Chapter 4
Sam was waiting for her when she got home. She found him sitting in the
dark with a deep scowl on his face. He lashed out at her demanding to
know where she had been all day. Her first thought was to be cautious,
since he was angry but if she wanted it over now was the time.
"I went skating and then had dinner with a friend." She put her skates on
the floor and took off her coat and hung it on the hook on the wall.
"Dinner? With who?" He demanded. He sat straight in the chair and stared at her.
"You don�t know him." The words slipped out and Jo watched as Sam�s face contorted with rage.
"Him? Who is he?"
"Just a friend, you wouldn�t know him."
"You�ve met him before haven�t you?" Jo nodded, her head lowered not wanting to see the wrath in his eyes. "You�re not
to see him again. You hear me. You�re my�" Jo stopped him.
"I�m you�re what, Sam?"
"We�re together. You can�t see someone else." He rose from the chair and came towards her.
"Why not? You�re sleeping with someone else." He shot her a look of surprise. "Didn�t think I would notice?" A sly look
spread across her face and Sam could see that she wasn�t kidding. But how did she know?
"It doesn�t mean anything. It�s just sex." He floundered, but he could see Jo didn�t want to hear any explanations.
"No, Sam I don�t mean anything to you, otherwise you wouldn�t be catting around behind my back." She opened the
door. "Let me have your key. Please." She held out her hand.
"Jo, I can explain. What I do with her," he saw her eyes grow dark.
"I don�t care Sam. Key!" He took the key from his pocket and placed it in her hand.
"Jo, you have to understand. You are special and well the other girls, they understand that the guys have this need. Why
can�t you?"
"Special, huh. Then how come if I�m so special this so called relationship has never gone any further?" Sam couldn�t
answer her. "Just go, I can�t stand the sight of you." She held open the door.
"Jo, it�s Christmas, there are traditions you are expected to take part in." He pleaded with her as he stood at the door.
"Guess you should have thought of that before you started satisfying your baser needs elsewhere." His mouth dropped
at her comment, but no words would come out.
"Goodnight Sam. Merry Christmas." As soon as he cleared the threshold Jo slammed the door.
~*~*~*~*~
It had been two days since she threw Sam out of her apartment and no word from him since. With Christmas only ten
days away, Jo had little time to think or worry about what he was feeling if he felt anything. She had only been at the
store an hour but the customers had been many. She bagged up the purchase and called for the next customer when she
looked up to see Brian standing at the register.
"Can I help you sir?" She smiled at him and watched as the people behind him looked curiously at them.
"I would like to take you to lunch." He whispered as he leaned over the counter.
Her smiled dissolved. "I can�t. I only started at noon. I�m working till nine tonight." She saw the disappointment on his
face. He looked behind him at the anxious customers and moved around to the side of the counter. Jo motioned for the
next person to come and she proceeded to ring up the woman�s purchases. Brian watched and waited until Jo had
handled them all. "I�m sorry, Brian, but I won�t get a break till about four and then it will be only twenty minutes." He
nodded and looked to see another stream of customers heading towards them.
"I better let you go."
"Brian, I�m sorry."
"It�s okay." He walked away and Jo greeted the lady at the counter. As she took her items, Jo looked up to see Brian
glance at her. He waved and she smiled at him and that familiar quickening swelled within her and she took a deep
breath.
Brian walked until he came upon the bench across from the Christmas tree. He felt strange, but a good strange. He knew
he had a funny grin on his face, but he couldn�t help it. She looked great. But then every time he saw her she looked
great. His heart was pounding in his chest. He barely knew her. They were practically strangers. And yet, his insides felt
like they were all tangled up and he wanted to spend every minute with her.
Two days later he showed up again at the store. He stood off in the distance and watched as she worked. With the
shopping days dwindling down, the customers were making last minute purchases and Jo took no notice of Brian
standing off next to a display of stuff animals and blankets. There was a steady stream of customers and Brian just stood
gazing at her as she greeted each person with a smile on her face and a cheery Merry Christmas as they left. He must
have stood there for 20 minutes just watching her as that familiar ache in his chest built. He knew there was no way he
could whisk her away again today. But he had to see her. Tomorrow they would have time together and he was going to
enjoy every minute.
Brian wandered through the entire children�s department looking at all the items from tiny shirts and booties for
newborns to clothes for toddlers. He had thought by now that he would have been shopping here himself for his own
children. At 35 he was longing for a family, but he couldn�t seem to find the right person to love let alone children to
raise. He worked his way back to his original position across from where Jo continued to help the never-ending line of
customers.
Call it fate or ESP, but Brian was thinking he should just leave when Jo felt like someone was watching her. She looked
up to see Brian standing across the aisle. She felt her face grow warm and she wondered how long he had been standing
there. Again there was no way she could leave. She frowned and shrugged her shoulders at him and he nodded in
understanding. But as he started to leave he stopped and when she looked his way again he put his fingers to his lips
and then blew her a kiss. "For you," he mouthed and then turned and left. She unconsciously put her hand to her cheek
as if she could feel the kiss as a warm flush filled her body.
"Miss. Miss? I�m in a bit of a hurry." The woman urged Jo.
"I�m sorry." She placed the items in the bag and gave the woman her change. Jo called Sarah to take over. She went into
the back room and sat on the small stool. She ran her hand over her cheek again. It was like she could feel his lips and
her stomach was quivering. She hardly knew him. It had only been a couple of days, but she had been counting the
hours since Sunday to when she would see him again. This was crazy. You don�t fall in love this fast. That only happens
in the movies. And up until she met him, she had thought she loved Sam. It was Christmas. It was the whole holiday
rush, Jo reasoned, it just heightened your emotions. She took a deep breath and went back out on the floor. There was
work to be done and she would figure all this out later.
But by the time Jo got home that night she was too exhausted to do much more than change her clothes and fall asleep.
But her subconscious didn�t let her forget as she dreamt about skating with Brian, his arms around her waist and his face
close to hers.
Chapter 5
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