Page 46 of Holiday Hook Up

Bethany could feel the blush that gave her feelings away. “A while,” she admitted. “My apologies to Mr. December.”

Abby laughed. “He won’t hear it from me. My lips are sealed.”

Bethany knew that Abby wasn’t talking about the fact that her husband was the model for that month. “Thank you. It’s only a crush.” She sighed. “Mr. July will never know.”

“Why not?”

“Because he only sees me as a friend. He’s made that totally clear. He was with Rachel for so long. Even if he saw me as anything more than his neighbor—which he doesn’t—the timing’s never been right.”

“But it could be now.” Abby nodded her encouragement. “Although, you may have some competition if the mystery blonde that he’s been talking about decides to show up out of the blue.”

“That won’t happen.”

“How do you know?”

“It was me.”

“What?” Abby cocked her head to the side. “How?”

Bethany leaned against her desk. It might actually feel good to confess what she’d done, and she could trust Abby. “Mary’s dress wasn’t the only thing I put on that night. I came back downstairs in one of the wigs that Emma and Caitlin bought. When I saw Adam alone in the hallway, I . . .”

“Went for it?”

“Yeah. Stupid, right? It was one kiss.”

“Not stupid.” Abby lowered her eyelids. “He didn’t know it was you?”

“No, when Betty announced the Holiday Hook Up was about to begin, I ducked outside.”

“Wow. Discovering an enchanted hope chest and kissing Adam incognito. You had a busy night.”

“Tell me about it.” Bethany straightened. “It’s that dress. It did something to me. I had this overwhelming sense of self-confidence. I’ve never in my life experienced it. I could have done anything in that dress, so I did the one thing that I’d been wanting to do for as long as I could remember.”

“Kiss Adam.”

“Yeah.”

Abby maneuvered through the boxes, reaching in and pulling out a pair of silver strappy heels. “Well, let’s focus on what we have here. If I had to guess, I think Mary is planning your wedding.”

“My wedding.”

“To Adam.”

“Well, she can stop. It’s never going to happen.”

Abby knelt down and inspected one of the boxes. “Although, there is a lot of stuff here. I’m not sure it’s only for your wedding.”

“Who else is it for?”

A loud knock on the front door, interrupting their conversation. Bethany peeked out. “It’s Danny.”

“More boxes.” Abby headed for the front. “Let’s see.”

Bethany straightened her sweater and joined Abby at the door, unlocking it for the FedEx delivery man. “Hey, Danny.” She peeked around him but didn’t see his dolly that was normally full of boxes. “How many are you leaving for me today?”

“Just this one.” He nodded to the box under his arm. “But it’s not for you this time. Although, it has your address.”

“Who’s it for?” Bethany asked.

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