Kira rolled her eyes. ‘Stroopwafels. That’s what they’re called.’
Bennett grinned. ‘I’m impressed.’
‘You’re impressed that I can read the sign? Or that I know that they’re thin waffles with caramel sandwiched between them and that they originate in the Netherlands?’
All of it. He was impressed with all of it. With her.
‘Impressed that you can say that word with a straight face.’
She did smile then, brief and bright, and Bennett immediately wanted more. But before he could figure out how to make her do it again, he was jostled by the crowd and knocked into her instead.
‘Oof.’ She let out a small puff of air against his neck as his body collided with hers.
‘Sorry.’ He grabbed her arms to keep them both upright and the action pulled her even closer to him. His face was practically in her hood with her now, her hair a soft, silky brush against his cheek, her breath warm against his throat.
She was tall, and even when he was standing straight he was only a few inches taller, but now when he pulled back, still a little stooped over, still holding her arms, they were eye to eye. Hers were somewhere between green and brown, like they couldn’t quite decide which way to go, with dark lashes. They were wide at the moment, for once not narrowed in annoyance at him.
She was warm and soft in his arms and there it was again, that urge to pull her closer. She smelled like pine and fresh air and that indescribable something that was purely Kira. Another small breath left her and if he wasn’t sure she hated him, he would have called it a sigh. Almost as if she liked being held by him, as if she wanted to stay right here in his arms as much as he wanted to keep her there.
His gaze flicked down to her lips, so close to his in their current stance, so pink and plump, so biteable. Her eyes were dark when he looked up, dark and filled with something he hadn’t dared to think about until now. Was it possible that Kira could want him, too?
As if in answer to his unspoken question, Kira cleared her throat and the world around them slid back into place. The crowd, the festival, the weird waffles, the fact that Kira wasn’t his to kiss or bite or hold onto like he still was.
He dropped her arms. ‘Sorry about that.’
Kira nodded, her gaze still on him, a slight flush to her cheeks that hadn’t been there before.
‘Right. Well, you’re entitled to get waffles, too, if you want them, I guess.’ She turned on her heel to face the front of the line and Bennett immediately missed her face. He spent the rest of their time in line wondering how he could go about convincing Kira to spend more time with him.
And if that time led to her lips on his, then that would just be his little Christmas gift to himself.
Bennett smelled like peppermint candy. Kira knew that now that he had nearly knocked her on her ass but instead pulled her close and subjected her to the sturdy heat of his body. And now, as she waited for her Stroopwafel, it was all she could think about. It didn’t help that he was still behind her, his body only a few inches from hers, and for a crazy moment she could picture leaning against him as they waited. He would wrap his arms around her and she would rest her head back on his shoulder and it would be like a scene out of one of those romantic Christmas movies she loved to mock with her sister every year.
But, no.
No, no, no.
She was not going to think about Bennett’s warm body or her traitorous sister or sappy Christmas nonsense. She was going to get her caramel-y waffle, wait for the mayor to light the damn tree, make her official grand opening announcement, and then she was going to go home.
Back to her dark, cold house.
Alone.
Kira swallowed the lump growing in her throat. It was nearly her turn.
She didn’t need Bennett or Chloe or her parents’ money or … or … anyone, really. She just needed customers.
‘Hello, Merry Christmas!’ A tiny white-haired woman who could have won any Mrs. Claus lookalike contest greeted her from the booth window. ‘How many?’
‘Two, please,’ she said without thinking. Two Stroopwafels. Two of everything. She’d always ordered two of everything when she was out with her sister. When had she ever gone out for food by herself? Never. Did people do that?
Well, she couldn’t take it back now. The woman had already turned to the young man working with her and he was already pouring batter into what must be an ancient Stroopwafel iron. It was too late. The waffles were in motion and despite her current reputation in this town, she didn’t want to insult Mrs. Claus. She was just going to have to eat two of these things. What she hadn’t realized until the woman handed her the order, was that each order came with three Stroopwafels wrapped in white bakery paper. So now she was on the hook to eat six and even though they were more like cookies than waffles, she didn’t know if she could manage it.
‘Here.’ She spun to face Bennett, handing him both bundles. ‘Hold these.’ She pulled out her wallet and paid, bidding Mrs. Claus a Merry Christmas as she pulled Bennett away from the booth by his sleeve.
He was looking at her with an amused smile by the time they found a place to get out of the crowd, tucked behind the food huts. The music was drowned out back here by the sound of multiple generators powering the electricity for the festival, the smell of all the food blending together into a general sweetness that filled the air.
‘You could have just asked me to eat with you,’ he said. ‘I would have said yes.’
Kira frowned. ‘That’s not what happened.’
‘Oh? And what happened, then?’
‘I … well … I didn’t realize that two would actually mean six and then I had too many so … there you go … I didn’t want them to go to waste.’
Bennett was smiling as he bit into his first waffle.
‘I’ll just … go now.’
He put a hand on her arm. ‘Stay.’ He pointed above her head. ‘We have a prime spot under a heater,’ he added.
Kira huffed. ‘Well, I’m not going to say no to a heater.’
Bennett grinned and she bit down on her waffle to avoid doing the same. They were crunchy and chewy at the same time and filled with sticky caramel that oozed out the sides. They were delicious. She might have been able to eat six after all, but she couldn’t help feeling relieved that she had someone to stand next to while the crowd meandered by.
It was nice, that was all. It was nice to have someone to eat with after so many nights eating alone as she scrolled through her phone and thought about how she was failing at everything.
