Page 11 of Promise Yule Be Mine (Christmas Falls: Season 2)

11

KODY

" W hat are your plans for the rest of the day?" I asked Nova on the way back to town.

Within a matter of minutes I'd had my measurements taken and the suit paid for, all thanks to him. Thanks to Nova.

It wasn't as if I'd forgotten about the tux, but it hadn't been a priority. Maybe it was my way of clinging to the simple wedding I'd wanted despite how out of hand that had gotten.

Despite everything I didn't want to make a big deal out of our wedding even though I wanted nothing more than to have the most memorable time of my life. For obvious reasons, going all-out seemed contrived and wrong. But we should have thought of that before we’d hired Nova. Or more precisely, before Jenna had hired him.

"Hm…I don't know. I'll probably go out and explore a little. Unless you guys have another task you've neglected to tell me about."

"Ouch." I grimaced. "But deserved."

He chuckled.

"I promise we're not usually this bad," I said.

He raised an eyebrow and I looked back at the road, his gaze on my face making me all warm and tingly.

"Okay, maybe we are but I promise that's it. I think. Everything else should be sorted now."

"Let's hope so." He smirked.

We reached Santa's Village, the town center, and took a right toward Jenna's apartment when Nova jumped in his seat.

"Oh my God. That's right. E.S. Maxwell is doing a signing today," he said. He turned to look at me and gave me a cheeky grin. "I think I found my evening plans."

"You like Emerson's books?" I asked.

"Like them? He's one of my favorite authors. His books are so good. They're like…like a nice cozy hug by the fireplace."

And of course now all I could think of was hugging Nova in front of the toasty fire.

Would I ever escape this sweet torture of his image in my head, in my heart, in my soul? Did I have to get married to get rid of it or would it haunt me for the rest of my life?

"Wait a minute, you know him? You called him Emerson."

I chuckled. "I do. Not well, but he's been by the pub a few times and we've talked."

"OMG. No way. Although, of course you do. He lives here. Everyone knows each other."

I looked at him through narrowed eyes, trying to mask my amusement, although how successful I was, I didn't know. "I'm surprised you didn't bump into him at Gingerbread Cottage."

He frowned. "What do you mean? Why would I bump into him?"

"Because he's Arlo's boyfriend?"

His eyes went wide and he punched my arm. "No fucking way!"

"Ouch." I rubbed the spot with a fake whine.

"Oh. Sorry. Is that true though? He's Arlo's boyfriend? I can't believe I didn't see him. He's probably locked up in a room writing into the night."

I shrugged. "Do you want to grab some food? Then we can go to Season's Readings and I can introduce you."

"Yes. Sure. Let's do it."

I turned left down the road and made my way back to The White Elephant and parked up in my assigned space.

"Do you fancy some grub? Frosty's has the most delicious nachos you've seen this side of Mexico."

Nova glanced at me and bit back a laugh. "Sure. Sure. Lead the way."

We made our way to Dasher Street and took shelter into the toasty bar that was flooded with chatter, music, and Christmas cheer plastered everywhere. We got a spot at the bar and Josh, the co-owner, came up to us with a welcoming smile.

"Hey, bud," he said. "How's it going?"

I shook his hand and he turned to Nova, so I introduced them.

"Ah, you're the wedding planner Meredith wouldn't stop talking about," he said to Nova.

"You met his wife?" I asked him.

Nova grimaced and shook his head.

"Of course. Did you forget I went around to hand out invitations yesterday? Besides, I'm in a group chat with her and Jenna."

I bit my lip and looked down at the bar. "Of course," I said. She was Jenna's bridesmaid, after all.

"She wouldn't stop raving about the invitation. She says she's gonna get it framed in her office so she can draw inspiration for her covers."

Nova rubbed his hand over his face. "Come on. It's not that impressive."

"She begs to differ."

"I'm starting to wonder if I need to plan more weddings out here just so you guys see how we do things in New York."

