said. “I’m finishing—”
Jayne interrupted. “You just go home and relax. Take care of that adorable pooch of yours.”
Jayne often stopped by to let Charity’s cavalier King Charles spaniel out. Charity had a small, fenced yard. She always tried to stop by to hang out with Gracie throughout the day, but sometimes she got tied up and Jayne had to do it.
“I will.” Charity started walking, eager to get back to the safety of her home. “Thanks for all you do. I’ll see you tomorrow at the parade.”
