“I’ll probably just be alone,” he said. “I didn’t want to make the trip back to my folks in Florida since I was planning to see them for Christmas.”
“Uh-huh,” she said, trying to feign interest. “Well, I should—”
“I was wondering if you wanted to have dinner with me.”
“Excuse me?” She stared at him, hands on her hips.
Roy had been a classmate back in high school, but he moved away junior year. He was some kind of avian shifter, if she recalled; he was mostly a loner at school, an emo kid who dressed in all black. But, like most people, he grew out of that phase and was some kind of computer programmer or something who worked from home. She ran into him at the diner last month, as he had recently moved back into town. That was when he started coming into the garage. Is that why he’d been wasting her time? Irritation grew in her, and her cat hissed, not liking this male one bit.
He swallowed. “I … uh … I mean, just to thank you. For being so patient with me.”
J.D. thought about it for a moment. Roy was cute, she supposed, and he had a job and a full head of hair. What else did she want in a guy? She’d been dating actively for almost twelve years now, and he was a catch compared to all the losers she’d been with.
“J.D.?” Roy asked. “So? What do you think?”
“I think … I think it’s getting late.” She sidestepped him.
“But what about that dinner?”
“I’ll think about it, okay?” With a wave of her hand, she scampered to her truck. Shutting the door, she waited, watching Roy’s truck as it drove away, then breathed a sigh of relief.
Why didn’t I just say yes? She leaned her forehead against the steering wheel. Maybe it was turning thirty or seeing her best friends with their mates, but she was starting to get picky about who she went out with. Her last date had been months ago with an accountant she met on a dating app, and it had been meh. And the last guy she had the serious hots for? Well, he didn’t even give her a second look. Besides, she was happy with her work, her life, and her social circle.
But now, all her friends had mates, including her last female friend, Dutchy Forrester, and she was starting to feel left out.
Sticking the key in the ignition, she started the car. Was she that oblivious that she missed the signs that he’d been coming to the garage to see her? That was it, right?
Maybe I should give Roy a chance.
Her cat hissed again.
“Oh, all right.” Putting the truck into gear, she left the parking lot and headed home.
By the next day, J.D. had forgotten about the Roy thing and feeling sorry for herself for being alone. There were worse things than not having a boyfriend after all.
Besides there was no reason to be glum—not these days anyways. The holidays were her favorite time of the year. She remembered how magical it had been growing up. The cool weather, the food, the infectious cheer. Who could be sad during Christmas, for crying out loud?
The days leading up to Christmas always sent her into a holiday high, and she was pretty stoked for tonight’s party. In the past, she and Pop celebrated Thanksgiving with Damon and his parents. Gabriel usually had to attend some kind of family dinner at the Russel estate, but he always managed to sneak off before dessert and join them. It was a tradition they continued, even after Pop passed and Damon was deployed and came back after being discharged. His parents had retired to Florida a couple of years back, but the three of them still got together on Thanksgiving. None of them could cook, unfortunately, so they would order Chinese takeout and watch football before her favorite tradition of all later that night.
Of course, this year was going to be a little different with the addition of two more people—Damon’s mate Anna Victoria, and Temperance—but her best friends had assured her nothing would change.
And while she’d never been invited to the Blackstone Rangers Thanksgiving party before, she’d heard some stories about how amazing the spread was—turkey, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, cranberry sauce, green beans, corn, dinner rolls. Mmmm. Her mouth was watering just thinking about it. This morning, she made sure to put on her best