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1
This was one of those days when Charity Ardmore needed four hands and two brains. In fact, if someone could just clone her, that would be great. But she had to settle for one of those four cup holders that the Misty Mountain Café kept around for just this situation.
“Watch out for the mistletoe!” Joe, the café’s owner, called out just as the door miraculously opened for her.
She couldn’t see who the polite person was, but she threw out a “Thank you” as she passed through it.
“Charity?”
No no no no no. Not today. Not now. Not when her hair was in complete frizz-ball mode.
But she pasted a smile on her face, turned, and sent up a prayer that she looked better than she thought. “Nic Winters. What are you doing here?”
It was a ridiculous question, considering today was Black Friday. Everyone with family still living here was in her hometown of Misty Mountain, Tennessee, for the long weekend. And they’d all come downtown for the Christmas tree lighting.
“Just visiting the folks for the weekend,” he said. “You know…Thanksgiving.”
“Excuse me.”
A voice interrupted whatever Charity might have said. An older man was trying to get to the door they were blocking. Nic nudged his head to the right, then turned and took several steps in that direction.
Charity followed. The whole time, she was scrambling to figure out what to do here. Should she say she had to go or stay and talk to him for a few more minutes?
“You still live here?” he asked. “I figured you might have moved away to work with your sister.”
Charity had two sisters, but he was obviously referring to the one who had her own TV show. Helping Ana with her on-camera renovation projects would be a natural fit for Charity’s talents, considering she was an interior decorator by profession.
But this was a sore subject between them when they dated. She’d told Nic long ago she loved Misty Mountain and had no intention of leaving. That hadn’t changed since Nic dumped her a few weeks into his first semester of college eight years ago.
“I bought a cabin in the Misty Lakes subdivision,” she said.
“Misty Lakes.”
He arched his eyebrows. He’d been away so long he probably had no idea how much that particular area of town had grown. There were now modest homes in what was once the town’s most upscale neighborhood.
“You said you’re here all weekend?” she asked, mostly to make conversation. Keep things casual.
His mouth spread into a smile. “We should get together while I’m here. Maybe have a cup of coffee.” He looked down at the four cups she held in front of her.
“That would be great,” she said. “My phone number is on my website. Or you could just email me.”
His smile faded slightly at the word “email.” Did that sound too formal? They hadn’t seen each other for eight years, and the last time things had been…weird between them. He’d dumped her by phone a few days later.
What did he expect? The red-carpet treatment?
“I really have to go,” she blurted before she lost the confidence to say the words. “Great seeing you again.”
She turned and willed her legs to move, but they didn’t. She seemed stuck in this spot.
“Charity.”
That was the second time in a few minutes that he’d said her name—a name he’d said many, many times from second grade through senior year. They’d been friends first and boyfriend-girlfriend later. That was what made it even harder for her to stand here in front of him, knowing he was little more than a stranger at this point.
She turned back toward him, pasting a friendly smile on her face. “Yes?”
“I’m sorry.”
The emotion in his big blue eyes made it clear this was an apology he’d been thinking about issuing for a while. She felt the weird urge to apologize, too, but for what? For telling him she never planned to live outside Misty Mountain? That she didn’t want to leave her family?
