My Christmas Valentine

Harmony

♥ Shane ♥

The bar hummed with a low, steady noise that sat somewhere between music and conversation. A string of fairy lights hung along the back wall, trying their best to look festive, and the place smelled like beer, fried food, and the faint trace of pine from a small decorated tree near the door. Caleb lifted his glass toward mine as I slid into the booth.

“To the man of the hour,” he said. “Future fiancé!” I shook my head, but I tapped my glass against his anyway.

“Nothing is official yet,” I said. “You are getting ahead of the story,” Joe snorted from the other side of the table.

“You bought a ring, right?” he said. “That sounds official to me,” Lance sat next to him, his arm resting along the back of the booth. He smiled, easy and relaxed.

“Once a man buys the ring, it is only a matter of time,” he said. Aiden arrived with another round of drinks, balancing the tray like it weighed nothing. He set them down, then slid into the last open seat.

“Let me guess,” he said. “You started without me, and Shane is already regretting inviting everyone,”

“I don’t regret it,” I said. “Not yet,”

“Give us an hour,” Joe replied. It had been a long time since we had all managed a night out together. The season kept everyone busy. The gym was full, the bakery was overflowing, and the whole town seemed to move faster in December. This night felt like a small pause in the middle of the rush.

“New Year’s Eve,” Caleb said, leaning in. “You are still set on that, right?”

“Yes,” I said. “At Megan’s place. Quiet. Just us,”

“That is so you,” Aiden said. “No crowd, no cameras, just actual feelings. Terrifying,”

“It beats shouting over drunk strangers,” I said. Lance raised his glass.

“To quiet proposals and loud celebrations after,” he said. We all drank to that.

“How are you holding up with the ring hidden at work?” Joe asked. “You look like a man who checks his locker every ten minutes,”

“I do not,” I said automatically, then thought about it. “Not every ten minutes,” Caleb laughed.

“He is going to wear a path in the gym floor,” he said. “Honestly, I am impressed he has not put the ring in a safe and buried it under Ironworks,”

“I did consider it,” I said. “But the city might have something to say about that,” for a minute, everything felt simple. Friends, drinks, soft music, the comfortable weight of a plan in the back of my mind. “Enough about me,” I said. “We have other news to discuss,” I looked at Caleb. “Future father,” I added. His ears turned pink.

“You promised you wouldn’t call me that in public,” he said.

“I promised no shouting,” I replied. “This is just conversation,” Lance grinned.

“Amy told the girls the other day at lunch,” he said. “Casey cried. Twice. Then she started talking about baby clothes, and to be honest, it was a little bit intimidating,” Caleb reached out and lightly punched Lance on the shoulder.

“Sorry, not sorry,” he said. “But we are still getting used to the idea of being parents…some days it feels completely real. Some days it feels like a story we made up,”

“You will be fine,” Aiden said. “You are good with people. You keep your head when the rest of us panic. That will help when there is a small person screaming at three in the morning,”

“I hope so,” Caleb said. “Amy already warned me that my sleep schedule is going to die,”

“It had a good life,” Joe said. “Say goodbye,” we all laughed. The sound bounced off the wooden walls and mixed with the music.

“And you,” I said as I turned to Lance. “You and Casey are finally moving in together,” he smiled, and his eyes softened at the mention of her name.

“Yes,” he said. “We signed the lease yesterday. Small place, but it feels right. She already has plans for where every piece of furniture is going to go,”

“Of course, she does,” Caleb said. “She probably has a color scheme for each room,”

“She does,” Lance admitted. “I just nod and carry boxes,”

“That is the correct approach,” I said. The waitress brought another plate of fries and their famous spicy chicken wings. The table settled into easy talk. We traded gym stories, strange client requests, and the kind of jokes that only made sense to people who had known each other for years. For a while, I forgot about the ring and the date on the calendar. I just let myself enjoy sitting with the people who had seen me through the worst parts of the last few years and had stayed to see the better ones.

Then I looked up.

Across the bar, near the far wall, a man stood at a high table, laughing at something someone had said. He turned his head slightly, and the lights caught his profile. The familiarity hit before the recognition. A tilt of the jaw. The way he held his shoulders. Then my brain caught up.

Brendan.

He looked relaxed, like he belonged in this room as much as anyone else. Beside him stood a blonde woman in a pale sweater, her hair falling over one shoulder. She reached out and touched his arm as she laughed, and he bent his head closer to hear her. That had to be Alice. I forced myself to look away, but every few minutes, my eyes drifted back across the room. Brendan leaned in to say something to Alice. She laughed again. He rested his hand lightly on the back of her chair. I didn’t want to care. I didn’t want his presence to bother me. Megan had been honest with me. She had told me what seeing him had felt like, and she had chosen her present over her past every time she looked at me. Still, something about seeing him here, in the same town, in the same bar, with someone new, felt strange. It was not about Megan still wanting him. I didn’t believe that. It was something else. A collision of timelines. The man who had hurt her was now laughing with a woman who clearly meant something to him.

“Stop staring,” Caleb muttered low enough that only I could hear. I tore my gaze away and shrugged casually.

“I am not staring,” I said.

“You are doing a very bad job of not staring,” Caleb replied. He was right. I tried to focus on the chatter around me, but still, my gaze kept drifting to them. Brendan and Alice. And then Brendan shifted slightly, almost as if he was suddenly uncomfortable. His gaze swept around the bar, and suddenly his eyes met mine. For a second, we just looked at each other. No nod. No greeting. Just recognition. His face didn’t change much. A small flicker ran through his expression, something like surprise, maybe a hint of something more. It was gone almost as soon as it appeared. My grip tightened around my glass. Across the bar, in the middle of laughter and music and ordinary noise, Brendan held my gaze for one long moment. Then the room seemed to hold its breath.

♥ ♥ ♥