Lydia's Pine Harbor Christmas, стр. 10
She gave him a disapproving sideways glance, but instead of answering him, she started humming along with the music on the stereo.
“That sounds festive.” Did I say festive? I meant insipid. “I don’t think you’ve played this before.”
She gave the same light, carefree smile she’d had on her face all morning. Why does that annoy me so much? Then she said, “Oh, I don’t know what it is. This is Bryce’s Christmas Spotify playlist. He shared it with me.”
“Oh.” Well, isn’t that just adorable. I hate that carol… and singer… and, obviously, Bryce’s taste in music.
He decided that talking just wasn’t going to work, so he folded his arms and stared out the window. Sharing playlists. It must be true love. Marco suddenly felt ill. It could be true love. He had never thought about Lydia falling in love. She was just Lydia, his friend. That Lydia would never have fallen in love and left him behind all alone. No, you’re overreacting. It was only one date. Get a grip. Be a man.
Lydia parked the car and turned to face him. “Are you okay?” She looked genuinely concerned.
“Why wouldn’t I be?”
“I don’t know. You kind of look like you’ve just seen a ghost.”
Marco tried to look cheerful. “Really?” He chuckled weakly. “No, I’m fine.” He glanced at his watch. “I’d better get going.”
“But we’re a few minutes early.”
Crap. She’s right. Uh… “I’ve got an exam, and I need to study my notes.”
Lydia looked a little confused. “Okay. Good luck.”
“With what?”
“Your exam.” Her confused expression intensified.
“Oh, right. Thanks!” Marco hopped out of the car and headed quickly to class. Maybe he had seen a ghost. The ghost of Bryce-mas future.
All Marco needed was a little time and space, so he took a few days off from Lydia. He had dealt with that dynamic before, only the roles were reversed. Of course, he and Lydia weren’t dating. It was nothing like that at all. But he kept wanting to reach out for more time and attention than she seemed inclined to give him. The relationship was out of balance, and he couldn’t help it. That was a red flag that something was wrong.
It was time for some space, and if past experience bore out his expectations, it would mark the beginning of something he called the drifting. Far subtler and kinder than ghosting, it resembled the downside of a relationship bell curve. Scheduling conflicts would crop up, then a private message might be left unanswered until the next day. Voicemail messages would be lost then phone calls ignored. There would be no emotional break. They would simply drift away from each other like a slowly peeled-off adhesive bandage. What distinguished it from past experiences was that Lydia would be the drifter and he the one being drifted from. He doubted she would even do it intentionally, but he saw it coming. It might be best if he preemptively put distance between them for a while. He needed to get her off of his mind. After Lydia worked through her Bryce phase, they could return to the way things used to be.
By Friday, Marco was feeling himself. Once again confident and in control, he was ready to face an unavoidable weekend together. It was the weekend of the town’s annual Christmas market, in which local merchants set up booths full of gifts, food, and other magical Christmas delights. For the Silva Brothers’ Brewpub, theirs was the magic of beer, and the booth next to theirs would house Allie’s gift shop, the Gallery, where Lydia worked. Marco and Theo spent Friday afternoon setting up their booth and installing three kegs and taps along with an impressive display of their own bottled craft beers. Allie shared some of her evergreen garlands to decorate the brewpub’s booth.
Things were shaping up beautifully until Lydia arrived. Marco thought he had sufficiently braced himself for a weekend an arm’s length away from Lydia. But seeing her after a few days apart brought a sinking feeling he fought hard to shake. It was a good thing, he reasoned. He had had a few days to recover from his recent obsession with her. It was merely a test, and he had recovered. He’d been attracted to women before and had always gotten over them.
Marco stopped in his tracks. An attraction? Who said anything about an attraction? All the balsam fir scent was affecting his brain. He shook it off and got back to work.
When they finish setting up both of their booths, Theo stood beside Allie, admiring their work. “Why don’t you come over for dinner?”
“That sounds great!”
Of course, he meant Lydia too. That was great. Just great.
They locked up the booths and all headed over to the Silva Brothers’ Brewpub. Knowing they would be busy at the Christmas market, Theo had staffed up for the weekend. Taking advantage of the situation, he decided they’d earned a meal off-duty. So the four of them sat in the midst of the candlelit Christmas magic that Allie and Lydia had created, and they dined.
Lydia’s hair was twisted into a knot with strands falling down here and there. For someone who had been working all day, she looked awfully cute. Messy hair was a good look for her, and the candlelight was a little bit dangerous. It was the kind of soft lighting that could confuse a guy prone to such things, but Marco was stronger than that.
Theo and Allie carried the conversation for the first several minutes, but a lull settled over the table, and Marco felt the need to fill in the void.
“So, how’s Bryce?” He blurted it, then he wondered where it had come from.
Lydia’s eyebrows drew together. He couldn’t quite tell whether it was confusion or a hint of annoyance in her eyes. “He’s fine.”
“That’s good.”
Lydia eyed him suspiciously. “Is it?”
Okay, that was annoyance. Taking his