"Caden, no," Jocelyn whispered. "Let's go.""Yeah, do as your woman says and get out of here, why don't you?" Henry catcalled as Mona cringed."Jocelyn, take the popcorn and wait for me in the lobby," Caden instructed.Just then, a skinny, teenage usher with bad skin walked up the aisle and then looked back and forth between the four of them."It all started when I threw a piece of popcorn at my- friend," Jocelyn tried to explain, "and then he threw one back at me without looking. But he missed, and accidentally hit that obnoxious jerk." Suddenly, the obnoxious jerk was standing on the other side of her."Hey! Wait a minute!" Henry roared, disturbing everyone in the theater."Yes, he's drunk, and he verbally attacked my friend," Jocelyn explained."If I wanted to attack him--" Henry began, but Mona cut him off."Henry, stop!""Mona, I've got this!" He turned around and accidentally knocked her back into the seats. "Okay, mister," the skinny usher with bad acne said, his voic

He grabbed his coat and headed out the door. On the way over to her house, he thought of Jocelyn and how he would rather be spending the day with her. But this was his own fault. He should have talked to Mallory before now. Even if he weren't having feelings for Jocelyn, he would have broken it off with Mallory anyway. Jocelyn really had nothing to do with it.When he arrived, he pulled the car to a stop in front of the house and turned off the engine. When he looked over at the driveway, Jocelyn's car was gone. He sighed, wishing she was here. But what he needed to say to Mallory, he needed to say alone. Squaring his shoulders, he slid out of the car, but looked up at Jocelyn's bedroom window, where she had stood crying in the window the night before."What are you waiting for?" Mallory asked, standing on the porch, wrapping her cardigan sweater around herself. "Come on in. It's cold out here.""Mallory, we have to talk." He looked her square in the eye, but didn't move."Then com

On the way home from work that afternoon, Jocelyn wondered if Mallory was going to be waiting for her when she got home. If so, Mallory was sure to start in on her again. But Jocelyn didn't want another confrontation. She just wanted to go home, relax, and destress. Roxanne had been on a roll again, complaining that the store was a mess and that if Jocelyn wanted to keep her job as manager, then she had better start taking her job more seriously.Of course, Jocelyn had reminded her that she had told her to take the day off when Caden carried her out the door. She also reminded her that she was off the next day. Roxanne just waved her hand dismissively and went back to complaining.Jocelyn had been glad when her work day finally came to an end.As she drove along, she tried to push the thought of Caden from her mind. How was she going to survive him? She had given her heart to him long ago, but his visit this time had sealed the deal. He had texted her throughout the course of the da

When she pulled into the town square, the streets were desolated--probably due to the snow falling heavily now--but the shops were all open. Although she told herself not to, she looked over at the Christmas tree lot. A man was stacking trees, but Jocelyn was relieved to see that Caden's parents weren't there. They would freeze to death out in this weather. No one should be out on a day like this. Thank goodness there was a little one-room white shed with a front porch where the man could to warm up. Secretly, she wondered if he lived there and watched over the tree lot. After all, it was large enough for one person to live in, but not big enough for more than that.The bell rang loudly as she walked into work. Kiki looked up from arranging jewelry inside one of the front cases and smiled."It's about time you got here," Kiki teased. "What took you so long?"Jocelyn looked at the clock, and it wasn't even eight o'clock yet. "Why are you here so early?" She walked around he counter a

"Sure," he replied. "And some sodas, too."She smiled. "Of course.""So, what have you been up to over the years?" She shook out her napkin and looked into his eyes. "Were you in Afghanistan?"He let out a deep breath. Although he had served his country and had gone off to war, it wasn't something he wanted to talk about. "Yes, but I don't want to talk about it.""Good evening," the waitress said when she approached the table. "My name is Lisa and I'll be your waitress this evening. May I start you both off with something to drink?""Just Coke for me," Caden replied."Chardonnay for me," Mallory said without looking up from her menu. It was obvious that she only paid attention to people she thought she could easily manipulate.The waitress looked over at Caden and gave him a wink. "I'll be right back with that.""Thank you, but I think we're ready to order now, too," he replied, ignoring the wink. Turning to Mallory, he asked, "So what kind of pizza would you like?""Anythin