William: Good morning. Do you still want to meet?

Me: Of course. I’m ready when you are.

William: How about Macy’s café in 20 minutes?

It was one of my favorite places to get hot chocolate; I stopped by every morning before school in the fall and winter.

Me: Sounds great. See ya there!

Thank goodness, I’d gotten up a little early to shower and get ready. I’d just gotten done curling my hair. Unplugging the curling iron, I hurried into my closet, and settled on a pair of jeans, a burgundy sweater, and my boots. It was chilly outside, so I grabbed my peacoat off the rack and slipped it on, before hustling out to my car.

Macy’s wasn’t too crowded when I arrived. Walking inside, I found Will already seated at a table, reading the newspaper. The pang in my chest came back with a vengeance. I couldn’t help it, I missed the William from my dreams.

His head lifted and he saw me, flashing that dashing grin of his. Unbuttoning my coat, I walked over to him. He stood and helped me out of my jacket.

“Thank you,” I said sweetly. He draped it over the back of my chair and held the chair out for me. Even in real life, he was a gentleman. It was hard to find that nowadays.

“You’re welcome.”

“How did unpacking go this morning?”

“Good. I got a lot done. My furniture is all situated. Now, all I have to do is unpack a lot of the boxes when I get back.”

“Ah, the tedious work,” I said with a laugh.

“Exactly. So, after all that hard work, I’m ready for something to drink. Want to go up to the counter with me?”

“Sure, lead the way.”

Macy’s café was a quaint little place not too far from my house. In fact, it was just a couple of blocks away from the spot where Helen’s dress shop would’ve been in my dreams. Right now, there was a bank in that area. The barista behind the counter was Natalie, one of my students from high school.

We stood in line, his arm brushing against mine. I loved being close to him. “What all do you have to do when you go back to California?” I asked, glancing up at him.

He shrugged. “Not much really, other than a little bit of work. That’s why I missed my flight yesterday. I took on a huge client for the West Coast. So, I’ll want to make sure everything’s taken care of before I leave.”

“Your dad must be so proud of you. It’s because of you that Blair Realty is a huge success.”

His lips tilted slightly. “Funny thing is, I never thought it would. And yet, it’s taken off so fast, I haven’t had time to breathe.”

We moved up to the counter and Natalie beamed, her eyes twinkling as she looked at me and William. “Good morning, Ms. Hamilton. How was the wedding?”

Brows furrowed, William grinned at her and then at me, obviously curious as to who the girl was to me. I nodded toward Natalie. “Will, this is Natalie, one of my most clever students. She works here on the weekends and during school breaks.”

William chuckled. “It’s nice to meet you, Natalie.” He moved closer to the counter. “How good of a teacher is Ms. Hamilton?”

Natalie giggled. “She’s the best. Her class is my favorite.”

“Thank you, Natalie,” I said with a wink. “And to answer your question, the wedding was amazing.”

“Awesome.” Then she noticed the line forming behind us. “I should probably get your orders now. You want your usual, a hot chocolate and whipped cream, right?”

I grinned. “Yep.”

She looked up at William. “And for you?”

“The same.”

Natalie grabbed two cups and smiled. “Coming right up.” It took her thirty seconds to make the hot chocolate, and she piled mine high with extra whipped cream.

“Thanks, Natalie. I’ll see you at school.” I waved and then we made our way back to the table. Will took a sip of his drink, and I smiled. “Hot chocolate, huh? I thought you’d be more of a coffee person.”

He took another sip. “Never liked the stuff.”

“Then why did you ask me out for coffee?” I asked with a laugh.

His mischievous gaze met mine. “I hoped you did. It was the only way I thought I could see you this morning.”

My heart fluttered and I looked away, trying my best not to smile like a love-struck idiot. “Actually, I don’t drink it either. But as you can see, I love their hot chocolate.” I met his stare again. “And if you wanted to see me, all you had to do was ask. I can’t complain though, I really do love this place.” I stirred the whipped cream into my hot chocolate and took a sip. “So, tell me . . . how does one move from California all the way to North Carolina?”

He snorted. “It’s not easy.”

“I bet. What are you doing with all your stuff?”

“It’s already on its way here,” he began, wrapping his hands around his cup. “The moving company will be arriving in Asheville tomorrow to drop off almost all of my things. There are just a few small items I plan on bringing with me on the plane.”

“What about your car? Didn’t you drive in California?”

A soft chuckle escaped his lips. “I sold it. I had a BMW M6 convertible.”

“Wow. That’s a nice car. Must’ve been great to ride around with the top down all year long.” I was pretty sure the ladies loved it.

