Total pages in book: 32
Estimated words: 30218 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 151(@200wpm)___ 121(@250wpm)___ 101(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 30218 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 151(@200wpm)___ 121(@250wpm)___ 101(@300wpm)
Because I knew I’d be getting a little glimpse into some sort of Christmas cheer he saw that day.
And because I knew he was thinking of me. Which I shouldn’t have wanted, but I definitely did want.
Now I was here at Jade Brewery, looking at my phone every ten minutes like an idiot, wondering what he was up to. I felt like a monster.
I tipped back my glass of whiskey, drinking down the rest of the cool, amber liquor probably way too quickly.
“Another?” Harlan asked.
“I think so,” I said. “It’s that kind of night.”
He nodded, pouring me a fresh glass. The brewery was fairly slow tonight, with just a few people sitting at the other end of the bar and a few more out at the booths.
The front doors swung open, and I glanced over.
My heart skipped a beat when I saw Casey. For a second I wondered if I was dreaming it—I’d been doing double-takes all week, thinking random guys in the store or on the sidewalk were him.
But this actually was him. He was wearing a puffy black winter jacket and hat and had a red scarf wrapped around his neck. And he was carrying something huge from one end, while someone else held up the other side.
“Harlan,” he said. “We’ve got just what you ordered.”
Casey hadn’t seen me yet. I watched as he and another guy walked in a big, heavy-looking box, carrying it over behind the bar.
“They’re finally here?” Harlan said, a big smile spreading over his bearded face.
“All yours,” the guy on the other end of the box said. I recognized him—it was Harlan’s best friend Sawyer, who he’d been chatting with last time I was here. After setting down the box he gave Harlan a big hug, and he and Casey opened the box.
“Oh, that smells like heaven on Earth,” Harlan said.
“Just arrived from California this morning. Enjoy.”
It was a huge box of fresh oranges, and the scent filled the air immediately.
“Oranges always remind me of Christmastime,” Casey said. “Hang on.”
I watched as he pulled out his phone, snapping a photo of the citrus bounty. He hadn’t seen me yet. He was still turned away from where I was at the far end of the bar, and he leaned over his phone for a moment. My phone vibrated a second later, and when I checked it, I couldn’t keep a huge smile from my face.
He’d sent me the picture of the oranges. So simple, so sweet, and it melted my heart instantly.
I jotted him a quick message.
>>Rome: Behind you.
Casey finally turned to look my way, and the surprise on his face was instantaneous.
“Well, hello, stranger,” he said, walking over. He paused for a moment as he got closer, hesitating before leaning in for a hug.
And I hated how good it felt to hug him. He smelled like fresh citrus and like himself, a scent I remembered all too well from when I was in his house, tangled up with him under his tree.
“So, are you taking up a new job as a citrus delivery person?”
Casey sat down on the stool next to me and pulled off his scarf and jacket. His cheeks were still pink from being out in the cold. He looked so cute it almost physically hurt a little.
“You got it,” he said as he settled in. “I decided to ditch the tech work and start a new life as Citrus Santa.”
“It certainly made Harlan happy,” I said, nodding over.
“He’s just that happy every time he sees Sawyer,” Casey told me. “Those two were made to be best friends.”
“It’s so sweet.”
“Unfortunately I am not giving up my coding career for California orange delivery. I just saw Sawyer needed some help as I was walking in, ready to toss back several piña coladas.”
I knitted my brow, staring at Casey. “Did you just say piña coladas?”
He nodded once. “Yeah. I’m really craving them.”
“You’re going to have a fucking piña colada a week before Christmas?”
A smile crept onto the edge of his lips. “Do I sense I’ve just stepped into a snake pit?”
“You haven’t just stepped into a snake pit, you just cannonballed into a tank of piranhas. Hell, you just woke up an angry, vengeful grizzly bear.”
Casey raised his eyebrows. “Oh yeah?”
“Piña coladas should be downright banned in wintertime, as far as I’m concerned,” I said. “It’s not only the middle of December in a mountain town, it’s also actively snowing outside, right now. You just took off a scarf, for God’s sake. And you want a pineapple coconut island drink? It’s blasphemy.”
Casey pushed his hair to one side. “Because pineapple and coconut blended together with rum is goddamn delicious,” he said. “And the date on the calendar doesn’t change that.”
“I should’ve known,” I said, shaking my head slowly.
“That I was a filthy cocktail outlaw?”