Page 42 of The Cupcake Cottage

She hustled up the steps and, after what felt like forever, reappeared, small dog under her arm, a larger shoulder bag, and an entirely different outfit.

“Sorry,” she said breathlessly as she climbed in. “Wardrobe change. Figured I didn’t need work attire for you proving yourself to me.”

“True.” He patted Ella on the head and she sat, trembling with excitement on Daisy-Mae’s lap, watching out the windshield as Maverick turned the truck around.

“Where are we going?” Daisy-Mae asked a few miles down the gravel road.

“My place. I’m making you supper.”

“To prove you know where the grocery store is?”

“Something like that.”

“Oh—turn here. She edged forward in her seat as they passed the turnoff for her friend Alexa, who owned Blueberry Creek Ranch.

“We’re going to Alexa’s?”

“Not quite.” She began poking at her phone, then fiddling with his stereo.

Maverick went to protest, then realized he didn’t mind if she played DJ or even paired her phone to his truck’s stereo so she could use Bluetooth.

Soon Christmas music filled the cab.

“What’s this?”

“We have to get you in the mood.”

“That wasn’t quite the kind of mood I was hoping to get into,” he joked, giving her a wink. She blushed, and he knew that while he might have a crush on Daisy-Mae Ray, she had a crush right back.

** *

“Turn in here,” Daisy-Mae commanded Maverick, pointing to a driveway that led off of the road to Alexa’s ranch.

“Peppermint Lodge?” Maverick asked as they passed the lodge’s sign at the turnoff.

Cassandra’s Peppermint Lodge, a converted hunting lodge which shared the same road with her sister, was getting close. Cassandra moved here a year ago and this season had brought in some live Christmas trees. She was still deciding what to do with the lodge and its land and so far had been following the seasonal trends to bring in a little extra income for herself and her son. But Daisy-Mae knew what she truly wanted to do was create a wedding venue. It was just a problem of time and money to get it all going.

“Cassandra loves Christmas. And she has trees.”

“For me?”

“Yes, but the best ones go first. Hopefully, she has something left.”

“But it’s barely December.”

“Two weeks until Christmas, Mav.”

“Where did November go?”

“You spent it chasing me.” He’d been chasing up her free time whenever it coincided with his own. Dinner dates, coffee in her office, kisses after home games. So far they were doing pretty good with his insane schedule, although he’d had a string of away games last week, making it feel as though she’d barely seen him in the two weeks since Thanksgiving.

But she knew he was thinking of her. He’d call from airport lounges and had even sent her flowers once.

Daisy-Mae pointed to a spot near an old barn where Maverick could park. Strings of white lights, not faded like her Christmas lights, hung on posts around a corral with rows of trees waiting to be chosen.

“Good thing I drove my truck today,” Maverick said.

Daisy-Mae took his hand outside the tree corral and Cassandra came out of the house in her boots and a flannel jacket.

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