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"Does this mean I get to hack his private accounts?" Peach claps. She took a computer course at the community college we all attended and she was scary good at it. With the right motivation, she could do some real global-scale damage.
CHAPTER FOUR
Xavier
Irub my temples and glare at the snowflakes falling softly to earth outside the large glass window of my shop front. James drank too much last night, and I stayed up way past my bedtime to catch him out doing something stupid, but other than staring at his phone all night and telling anyone who'd listen how much he loves his girlfriend and hates his ex, he didn't do anything that would drive Alice away.
I wouldn't be surprised if Alice and James are having lunch together right now.
Another family passes by my window, not even glancing inside to see what I'm offering.
Just as well. I'm not in the mood to deal with tourists.
At least with no customers, I can focus on online sales. I scroll the latest numbers and resist banging my head on the counter. It's the holiday season and numbers should be up, but they're sinking like a stone.
The shop door chimes and Liam walks in. He shakes off the snow and pushes the hood of his bulky winter coat off his head. He's a tall, lanky dude with auburn hair he ties back in a man bun, and he is eternally cheerful. The sunshine to my rain cloud, as the locals have loved to say since we were five and playing in the sandbox with our other best friend Murphy Mae. Who is, as of eighteen months ago, Liam's girlfriend.
"I'm busy."
Liam looks around the shop. "Your lies are getting way too obvious, man. Why don't you have a Christmas window display this year?"
"Because I don't sell Christmas candy. I sell gourmet, award-winning candy. When there are Christmas decorations in the window, people come in and ask for GD candy canes." What I don't tell him, what I haven't told anyone, is that I'm in contact with an investor who's interested in expanding my business to brick and mortar stores in other cities. The investor's advice is to move away from everything Christmas related to make my brand more universal and appealing year round.
Which makes sense when my goal for the expansion is to advertise all Yuletide has to offer as a summer destination and lift the town's summertime revenues out of the doldrums. If I can make my candy popular enough, the town that birthed it will become a landmark in its own right and a reason for folks to visit in the off season.
Liam steps up next to me behind the counter and grabs a couple of sea salt caramels out of the display case. "Heard you got into a brawl at Drummers last night."
Five Drumming Drummers is a stupid ass name for a bar, but it's the only safe place for locals. Most tourists can't figure out it's a bar and not a music store.
"There was no brawl. It was a misunderstanding."
He hums under his breath as he chews. A good caramel is the only way to shut the man up.
I go back to my depressing numbers.
"Marianne and Glenn on the mountain today?"
I sigh. The mountain is the ski resort twenty minutes away in Glen Vale and today is the kind of perfect snowy day that every local wants to ski.
Liam knows that and he also knows I give my employees powder days off when I can. Which means he's stalling. "What do you want?"
"Maybe I want to talk about your scheduling habits, man. Maybe I think you should take a powder day every once in a while yourself."
As interim mayor, owner of a candy shop, and a candy chef, I don't have time for that, which Liam also knows. "Please get to the point."
He leans on the counter. "Why? It's not like you're busy. Every other shop in town is packed with all the ski tourists who hate snow days, but your shop is a ghost town. Think that has anything to do with your lack of candy canes?"
I bite back a growl. Liam wants me to get pissed so he doesn't have to tell me what he doesn't want to tell me. "Tell me or I'm calling Murphy."
He spits it out fast, without taking a breath, "I'm thinking about asking Murph to move in with me. How do you think I should do it?"
My heart drops into my stomach and I give Liam all my attention, hoping I heard him wrong. "Why would you want to do that?"
He smiles, hearts in his eyes, relaxed now the worst is done. "Because I love her more than anything. I want to wake up next to her every morning and know she's going to be coming home to me at the end of the day."
He's got a bit of caramel stuck to a front tooth, and I focus on that to hold back what I really want to say. Why the hell does my best friend want to run headlong into heartbreak? "You want to spend more time with her? Why? So you can add arguing about how to arrange the fridge to your weekly agenda?"
Liam rolls his eyes. "How long do I have to date Murphy before you accept we're not on the verge of breaking up?"
