Page 23 of Christmas Punch

“How’s it going with your guy?” I asked, wanting to change the subject.

I could practically hear her blush through the phone. My friend was always a blusher.

“It’s going good,” she said softly. “I’ve never been happier in a relationship, even with my husband.”

Renee’s husband had been killed in Afghanistan when her kids were young, and this new guy was the first person she’d been serious about in years. I really hoped it worked out for her. She’d been alone for too long and her new guy sounded great, despite their rocky start.

“I’m glad for you Renee, truly,” I said. “I can’t wait to meet him.”

“It’s easier for us to date with us living in the same city,” she pointed out. “We get to see each other regularly.”

“Don’t rub it in that you’re getting regular sex and I’m not.”

She laughed. “If it’s meant to be you’ll figure it out Liz. And I have a good feeling about you two.”

“I hope so.”

A few days later I was working at the café on a Sunday afternoon. Evelyn was wiping down a table, wearing a Liz’s Café apron. My friend had decided that she worked here even though I hadn’t hired her and wasn’t paying her. She liked to be busy, and she liked to hear all the local gossip, and my bustling café gave her an opportunity for both of those things. The café had quickly become a community hub.

“Hey! Isn’t that your lawyer fella?”

I glanced through the window and sure enough, that was Nathan strolling towards the entrance. My heart lifted with happiness. I’d had no idea he was coming to surprise me.

I headed towards the door and the minute it opened, I flew into his arms. He boosted me up and I wrapped my legs around his waist, our mouths meeting in a fiery kiss. It felt like we’d been separated for years.

“Hey you kids, this is a family place!”

Evelyn’s laughing voice brought me back to reality, and we parted, my feet sliding slowly back to the floor.

“What are you doing here?” I asked, my eyes running over him, looking for any changes since the last time I’d seen him.

He looked a little tired. Before I could ask about it, he held up one finger, then reached into his jacket pocket, removing what looked like a stack of large index cards, the kind you wrote recipes on.

He turned them towards me, and I squinted at the words written there in black marker. I wasn’t going to ruin whatever moment this was by looking for my glasses.

“I couldn’t find poster board so this will have to do,” I read out loud.

Oh my God, was he recreating a scene from “Love, Actually”? Nathan slid out another card.

“I hate being apart from you all the time,” the next card read.

“I feel the same,” I whispered to him.

“What is he doing?” Evelyn bellowed from across the room.

My friend was an expert at ruining a moment. I ignored her as Nathan flipped the cards again.

“I want to wake up next to you every morning.”

My eyes bounced up to his and he gave me a tender smile, before nodding back towards the index cards.

“I love you – and your crazy town.”

“I love you too,” I told him, and his whole face lit up. It was the first time we’d said that to each other.

“Hey!” Evelyn called, moving closer to us. “We’re not crazy, young man. You’re just a little stuffy, unlike your sweet sister who’s just delightful.”

It was just like my friend to ruin a tender moment. Neither of us responded to her, instead Nathan moved to the next card.