Josh put his hand up, all shock and fake horror.

"Oh really? You think your big city ways are better than our small town charm?" He laughed.

"No. No. Of course not. But maybe if I did you'd realize what we did was nothing special." Nova laughed too.

"I think it was extraordinary," I told him, and Josh nodded.

"Then you can take all the credit," Nova said.

"Fine by me."

Josh leaned on the bar and slid a couple of menus toward us. "What can I get for you guys?"

"Well, this guy here says your nachos are to die for." Nova pointed at me with an eye roll.

"Really? You said ‘to-die-for’? Awww, shucks."

I grimaced. "I don't believe I said that."

Josh shrugged. "I don't buy it." He turned to Nova. "You want to try the nachos? We've got some special toppings you can try," he said, pointing to the section on the menu. "Any drinks while you decide?"

I ordered a bottle of red wine while Nova perused the menu and when Josh returned I distracted myself from my companion by turning my attention to Josh.

"How is little Emmanuela?"

His daughter had been born last Christmas and was growing up fast, way too fast. She was an adorable little thing.

"She's good. She's a poop machine though. I swear there's something wrong with her."

Nova laughed.

"How is the wedding planning going?" Josh asked him.

I would be insulted that he was asking him instead of me, if Nova wasn't our wedding planner and a literal lifesaver.

"All good now I'm here," he answered and I nodded.

Everything was better now he was here. Better but also so much worse.

An hour and two full stomachs later we made our way to Season's Readings where a small group had gathered around a table in the back. Nova practically squealed walking beside me and I had half a mind to wrap him in my arms and share in his excitement. But I didn't…for obvious reasons, not least being we weren't friends or anything else.

We joined the line and I couldn't help but watch Nova as he kept peeking at the front of the line as if he were a child waiting impatiently their turn to get to the ice cream truck.

"You really like him, don't you?" I asked.

There was a part of me, a part of me in my stomach, that was twisted in knots. I didn't like that he was so excited about meeting Emerson and that he wasn't looking at me that way. Which was completely illogical but it didn't make it any less painful.

But there was also a part of me, a bigger one, so stunned by this man who carried as much exuberance and confidence I wished I did most days, and I was already quite a happy-go-lucky guy. At least that was what my family and Jenna had told me on many an occasion.

These days, I couldn't see it or believe it.

"Hi," Emerson said when we got to the front of the line.

Nova grabbed and squeezed my hand, rendering me utterly immobile.

"Oh my God! You're E.S. Maxwell!" He cried and people turned to look at him. I smiled.

"In the flesh. But you can call me Emerson.”

"Oh! I can. I will, I mean. Uhm… Oh God. I'm making a complete fool of myself, aren't I?" He squeezed my forearm even tighter and even though it hurt, at that moment, I didn't ever want him to let me go.

"No. Not at all. It's actually pretty cool to be treated like a superstar." Emerson chuckled.

"You are a superstar in my eyes," he said and there it was again. That twist in my guts twisting even more. "I've read all your books. Twice. And your new series? I fucking loved it."

"You have no idea how happy that makes me," Emerson answered.

"Hey," a guy said, approaching behind the seated Emerson and put his hands on his shoulders. "It's Nova, isn't it?"

Arlo, the owner of Gingerbread Cottage, looked at Nova and smiled. If possible, the way he was being looked at by both of them, by anyone around us, was giving me a stomach ache.

Because I could never look at him that way. And if I did, I couldn't do anything about it. I'd made a promise to my best friend and I couldn't break it.

"It is, yeah," he said. "I stayed at yours last week but I had to extend my stay so I'm staying at my friend's while she's out of town."

"Nova here was telling me what a superstar I am," Emerson said.

Arlo raised his eyebrows at Nova. "Are you trying to steal my man, Nova?"

Nova gasped and after a moment shook his head emphatically. "Oh gee, no. Definitely not. Trust me. I'm just a big fan."

