Twelve Days of Christmas by Debbie Macomber Read Free Book Online Page A

probably for the best, because I wasn’t exactly in a forgiving mood.
    Then this afternoon, through no fault of my own, I inadvertently met Ebenezer in the lobby of our apartment building. I waited for him to accuse me of having prearranged that as well. Thankfully, he didn’t. Instead, he seemed to be in a much better mood.
    I, however, wasn’t. I glared at him, daring him to say a single word.
    You won’t be able to guess what he did.
    He smiled.
    Yes, smiled as if nothing had happened…as if I should forget what he’d said and pretend all was right with the world. I, however, am unwilling to ignore his error in judgment.
    And then. Then he added insult to my already injured pride, and he said he might find me attractive if I wasn’t so cheerful in the mornings.
    As if I would even want him to find me attractive!
    Can you believe this guy? That did it.
    I’m not quitting.
    If anything, I’m going to be all the more merry and bright. I’ll blind him with how upbeat and sunny I’m going to be.
    What I didn’t expect was that killing him with kindness would be the death of me. But I can do this, thanks to you and the encouragement you’ve given me.
    Wish me luck.

When Julia asked for encouragement, it came in the form of more than two hundred comments. This blog had grown at a shocking pace. By the following afternoon, her latest entry had more than three thousand views and five hundred shares in addition to pages and pages of comments.
    Wow.
    Even though it was the weekend, Julia checked the hallway before leaving the apartment for fear she might inadvertently happen upon Cain on his way out. It wasn’t likely, seeing that it was Sunday, but she wasn’t taking a chance. She’d taken Saturday off and therefore was working Sunday instead, which bummed her out. It was the holiday season, and the store and other sales representatives depended on one another to carry their own weight. One day, God willing, she’d be able to work a nine-to-five job doing social media. Julia had to believe that or she’d be really depressed.
    While waiting at the bus stop, Julia watched as her favorite barista shot out the door of Starbucks.
    Phil was excited as he rushed up to greet her. “Julia, you’ll never guess what!”
    “What?” she said, watching as the Metro bus approached the stop.
    “That guy. Cain, I think his name is. He was in earlier this morning and he bought you a drink. A peppermint mocha; said it was your favorite.” Phil held up the drink for her to see.
    “Cain…bought me…this?” She was so shocked she could barely get the words out. “You’re kidding?”
    “He said to give it to you the next time you stopped in, but I saw you waiting here and whipped it up. I thought you’d want to know.”
    “You said he asked about me the other morning,” she said. “What did he want to know?”
    The bus arrived and people started to board.
    “He asked if you were always a cheerful pest in the mornings or if it was an act put on for his benefit. I told him you were always kind and friendly.”
    “Thanks, Phil.”
    “I didn’t really answer his question and he noticed, so I don’t know if that was any help or not. He might have thought I liked you because you’re thoughtful enough to leave a tip. In retrospect, I should have told him you’re upbeat and personable, because you are.”
    The bus driver leaned toward the open door. “You getting on or not?”
    “I’ll let you know if he asks anything more,” Phil said. “I’ve got to get back inside.”
    “Yeah, later.” Flustered, Julie took the Grande-sized cup Phil held out to her and boarded the bus. She found a seat and held on to the drink with both hands. Cain had bought her this drink, the very one she’d mentioned a few days earlier as being her holiday favorite. The way she figured, this was about as close to an apology as she was going to get.
    This was big, as in GIGANTIC!
    Clenching her fist, she nearly thrust her arm up and let out