Page 23 of Holiday Hook Up

Chapter 5

Bethany turnedthe store key and double checked to make sure the door was locked. The last thing she wanted to do was photograph couples ice-skating.

But that’s exactly where she was headed.

She crossed the street but stopped in the center. If Santa’s reindeer came flying down at this very second and flattened her to the pavement, would it really be the worst thing in the world?

When she’d stopped by theButtermilk Advocateoffice on her lunch break and confessed to Jason that she didn’t have any great pictures from the Holiday Hook Up, she quickly added that she could stop by the ice rink right after work to take some shots. Though it was the last place she wanted to be, she hated that she hadn’t followed through and delivered the promised photos.

That guilt didn’t stop her, however, from giving herself a proper head slap on the short walk back to the Christmas Corner. Now, she’d have to watch Rachel and Adam holding hands on the ice, all the while knowing that her best friend was planning to ask him to perform the Batter Up spell on her a few hours later.

Bethany didn’t have a clue how to process any of it. While she was thrilled for Adam that he may have gotten Zoe’s batter right, only time would confirm it.

And Bethany didn’t have time. What if Adam’s namedidshow up in Rachel’s batter tonight? Was it right or wrong?

Or, what if his name didn’t and some other guy’s name appeared, like Carter Manning? What did that mean?

She approached her destination with no clear answers to those questions. The outdoor rink, situated in the middle of town, was a popular place this time of year. Tonight was no exception with all the Holiday Hook Up couples who had already taken to the ice.

Bethany walked over to the bleachers, unable to take her eyes off the bundled-up pairs in bright scarves and mittens gliding around the rink. They were chatting, laughing, and having an absolutely fabulous time.

Adam and Rachel were nowhere to be found among the merriment. Bethany glanced over to the refreshment area, but the only two in line were Pauline and Evan.Oh, Pauline.The mortician had stopped by the shop this afternoon, offering to kick Adam’s butt. All Bethany needed to do was say the word.

It was only after that offer Bethany realized Pauline thought that Adam had dumped her for Rachel. Bethany assured her that it all was for the best and that she and Adam would always be friends.

Friends.Yep. That part was true. That’s all they’d be, and it probably was for the best.

So what if she’d thrown herself at him the other night? He’d never know; no harm no foul. Her best friend wanted to get back together with her long-time boyfriend, and Bethany was going to have to accept it.

But did she have to stay here and be an eye witness? She pulled her camera strap off her shoulder. Maybe she could snap her pictures and hightail it out of there before Rachel and Adam arrived. Pauline and Evan made a cute couple to photograph, and who wouldn’t get a kick out of seeing a mortician and a botanist together? Talk about a unique combination. Once they took to the ice, she’d take a couple of shots and call it a night.

She stepped up to the second row of bleachers and took a seat, pulling her camera out of its bag and turning it on. Her last shot from earlier in the store appeared on the tiny screen.

Bethany peered down at the image, her heart squeezing. God, why did Adam and Rachel have to look so perfect together? They looked like . . . well, if she was completely honest, they looked like the super cute couple they’d once been. While his arm was wrapped around her shoulders, Rachel was gazing up at him with her beautiful smile.

How was she supposed to compete with that?Besides looking absolutely perfect together, they had history. If Rachel wanted Adam back, she was going to do everything in her power to make it happen. Reconstructing their first date at Ralph’s was, no doubt, the perfect first step in the right direction.

“Mind if I join you?”

Bethany glanced up to see a bundled Zoe standing in front of her in a puffy purple jacket with a matching scarf and mittens, white ice skates flung over her shoulder.

“Sure.” Putting her camera down on her other side, Bethany patted the bench. Have a seat.

Zoe did just that, setting her skates on the ground. “I knew my hookup would be late.” She laughed sarcastically. “He probably doesn’t want to risk falling and hurting any part of his precious face. God forbid he scrapes his chiseled chin.”

Bethany chuckled because Zoe was probably right. “I heard about what happened this morning.” She was quick to add, “I mean, Adam was just so excited that he might have done the spell right that he blurted out the news. No one else was in the store when he told me.”

“It’s fine.” Zoe blew out a cold breath. “I mean, I hate the thought of it, and even though I’d love to help Adam out so people will stop gossiping about him, he couldn’t have gotten it right this time. It’s not going to happen. Nopity nope, nope, nope.”

Bethany felt for Zoe, but she also was fully aware of the gossip train that carried the ongoing news announcing Adam’s inability to cast the spell correctly. “He is trying, and it’s entirely possible he got it wrong again.” Bethany stopped herself. She wanted to be the friend Adam thought she was. The one thatbelievedin him. “But let’s say Adam got it right. I don’t know . . . Will does have some appealing qualities.”

“Really?” Zoe’s eyebrow couldn’t have stretched any farther up if she had tried.

There had to be something endearing about Will Jenkins. Bethany thought for a second, working hard to pull out one high school memory. She finally snapped her fingers. “I got it. Senior year. Will washed and waxed my car for a month. How nice was that?”

“What was in it for him?”

Bethany knew her smile was sheepish, so she confessed. “Well, his main motivation was he wanted to have one of his senior pictures taken in it. It was my dad’s classic red convertible that he let me drive after I got my license.”

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