They stared each other down like bulls, each daring the other to charge first. Macy was normally pretty hateful and bitchy – Cole had been right on that account – but it was rare to hear her spew such venom without just cause.
Then again, Cole did seem to be enjoying teasing her. He certainly had a better grip on handling her insults than most men did.
“All right, you two.” I put an arm around Macy. “If you can't play nice, sis, I'm putting you in time out.”
“Get your hands off me, Asher. Do you know what this guy did?” She sneered. “He called me a horrible name at the club last night – and he refused to give us back our table. But it figures, really, given what a poor and classless family he comes from.”
Despite her insults, Cole kept his cool. He sighed and stared longingly at the video game section. There was already a pack of guys lined up to snag the new Call of Duty.
“I appreciate a good verbal sparring match as much as anyone, but I have to be going. If I don't hurry, the game I want will be all sold out.” He nodded at me with half a smile. “Thanks to Mr. Carrington's fabulous deal prices, not to mention the killer pre-order bonuses. Best in town.”
“That's right,” I called out as he wandered away. “New deals everyday leading up til Christmas. Tell all your friends.”
“His dorky friends,” Macy muttered. “If he even has any.”
I faced her with folded arms. “Why are you being such a jerk to him? And causing a scene in my place of business, too. You're gonna scare off my customers.”
“You heard what he said. Accusing me of pandering to 'gender stereotypes,' or whatever. How dare he.”
Somehow I doubted Macy even knew what Cole meant by that, but decided it best to drop it. More important matters were at hand, anyway.
“You'd better be nicer to him,” I said, trying not to smile. “His sister Sarah wouldn't be too pleased if she heard you just now.”
She huffed and went back to digging through the shelves. “That chick who owns the shop across the road? Why would I care what she thinks?”
“Because.” Helpless, I broke out into a dumb grin. “She's going to be my wife come Christmastime.”
Macy let out a squeak and backed into a rack of headphones. About twenty of the packages tumbled to the floor; she didn't move to pick any up.
“Your wife? Oh, no, you didn't!” She slapped at me. “So that's why you ran Rosa off. Just what are you planning, Asher?”
“You promised you wouldn't talk about this.” I quieted, looking over my shoulder. “You were gonna help me out. Be on my side.”
“Yeah, yeah. Sure I am.” She nudged a box of headphones with her toe. “But Sarah; really?”
“We got to talking at the club last night. She's affected by this contract nonsense too. If I don't get hitched, her business is sunk, just like mine is. So we put two and two together.”
“If you think dad won't see through your scheme...”
“How was the thing with Rosa any different?”
“Because.” She was suddenly flustered. “He didn't know who she was. You could have played that off as a long-distance thing, kept hidden from the family for... reasons.”
“A truly believable story at which nobody would bat an eyelash, surely.”
“But dad knows who Sarah is. He's aware she runs that business on what happens to be his land. It's a scam and he'll call you on it.”
I got to work picking up Macy's mess, a thing I had done all too often for her before.
“Let him call me out on it. The contract says I get married, I do it, I keep the store. There's no rule saying it's gotta be the love of my life I'm wedded to.”
She put her hands in her coat pockets and frowned. “If you believe he's going to just accept this, you're wrong. Besides, Cole is a total jerk! If he ends up part of this family, ugh.”
“He won't be for long. This is all just a ploy, remember. Not like I have to stay with Sarah for life once we say 'I do.'”
“Macy, c'mon and help me!” Her friend yelled for her. “I just can't decide between Pony Princess and the Super Bake Oven.”
Macy went over to see what Katie had found. Then, she mumbled something, barely audible over the store's holiday music.
“Well, um. Maybe we should check out another aisle? I saw a cool science experiment kit in the boy's section. You can make glow-in-the-dark bugs with it and everything.”
After touring the store with the ladies and helping Katie choose, I walked outside to the car with them. The day was quite frosty despite it being noon, but the cold didn't bother me.
I was too enraptured by staring at Sarah through her shop window.
There she was, chatting with a customer, looked like. The warmth in her smile and sparkle in her eyes made me feel things, just the way I had last night when I'd finally gotten her into my bed.
What a wait I'd had. Five years, more than I'd give any other girl before forgetting about her.
Sarah made my wait worth it.
“Yo, dummy.” Macy pushed me into a snow drift. “Not paying attention again, as usual. Wipe that dumb grin off your face and listen.”
The door to Sarah's shop opened. She and the customer emerged.
“Goodbye, Mrs. Mackie.” She waved to the old woman. “Be sure and bring your grandkids next week. Santa Claus will be here to take pictures. Free candy canes, too.”
“Oh, that sounds lovely. Much better than
