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“My grandpa’s,” Charlotte said. “He doesn’t know we’re getting the tree.”
“You stole it from him?”
“He’s taking a nap,” Charlotte offered. “He’ll never know.”
Charlotte parked the truck in the lot and joined Charlie at the edge of the adorable Christmas tree forest. A man in a lumberjack coat approached and told them to select any trees from a particular section; the ones toward the back weren’t big enough yet. They were saving them for next year.
Charlie and Charlotte roamed through the trees quietly, sometimes catching one another’s gaze. Their boots crunched through the snow.
“I love that smell,” Charlotte said finally, pausing in the very center of the Christmas tree farm. “I’ve noticed you smell like that a little bit. Probably from your life in the woods.”
Charlie’s heart thumped. Charlotte was less than a foot away, and they were five minutes from the entrance of the Christmas tree forest, shrouded in shadows. If he wanted to, he could kiss her again, here beneath the cerulean sky. A bird flashed overhead, cawing.
Before he chickened out, he cleared the distance between them and kissed her. She responded to him, cupping her lips around his and drawing her arms around his waist. Charlie felt outside of time. It was as though every decision he’d made since the party at the new apartment building had brought him here.
Suddenly, there was the sound of giggling children. Charlie and Charlotte jumped away from each other just as three kids between the ages of eight and eleven scampered past them. Charlotte’s cheeks were pink with embarrassment.
“Why do I feel like we just got caught doing something wrong?” Charlotte whispered.
“It’s like we’re in high school, sneaking off between classes,” Charlie agreed, smiling.
They held hands after that, gliding through the aisles of trees. It took them much longer than most others to find the “perfect” tree. Charlie’s theory was that they wanted to extend the experience as long as they could. They wanted to steal another several kisses, swaddled in the scent of pine trees, lost in the dream they were building.
Charlie and the lumberjack from earlier secured the tree to the truck as Charlotte paid. When Charlotte returned, she did a double-take with the lumberjack and said, “Wait! Aren’t you Craig?”
The lumberjack laughed. “I wondered if I knew you. Charlotte Summers, right? Gosh, it’s been ages.”
They hugged, and Charlie felt an inexplicable wave of jealousy and nausea. Charlotte was telling Craig that she’d invited her entire family to the Cherry Inn for Christmas. She wanted to uphold her childhood memories and remind her grandfather of how magical the inn truly was.
“Watching the inn fall apart has been tragic,” Craig affirmed. “I’m glad you’re here to bring some life back to the old place.”
Charlotte beamed as she said goodbye and scrambled into the truck. Charlie waved to the lumberjack and got in beside her. The lumberjack peered at him curiously.
“You know him from high school?” Charlie asked, hating the way his voice wavered.
“I had a big crush on him in middle school,” Charlotte said.
“He looked at you like he was in love with you.”
Charlotte glanced at Charlie with surprise. Had she realized Charlie was slightly jealous? Did she have the upper hand?
Suddenly, Charlotte’s phone rang. Charlie put it on speakerphone, allowing Charlotte to focus on the road.
There was the sound of a baby screaming. Charlie’s stomach twisted. It drew him all the way back to 2004 when he and Sarah had brought Melissa home. She’d been a sickly baby for a little while, falling asleep for no more than forty-five minutes at a time and then crying again. Charlie and Sarah had joked they’d aged ten years in just a few months. At the same time, they’d never been happier.
“Mom?” Van’s voice came over the speaker. “Ethan won’t stop crying.” She sounded like she was on the verge of tears, too.
“We’re on our way back to the inn,” Charlotte announced. “Seven minutes. Okay?”
After Van hung up, Charlotte winced. “I hope it’s okay that I help Van for a little while?”
“Of course.”
Charlotte smiled. “You don’t give off the vibe of being a baby lover.”
Charlie raised his shoulders. What vibe did he give off, exactly?
“Babies are okay,” Charlie said. This was the biggest lie he’d ever told.
