The Holiday Switch(34)

    He reaches forward so his fingers hover nearby, then grabs the black chess pieces from my side of the board.

“Oh…chess.”

“Yeah. What did you think I meant?” He smiles and pushes the white pieces across the board to me. “Wait. You’re not a chess whiz on the DL, are you? I can’t have you quartering me like marshmallows and putting me in your hot chocolate.”

I raise my eyes to meet his. Oh my God.

“What?” he asks.

“Teddy Rivera, did you make a holiday metaphor?”

“No, I—” He brings the cup to his lips. “All right, all right. This place has gotten to me, okay? Yesterday, I slipped on the ice and said ‘holy night.’ Holy. Night! I mean—” He laughs into his cup.

I crack up at the thought.

“Oh, man.” I wipe the side of my eyes. “That’s good. That’s really good.”

He digs a hand into his coat pocket, still chuckling, and retrieves his buzzing phone. “Sorry, I have to get this. Hello? Hey, Mom.” His smile dims a smidge. He turns away, as if hiding himself.

I twist in the other direction, too, to give him privacy, and tamp down my ever-growing curiosity about Teddy. I click the e-reader app on my phone. Once again, I thank the heavens above for technology; it makes it a million times easier to escape.

“Yeah, things are okay here. I’m totally fine, Mom,” Teddy whispers.

Except I can’t seem to focus with Teddy speaking in these hushed, sweet tones.

    “Of course I’m staying safe. I’m fine,” he continues. “You guys enjoy. Yes. I’ll take more pictures. Did you? No, I didn’t see that comment. Okay. Love you. Yes. Okay. Tell Dad I love him too.”

I bite the inside of my lip at the cuteness of it all. It adds an extra layer to my confusion, at the family drama Ms. Velasco hinted at, and the rest of Teddy’s secret.

“Sorry about that,” he says, placing the last of his chess pieces in the right squares. “So, are you ready? While you hustle me in chess, I can tell you all about Syracuse life.”

After a beat, I say, truthfully, “As I’ll ever be.”





THURSDAY, DECEMBER 23

When I arrive at work the next day for my last training shift with Teddy, a new list is posted on the break room corkboard.

Employees working the New Year’s Eve at the Lake event.

I charge straight for the list. As I run a finger down the letter-size paper, Teddy bounds in with a groan. “Dang, it’s cold out there.”

I press a finger against the list to keep my place. His hair is dotted with gigantic snowflakes. They’re the soft kind, not wet enough for snowmen, and oh-so-easy to shovel. “Morning.”

The voice that escapes my throat is froggy, but all at once my body temperature is a degree hotter. Last night, after a quick game of chess, which I won, we hopped on the trolley and sang with the carolers, effectively taking out number eight on the Mission: Holly list.

Carm is going to kill me.

“Is that the list?” When I nod, he draws nearer. “I kinda hope I’m not working.”

    “What? How come?” The question takes precedence over the need to see if my name is listed. “This is only the biggest thing that’s happened to Holly since the town was added to CNN’s Best Cities to Live In list.”

“It’s going to be a mess. This place is going to be packed and for what? For a couple of middle-aged people to talk about their heyday? But”—his gaze moves from me to the list itself as he shrugs out of his coat—“I want the hours.”

He goes on to tell me something about his schedule, but the words glide past me. All I notice is the heat from his body after he’s finally out of his coat. It’s like the siren call of warm sheets from the dryer—I want to snuggle into him.

Stoooop. I’m being paid to train him for one last day, and I can’t allow him to ruffle my feathers, either from frustration or these ridiculous wayward thoughts, despite our truce.

“Lila?”

I shake myself from my trance.

Teddy eyes the list I’m still pointing to. The nail bed of my pointer finger is white because I’m pressing so hard. With a jolt, I keep on with the search. “Wait. There’s a second page.”

I flip the page up, but even before I can scan the paper, he says, “I’m in.”

My heart leaps. Perhaps I’m on the list too. As my gaze nears the bottom, my hopes are dashed.

“Sorry, Santos.” He smiles through gritted teeth. But, the fact that he cares takes the edge off the fact that he’s once again taken my spot.

Again, it’s not his fault.

“At least my mom has tickets already. It would have just been neat to work it.” Then I read the rest of the page and gasp. “Holy crap, Teddy. Fifty percent sold out in five days!”

    “Wow.” Teddy stuffs his coat in the locker. “I don’t know how Tita Lou does it.”

“Because she’s awesome.”

“I guess so.”

I frown. How could he not know that? But before I can ask, Ms. Velasco enters. “Hey, you two. Here’s your task list for the day, if possible.” She hands Teddy the list and waves goodbye, presumably to make her rounds to the Inn side.