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But as she turned away and expertly stacked three drink carriers inside a large brown bag and then hefted it along with the box of bagels and schmear, any hope of that happening during this particular reunion faded away like the snow at the end of the season.
“It was good to see you,” she said as she approached him with a grin that suggested she was proud of herself for managing the huge order.
“It was good to see you too.”
“And hey, if you’re still planning to get coffee, I recommend the peppermint mocha or gingerbread latte. There’s nothing like a festive coffee drink to get you in the holiday spirit.”
Jack’s response—a slow, meandering smile—seemed to make hers waver slightly, which gave him an odd sense of satisfaction.
She could keep him at arm’s length all she wanted, but there was something in her eyes that told him he wasn’t the only one struggling his way through this conversation. Maybe it wouldn’t turn out to be the perfect Christmas movie script like Holly and Nick’s romance, but these feelings weren’t one-sided. And maybe, just maybe, denying them was as torturous for her as it was for him.
CHAPTER4
Robin
“How was your day?”Robin asked Abby as she approached her on the sidewalk.
She would be forever grateful to the mayor for allowing her to work most of the day from the office and cut out in the afternoon when Abby got out of school to finish up at home.
Sure, she still had plenty of work to do from the kitchen table while her daughter did her homework on most days, and yes, sometimes Abby would hang at the inn with Holly if the mayor had an emergency for her to handle, but for the most part, it was a pretty cushy situation.
Today, however, there was nothing pressing for her to get done until Abby went to sleep, and after running into Jack at the cafe earlier, she needed some girl talk with her best friend. Stat.
“It was great!” Abby replied. “Guess what we did in social studies?”
“What?”
“We learned about the branches of government. Ask me what the three branches are. I bet you don’t think I know, but I do.”
Robin chuckled. “Okay, what are the three branches of government?”
“Legislative, executive, and judicious.”
“Ooh, so close.”
Abby frowned, staring ahead of them as they walked down the sidewalk toward the inn. Robin saw her wheels turning a mile a minute while she tried to figure out where she went wrong. But knowing Abby, she wouldn’t appreciate any hints, so Robin kept silent while she figured it out.
“Ah,” Abby said, jumping high enough that the plaid skirt she wore over her thick wool leggings flew out in a wide circle around her. “It’s judicial. Not judicious.”
“Great job, sweetheart.” Robin eyed her daughter carefully. “Do you have an interest in government or something?”
“Not really, but since you work for the mayor, I figured it’d be really lame of me not to know this stuff. What would people think?”
This made Robin laugh out loud. “Well, they would think you were nine, for one thing. Most nine-year-olds aren’t expected to know things just because their parents have certain jobs.”
Abby shot her a look that suggested her age was no excuse, and Robin fought the urge to laugh again. It was hard, though. When it came to Abby and her independent and precocious nature, she was always smothering smiles that she knew would only seem condescending to her daughter.
Instead, she nodded solemnly and said, “On second thought, any time you want to go over your social studies homework with a real-life assistant to a politician, let me know.”
“Thank you,” Abby replied with her chin lifted. When Robin veered right to head into the inn, Abby stopped on the sidewalk and gave her a questioning lift of her brow. “Where are you going?”
“To visit Aunt Holly, wanna come?”
Abby beamed brighter than the town’s giant Christmas light display. “Um, yes! What about homework?”
“You can do it at the dining room table, as long as you promise to focus on your work while you enjoy some of Holly’s treats.”
“Deal!” Abby cried, running past Robin to beat her to the door.
