The Christmas Fountain, page 12
Crap on a cracker.
“Good morning, lovely lady.” With a sheepish smile, he held a bouquet of bright yellow tulips out.
Autumn reached to take the flowers automatically, though a part of her instinctively recoiled. She couldn’t stop the flinch as her hand curled around the stems. “What’s this?”
“I saw these and they made me think of you. A little spot of sunshine. I went by the library to deliver them. Livia told me you were out shopping, so I took a chance that I could catch you.”
Autumn made a mental note to murder her friend. She forced a smile and focused on the gesture rather than the flowers themselves. There was no possible way Mark could’ve known she loathed yellow tulips. They’d been her mother’s favorite flower. “They’re lovely.”
She waited, watching splotches of color rise to Mark’s cheeks as he shifted from foot to foot. Please don’t let today be the day he finally asks.
Mark finally seemed to register Judd’s presence, which said a lot about the man’s focus on her, as Judd had been looming behind her like a guard dog since the moment Mark had shown up.
“Hi. Mark Caulfield.” He offered his hand.
Judd stepped forward to take it. “Judd Hamilton.”
“And you’re—”
“The best friend,” Judd supplied. His gaze swept Mark from head to toe and clearly found him lacking. Not that anyone who wasn’t well-versed in the microexpressions of Judd would notice.
“Ah,” Mark said.
The silence spun out. One beat, then two.
Ordinarily, Autumn would’ve jumped into the breach, tried to put Mark more at ease with the scripted niceties used by all women in the South. But she wanted—needed—him to go away. So she said nothing, employing the same tactics she knew Judd used in interrogation, hoping Mark would be so acutely uncomfortable, he’d lose his nerve.
“Well, I—you’re in the middle of something. I just wanted to give you the flowers. I’ll let you get back to your shopping now.”
“Thanks.”
“I guess I’ll see you when those interlibrary loans come in.”
“I’ll be sure to let you know,” she promised.
Mark gave a little wave and shrugged his messenger bag higher on his shoulder, heading back across the green.
Autumn turned back toward Judd. She felt the weight of his gaze—those eyes that always saw too much and not enough.
“Do you want me to take them?” He knew. Of course, he knew what these would mean to her. It was just one of the many reasons she loved him.
“No. They’re just…flowers. I can deal. Just…just tell me when he’s gone so I can find somewhere to dispose of them.”
Mark’s interruption had seriously thrown Autumn off her game. Because the moment to speak had passed, she didn’t resist when Judd took her arm. “C’mon. Let’s walk.”
“Let’s swing by Brides and Belles. I’ll give them to Babette. Someone might as well enjoy them.”
“Sure. I’ve got something to pick up in that area anyway.”
Dimly, Autumn wondered where, but was too rattled to ask. She’d find out soon enough.
She felt better once the flowers were out of her hands. Steadier. She joined Judd back out on the sidewalk. “Okay, List Master, where is our first stop? You said you had something to pick up over here.”
“This way.” He headed down the block. As she fell into step beside him, he said, “Hey what was it you were going to say earlier? Before we were interrupted. You seemed pretty serious.”
“I was. I…” Autumn trailed off, staring blankly at the display window he’d stopped in front of. “What are we doing here?”
“Oh, I’ve just got to run in and pick up something for Mary Alice.”
“Here?” she said dumbly. Because they were standing outside Sanderson’s Jewelers.
“Yeah, I’ve got something on order. Want to come in and see?”
Autumn’s mind ground to a screeching halt, as everything she’d been about to say simply blanked. Judd Hamilton did not buy jewelry. At no point in their twenty-five years of friendship had he ever given something sparkly to one of his girlfriends. He’d never even gotten any cheesetastic jewelry for his mom on Mother’s Day. And he had something on order for Mary Alice.
There was only one thing it could possibly be.
