Approximately Yours (North Pole, Minnesota #3)(18)

He unlocked it and handed it over, watching as she typed her info into his contacts like a total boss. Holly’s hands weren’t pristinely manicured like Elda’s or Star’s. She had short, uneven fingernails. Why? Did she not bother doing her nails because she worked with her hands? Was she in between manicures? Whatever the reason, Danny wanted to know. He needed all the info. He’d opened the book of Holly, and he couldn’t put it down.

She handed the phone back, and Danny checked his contacts under “P” for Page. He found an entry for Elda. Not Holly. Elda. Danny’s heart sank, but he forced an enthusiastic smile. Even Holly herself was telling him to forget about her and go after Elda. Maybe he should listen.

He grinned at Elda. “I’ll text you later.”

Again, her face went bright red, and she said nothing. It was like someone had glued her lips shut.

Once the mayor ended his spiel, Danny was back on duty making drinks. Their last customer finally left after nine-fifteen, leaving only Danny, Brian, their mom, and Jamison in the shop to close up.

“I saw you talking to the Page girls,” Brian said. He was restocking the fridge while their mom did the receipts and Jamison cleaned the front of the shop. Danny remained on his stool, wiping down the espresso machine and making sure to prep everything for tomorrow. Having a broken leg sucked for many, many reasons, but at least it got him out of sweeping, mopping, and taking out the garbage.

“They seem nice,” Danny’s mom said.

“They are nice.” All the blood in his body rushed to his cheeks. He wasn’t sure he’d call Holly “nice,” but she was definitely something.

Brian squeezed Danny’s shoulder. “And one of them is maybe the hottest girl ever to set foot in North Pole.”

Yes, she was.

“You say that about a different girl every season, Brian.” Jamison swept some garbage into a dustbin. “Who was it last summer?”

“The gymnast,” Danny said.

Their mom looked up from counting fives. “Gymnast? Didn’t you like Sam’s friend? That Jane girl?”

“Jane and the gymnast were cute,” Brian said, “but the Page girl is hot. What’s her name, Dan?”

Danny started to say “Holly,” but Jamison cut him off. “Which one?” She leaned on her broom, challenging Brian. Jamison and Brian had always bickered like siblings, ever since she started working at the store. “There are two Page girls.”

Brian rolled his eyes. “You know which one. Don’t be dense.”

“I only want you to recognize how big a dick you’re being.” Jamison glanced at the boys’ mother. “Sorry, Maggie.”

Maggie Garland shook her head. “I’m on your side. Girls are more than their appearances, boys.”

“I know, Mom,” Danny said. Holly was hot, yes, but she was more than that.

“All I’m saying is,” Jamison said, “don’t go after Elda just because you think she’s pretty.”

“Elda?” Danny asked. Who was talking about Elda?

“Yeah.” Jamison said. “I mean, you dated Star.”

“And?” Danny had wandered into a completely different conversation from the one he’d thought he was having.

Jamison shrugged. “And Star was—is—gorgeous, but she took you for granted, Danny, and she wasn’t very nice. I don’t want to see you make the same mistake again.”

“I don’t either.” Though that was exactly what he was doing with Holly. She didn’t like him. She’d made that clear both by looking at him like she couldn’t possibly be more unimpressed and by physically typing her cousin’s number into his phone. She’d basically handed him off to another girl, so she obviously didn’t want him.

“I’m just saying.” Jamison tied up a garbage bag. “Picking the quote-unquote hot Page over the other one, maybe that’s just you picking style over substance again.”

Brian tossed a wadded-up paper towel at her. “Now you’re jumping to conclusions. Just because someone’s not hot doesn’t mean they’re automatically a good, interesting person. And vice versa.”

“True, but I’m just saying maybe Danny should get to know these girls before jumping into anything—”

“And I’m just saying maybe he should do whatever the hell he wants because he’s single for the first time ever, and also it’s a free country.”

Danny hopped up from his stool, and Brian handed him his crutches.

“Jamison, it pains me to say this, but Brian’s actually right on this one. Sort of,” Danny said. “Both Page girls are cool, but Elda’s the ‘nice’ one. Holly—” Is hot and sexy and frustrating and doesn’t like me and would probably end up hurting me like Star did. “Holly wants absolutely nothing to do with me.”

Jamison shook her head. “I don’t buy it. I saw you interacting with both of them, and I definitely saw sparks between you and the one with the glasses.”

Any sparks, if they existed at all, had come from him. Holly had made her position extremely clear. “I don’t know.” Danny shrugged. “I’ve talked to both of them, and Holly looks at me like I’m only slightly less disgusting than gum on the bottom of her shoe. I just got out of a relationship like that, and, frankly, I don’t want to do that again.”