Page 52 of Better Watch Out
Andrew pressed his lips together and she felt bad. He didn’t deserve the brunt of her frustration caused by her finally figuring out what her mom and brother already knew about Calvin.
“Did you love him?”
Frannie’s stomach knotted. She’d been asking herself that question ever since Calvin broke up with her. She licked her lips, unsure she wanted to admit the gnawing truth that Ryan was right about her blissful naivete.
“It’s okay if you were.” Andrew’s voice was low, his gaze penetrating her defenses. “There’s nothing wrong with putting your heart on the line.”
“I don’t think I loved him.” Her words came out small and she looked out the window. “I think I loved the idea of him. Of being in a relationship that seemed impossible for someone like me.”
“What do you mean?”
The cocoa turned heavy in her stomach and Frannie didn’t want to ruin what had been a wonderful day with her sad story. “Nothing.” She forced a smile to her lips but saw the doubt on Andrew’s face. For a second it made her want to spill all of her secrets, but her confession was interrupted by the driver.
“Sir, we’re here.”
The SUV slowed to a stop and Frannie gasped. Through the window, thousands of bright lights dazzled in front of her for as far as she could see. Andrew’s touch on her hand disrupted her staring just long enough for her to get out of the vehicle.
Dozens of people, bundled up, filled the sidewalk, taking in the overwhelming sight of an entire neighborhood that literally glowed from the innumerable amount of holiday decorations and lights covering their homes and yards.
Andrew smiled at her. “Welcome to Dyker Heights.”
ChapterTwenty-One
“This is incredible.”
Andrew enjoyed the touch of her hand gripping his bicep. Her smile was enough, but the added closeness made his decision to bring Frannie to the most festive neighborhood in NYC worth it. “I think it’s best experienced with a stroll and the driver will meet us on the other side but if you’d prefer or are too cold, we can drive.”
“Pshh, cold shmold.” She shivered against him and then smiled. “Toes are overrated anyway.”
“I’m pretty sure they’re the least appreciated appendage.”
“Come on, Bishop.” She squeezed his bicep. “Nothing’s keeping me from the hap-hap-happiest Christmas experience.”
He recognized the line fromNational Lampoon’s Christmas Vacationand chuckled. They joined the crowd of tourists and New Yorkers alike who knew Dyker Heights was a bucket list sight to experience. The first house they stopped at looked like it was covered in a million colored lights stretching over the entirety of the home with Christmas inflatables filling every inch of the tiny yard. Frannie released his hand and pulled her cell phone from her pocket to take a photo.
She did this at every house and Andrew was starting to worry Frannie might actually forsake her toes in the name of Clark Griswold.
“How are your feet holding up in those shoes?”
“Bishop, I’m a Southern girl, we’re practically born in heels and pearls.”
Frannie’s voice nearly purred in that Southern accent and it was all he could do not to reach for her and pull her close. Instead, he offered his arm again to keep her steady on the sidewalk as they walked around snow mounds scraped along the side.
At the next block, the owners of a home covered in glowing snowflakes, a full-size sleigh with eight tiny reindeer, and two twenty-foot nutcrackers standing sentry had a table set up with hot cocoa, cider, and homemade cookies.
If it wasn’t negative arctic degrees, Andrew might’ve politely declined but his toes were already numb, which meant Frannie’s had to be too. The hot liquid would at least keep them warm until they got to the SUV.
He thought about their conversation. She didn’t love her ex and her defensiveness led him to believe it wasn’t new information even if she admitted to only realizing it now. But what would it say to her if Andrew admitted his attraction and desire to get to know her better? He wasn’t the type to date for fun. Those days were over, thankfully. Now, he was searching for someone who made him want to dream up a thousand ways to make her smile.
“You’re awfully quiet.”
“Sorry.” He twisted the cup of cocoa in his hands, feeling the warmth seep into his gloved hands. No way he was admitting that the smile he’d begun to think about was hers. It was time to tread into safer snowbanks. “What do you do back in Georgia?”
“I work the after-school program at the community center tutoring creative writing and helping students with their English papers or essays.”
Excitement laced her words and her career choice didn’t surprise him. He’d seen the affection she had for the little girl and her mother at Macy’s. “Have you always wanted to teach children?”
“No. Actually, I wanted to be a journalist, kind of like my sister-in-law, Vivian, but my brother was against it—too dangerous.” She rolled her eyes but there was a flash of awareness that said she wasn’t completely disagreeable to her brother’s reasoning. “And then our professor brought in a guest lecturer, a travel writer, and she told us amazing stories of the places she’d seen all over the world. So, I thought maybe I’d do that but …”