William scoffed. “Sure, when I actually had the time to enjoy it. But usually, I don’t have time to breathe, let alone take joy rides along the coast.”

“You only live once, Will. That doesn’t sound like the way to enjoy life.”

His smile faded. “I know. It feels just like just yesterday I was twenty years old, without a care in the world.”

“I know how that goes.” I took another sip of my drink. “Then again, I’ve never been the owner of a company. I can only imagine the level of stress that comes with that responsibility.”

Finishing off his hot chocolate, he set his cup aside. “It can be a little much. But I don’t want to talk about the stressful stuff. Tell me about you. What made you want to become a history teacher?”

“More like who,” I murmured, feeling the burn behind my eyes. “My grandfather was the one who got me into loving history. He died this past summer, not long after my grandmother. I guess he couldn’t live without her.”

He reached for my hands, rubbing his thumb along my skin. “I’m sorry to hear that.”

It all felt so normal, until he pulled away. I looked up and saw he looked almost shocked that he’d touched me.

Looking away, he shook his head. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to come on too strong.”

“It’s okay. I don’t mind.” For that tiny moment, it had felt like we were connected again.

Clearing his throat, he met my stare. “My grandparents are gone as well. Unfortunately, I wasn’t as close to them as you seemed to be with yours.”

“Oh, I definitely was close. I think I spent more time with my grandparents than anyone. My grandfather would take me into the attic and tell me stories about our ancestors. You should seriously see my attic. It’s filled with all sorts of pictures and documents from hundreds of years ago to now. My whole family history is there.”

His eyes widened in shock. “That’s quite fascinating. Not many people have that kind of knowledge about their families. I know the Blairs don’t. I wish I knew more about my ancestors.”

“The Hamiltons were great at passing things down. If you go to the local history museum, a lot of the artifacts came from our land.” I finished off my hot chocolate and set the cup aside. “I have some old registries with several Blair signatures on them. You can always come over and look at them, if you want.”

“I’d like that.” We stared at each other for a few seconds. It was hard differentiating between the Will sitting in front of me, and the William from my dreams. He looked down at his watch and sighed. “I should probably get to the airport. I don’t want to miss my flight.”

Nodding, I stood and reached for my cup, but he grabbed it first.

“I got it.”

While he threw away our cups, I headed outside. Asheville was a beautiful city, especially the small, quaint parts of it, where there wasn’t the hustle and bustle of downtown life.

Gazing down the street at all the shops, I could still see the way it looked in my dream. It’d changed so much over the years though. The trees lining the street were covered in lights, and Christmas music echoed out from the general store across the way. They were playing my favorite song, “It Must’ve Been the Mistletoe.”

The bell on the café door chimed, and Will walked out carrying a small box. “There you are. I got you something for the road.”

I opened the box and inside was an apple pastry. My breath hitched, and I gasped. “Thank you. They weren’t in there a few minutes ago.”

He nodded. “I know. They just brought them out. And since you like them, I figured I’d get you one.”

“How did you know I liked them? I don’t remember ever telling you that.”

His smile faded. “You do, don’t you? Or did I imagine it?”

“I do. They’re my favorite. I just don’t remember talking about it.”

Brows furrowed, he stared off to the side, deep in thought. “I don’t know,” he said, lifting his gaze to mine. “When I saw them, I knew I had to get you one.”

That wasn’t just a coincidence, was it? I knew for a fact I didn’t tell him that apple pastries were my favorite, and I knew Jessica wouldn’t have even thought to tell him. “Well, how you know is neither here nor there. I will devour this the second I get home. Thank you. It looks delicious.”

His devilish smile returned. “You’re welcome.” He stepped closer. “So, your school is out on winter break right now?”

I nodded. “Until after New Year’s.”

“Do you mind if I call you while I’m in California?”

My heart skipped a beat. “I’d love for you to. I’ll just be preparing for the big Christmas party on Saturday.”

“All right. I’ll call you. Hopefully, I’ll be back in time for it.”

“You’ll be missing out if you don’t.”

A deep chuckle escaped his lips as he walked backward and waved. Stopping by an old blue truck, he called out, “I’ll make sure I’m back in time.”

I nodded at the truck. “Is that your new car?”

He grinned. “Not exactly new. It was mine as a teenager. I’m going to like driving it again.”

“It suits you.”

Running his hand down the hood, he looked at it with admiration. “I think so too. Take care, Adeline. I’ll see you when I get back.”

“Be safe.”

He hopped in his truck and it roared to life. I waved at him as he drove by and watched his taillights disappear down the road. That was when I remembered the apple pastry in my hand. Things were starting to get a little too weird.