Both Arlo and Emerson laughed.

"Relax. I was kidding. I know he's only got eyes for me anyway," Arlo said and leaned forward to plant a kiss on his boyfriend's lips.

"That's why I'm marrying you," Emerson replied, grinning from ear to ear.

My guts took a tumble of a different kind.

They were so lucky to have each other. Why couldn't I have been this lucky? Why couldn't I have what they had? I wanted what Arlo and Emerson had. What Josh and Meredith had. What so many couples in this town had. But I reminded myself for the hundredth time that I wasn't like other guys and that love and happiness was out of my purview.

That was why I'd agreed to Jenna's wild idea. That was why this wedding was happening.

"Wait, you guys are getting married? No way. When? Do you need a wedding planner? I'll do it for free for E.S. Maxwell." Nova jumped on the spot, unable to contain his excitement, and I wouldn't have wanted him to, either.

"You are? Oh wow. We should talk," Emerson said.

Before he'd even finished his sentence, Nova had procured a card from his pocket and handed it to his favorite author.

"Thanks. We'll definitely be in touch," Emerson said and Arlo nodded. "Now, did you want a signed copy?"

Nova put his hand up and dug into his tote bag.

"Actually, I've already got one. Would you mind signing it?"

"Not at all," Emerson said, taking it from him and putting his signature and a dedication on Nova's well-worn copy.

A few moments later, and a few signed books later, we sat down and Emerson read from his next book, which had yet to be published. Nova had the biggest smile the whole time and it was absolutely infectious.

It was so cute he got so excited by something so simple as books, although there was nothing simple about books. I picked up a book from time to time, but seeing how excited it made Nova, I was tempted to get a book tonight just so I could share in his joy.

By the time Emerson finished I made sure to purchase the first book of the series, the same book Nova had and got it signed too, even if he was a local author.

“So…what do we have to do to get a free wedding? Write a book?” I asked him as I turned around to leave, but I bumped into another familiar face.

Nova blushed and looked at my friend.

"Milo!" I said.

The chocolatier gave me a brief hug and smiled at Nova. "Hey guys. What are you up to?" he asked.

Nova took over telling him about Emerson's exclusive reading and how he'd missed it and how excited he was for the next chapter and after a few moments, a smile crept across Milo's face and his gaze darted back and forth between Nova and me.

"Wow. Now I'm bummed I missed it."

"As you should be," Emerson told him. I laughed.

Milo grimaced and walked around us to apologize and chat to Emerson.

"Excuse me," said someone before we could make our escape from the book store.

It was a young man in a checkered shirt open enough to show his hirsute and dark skin underneath. He had big black eyes, a messy pomp and a kind smile.

"Hi," I said.

Was he a tourist? I didn't recognize him.

"Sorry to bother you," he said. "I work at the local library. My name is Karim."

Nova was the first to shake Karim's hand and I followed suit, introducing both of us.

"How can we help you Karim?" I asked.

"We had a burst pipe at the library," he said. "It destroyed most of our children's section and it's screwed up all the planned activities for Christmas so I'm going around town trying to see if people have any spare children's books they'd like to donate to the library."

"Oh no!" Nova brought his hand to his chest. "I'm so sorry. That's awful."

“God. The weather is wreaking havoc already. The animal shelter had a burst pipe the other day too.”

"Really? I hope the animals are okay," Karim said.

"Me too,” Nova said. “I’m so sorry, Karim, I'm not from here, so I don't have anything to donate, unfortunately.” He turned to me with big sad eyes that made a frog form in my throat. "Do you?"

I bit my lip and forced myself to look away from Nova and address Karim. "Sure. I can have a look when I'm at home."

Karim put both hands to his heart and tipped his head at us. "Thank you so much. I'd really appreciate it if you spread the word, but no pressure."

Nova beamed. "We'll do our best."

After having seen what kind of miracles Nova could work, I believed him. Heart, body and soul.