Something burst inside her, a white hot nova of shock sweeping through her body. Autumn felt the reverberation in her chest and for long seconds she waited for the physical pain to take her to her knees. But there was no pain. She wasn’t dying this time, even though she was losing him now as surely as she’d nearly lost him years ago to a bullet meant for her. And for a moment she regretted that the surgeons had repaired her heart. Because that meant she had to live through this, watching him build a life with someone else, knowing she’d never even been in the running.
She drew on every shred of control she had to smile at him. Because she loved him and she wanted him to be happy.
“No. That’s what I wanted to tell you. I’m going to have to bail on our tradition. I’m supposed to meet Mitzi to help finish up a grant for the library. With all the budget cuts, I really can’t afford to tell her no, even though it’s technically my day off. There’s a deadline.” The lie rolled off her tongue with surprising ease.
“Well shit. Why didn’t you say something earlier?”
“She just emailed me this morning, and I thought we could at least do breakfast. But I need to get on. You go ahead and finish your shopping. I’ll see you later, okay?”
Worry was written all over his face as he studied her.
Please. Please let me go right now.
“Yeah, okay.”
Because she felt the weight of his gaze on her, she didn’t run, though every instinct urged her to flee. She kept her strides even and unhurried, though she was starting to shake. She kept her head held high, though she wanted to scream. She’d survived more than her fair share over the years. She’d find a way to survive this.
But as she passed the cursed fountain, she wondered how she’d survive it without him.
* * *
Get your copy of If I Didn’t Care today!
Other Books By Kait Nolan
A complete and up-to-date list of all my books can be found at https://kaitnolan.com.
The Misfit Inn Series
When You Got A Good Thing (Kennedy and Xander)
Once Upon A Wedding (Misty and Denver)
Those Sweet Words (Pru and Flynn)
Stay A Little Longer (Athena and Logan)
Rescue My Heart Series
Baby It’s Cold Outside (Ivy and Harrison)
What I Like About You (Laurel and Sebastian)
Wishful Series
Once Upon A Coffee (Avery and Dillon): Available for FREE!
To Get Me To You (Cam and Norah): Available for FREE!
Know Me Well (Liam and Riley)
Be Careful, It’s My Heart (Brody and Tyler)
Just For This Moment (Myles and Piper)
Wish I Might (Reed and Cecily)
Turn My World Around (Tucker and Corinne)
Dance Me A Dream (Jace and Tara)
See You Again (Trey and Sandy)
The Christmas Fountain (Chad and Mary Alice)
You Were Meant For Me (Mitch and Tess)
A Lot Like Christmas (Ryan and Hannah)
Dancing Away With My Heart (Zach and Lexi)
Wishing For a Hero Series (A Wishful Spinoff Series)
If I Didn’t Care (Judd and Autumn)
Watch Over Me (Nash and Rowan)
Can’t Take My Eyes Off You (Ethan and Miranda)
Can’t Stand The Rain (Sean and Delaney)
Meet Cute Romance
Once Upon A Snow Day
Once Upon A New Year’s Eve
Once Upon An Heirloom
Once Upon A Coffee: Available for FREE!
Once Upon A Campfire: Available for FREE!
Once Upon A Wedding
Once Upon A Rescue
Summer Camp
Once Upon A Campfire: Available for FREE!
Second Chance Summer
Acknowledgments
As ever, to my fantabulous editor, Susan Bischoff of The Forge Book Finishers, you are a rockstar and I couldn’t do this without you.
To my author pal Tawna Fenske. It’s all your fault this isn’t just a Meet Cute! Mary Alice and Chad are Ooooh so glad for your influence.
To the members of my Squee Squad, faithful cheerleaders all. You’re the reason I do what I do.
And to my sweet husband, who heard about the awesome date Chad planned for Mary Alice and set about making it real for me. I love you.
About Kait
Kait is a Mississippi native, who often swears like a sailor, calls everyone sugar, honey, or darlin', and can wield a bless your heart like a saber or a Snuggie, depending on requirements.
You can find more information on this RITA ® Award-winning author and her books on her website http://kaitnolan.com. While you’re there, sign up for her newsletter so you don’t miss out on news about new releases!
Kait Nolan, The Christmas Fountain
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