Page 92 of Meet Me on Mistletoe Lane

“There are a couple of great places to eat cheesecake in New York City.” James sighed wistfully. “Junior’s is a staple, but Birdland has an amazing one, too.”

“Birdland?” I asked.

“It’s this old jazz club. Great food. Even better music. Tourists could walk right by it and never know the history inside, but, man…” He stared off toward the right of the stage. “You can feel it when you walk in there. All the greats who played there—Davis, Fitzgerald, Coltrane—that kind of music stays with you. Leaves its mark, you know?”

I nodded.

Listening to him talk about music was like listening to Sam talk about plants and books. It was easy to get excited even when you didn’t quite understand everything they said.

“Promise me you’ll visit that spot when you and Jo are there next year, okay?” he asked.

I gave him a small salute. “You got it.”

“Or…or maybe I could take you there sometime?” His voice softened.

“I’d like that.” I smiled.

He grabbed another few pretzels before adding, “I know I only get two, but can I please have one more? It’s a good one, I swear.”

I raised an eyebrow. “If you must.”

He beamed. “Top ten Christmas movies?”

My mouth dropped open. “I can only pick ten?”

“Ten is a lot.”

“Not when it comes to Christmas movies.” I let my cheek rest against my fist. “I mean, I can try to narrow it down to musicals or movies made before 1970, or maybe animated versus live action, but do I group Rudolph and Santa Claus Is Comin’ to Town with animated or are they different because of stop-motion—”

“Whoa, Gianna.” He placed a hand on my arm and chuckled. “I didn’t mean to make you spiral. I was just curious.”

“Sorry.” I bit my lip. “It’s hard for me to pick when I watch them all year long.”

“I forgot you did that.” James pulled back. “Don’t you get tired of them?”

I shook my head. “Christmas movies bring me joy. I love the magic and the comfort that comes with them.”

He smiled. “My favorite is Die Hard…in case you were wondering.”

Oh, good grief. “Die Hard is not a Christmas movie.”

“Don’t enter the ring with me on this one.” He held up a hand. “You will lose.”

I chuckled. “I suppose you’re also like Sam and think that Lord of the Rings—”

“Is definitely one, too! The Fellowship begin their journey on December twenty-fifth. It has elves and—”

“Gandalf is like Santa…” I deadpanned. I had heard that one from Sam for years. “We’ll agree to disagree.”

“Okay.” He held out his hand. “But I want your top ten list before the new year.”

“Deal.” I shook it before we both settled back in to watch the rest of the movie in a comfortable silence.

After the credits finished and the lights were turned back on, I helped James pack up the food and fold the quilt before carrying it all back to his Jeep. I really didn’t have anything to compare it to, but it really felt like this date went the way dates were supposed to go. Good food, lots of laughter, and just…easy.

On the short drive home, we made small talk about the differences between our schools and the programs they offered. James really wanted to switch to a public school for his senior year so he could finally be in a solid music program, but his dad apparently wouldn’t hear of it.

“It’s hard when he is on me about everything, but I can’t imagine what you must go through,” he said. “I’d go nuts having my entire family breathing down my neck all the time.”