Page 5 of Holiday Hook Up

Chapter 2

Bethany straightenedher pine green sweater over her dark jeans and maneuvered through the Christmas Corner, stopping for a second to fiddle with a satin red ball ornament on the shop’s decorated six-foot Christmas tree while humming “Jingle Bell Rock.”

It was going to be another busy day bustling with holiday shoppers once she unlocked the door, and she was in a particularly festive mood.

But it hadnothingto do with the holidays.

Since she had a few minutes before she needed to flip the closed sign over, she picked up her camera bag and headed to the back, her black boots clicking on the dark wooden floor. Her dad had renovated a portion of the shop’s inventory space last summer into a small photography studio.

Bethany had always loved taking pictures and had been a photographer for both her high school and college newspapers. After completing her degree at the University of Rochester, she’d returned home to Buttermilk Falls where she helped her parents run the family shop while starting her freelance business.

And she’d done okay, making a small name for herself. It wasn’t enough work to sustain a full-time business, but she’d been branching out recently, adding a number of new clients in Buttermilk Falls and surrounding towns who needed a photographer for weddings, senior pictures, and the occasional shoot for local nonprofits.

Those charity gigs were always a blast and gave her some great shots to add to her portfolio. She smiled at the calendar tacked up on the wall behind her desk. Case in point. The local animal shelter had asked her last year if she’d take pictures for a Frisky Felines calendar, in which adorable kittens were shown cuddled up in the arms of half-naked men. Of course she’d said yes, because who wouldn’t want to see some of the hottest guys in Buttermilk Falls almost baring it all?

Her eyes locked with those on Mr. July.

So what if it was December. It could stay July forever as far as she was concerned.

When her mom turned the calendar to August, she’d immediately flipped it back, saying she’d fallen in love with the adorable gray and white kitten with the pretty green eyes.

That admission was half right. She had fallen in love—or at least a very strong like.

She shot her regular morning smile over to a shirtless Adam wearing only his fireman’s yellow pants with red suspenders while cradling the sweet kitten in his arms. She’d been keeping her feelings for Mr. July a secret for a very long time. Admitting them wasn’t going to happen.

It would ruin everything.

Adam Reed was her pal. Nothing more, nothing less. Sure, she’d sported a crush since she’d first laid eyes on him at Ralph’s Pizzeria when she moved to town at age fourteen, but they’d always been friends.

And then senior year happened, and Adam had sauntered into first period that September with a hot tan and noticeable muscles courtesy of working construction for his dad that summer.

Bethany wasn’t the only one to notice his new looks. Her best friend, Rachel, also liked how Adam had spent his summer vacation and immediately set her sights on him.

And that pretty much ended any hope Bethany had of her getting Adam’s attention. While Rachel was outgoing and competed with Caitlin and all the other popular girls to be the center of attention, Bethany was more reserved, a bit shy, and embraced her role as best friend to Rachel, having spent most of their friendship in Rachel’s shadow. It was a comfortable, safe place to be. Bethany didn’t need any attention. At least that’s what she’d always told herself.

Bethany had kept her schoolgirl crush on Adam a secret because a guy as cute and funny as Adam Reed would never give her the time of day.

It didn’t take long for Rachel to lean over one night on the cheerleading line and whisper to Bethany that she thought Adam was really cute. Bethany had masked her disappointment with the widest, supportive smile only a best friend could give.

She’d encouraged Rachel to ask Adam if he’d like to grab pizza after the game because she knew firsthand how much he loved a sausage and mushroom pie from Ralph’s Pizzeria.

He’d said yes and the rest was history. Rachel and Adam had been the Buttermilk Falls golden couple throughout high school and well into adulthood.

And then the unthinkable happened. Last year, Rachel dumped Adam, swearing that his inability to get engaged meant they had no future.

Even after Rachel broke things off with Adam, it didn’t seem right to consider the handsome construction worker as fair game. There were universal friendship rules about that sort of thing. Don’t get involved with your best friend’s ex.

Bethany couldn’t help but wonder recently if that rule couldn’t be broken. She scooted around her desk, setting her camera bag down. Now that Rachel seemed to be genuinely happy dating other guys, maybe Bethany could start flirting a little more with Mr. July.I mean, he did have his arms around me last night.

She sighed. But that was in his blatant attempt to save his butt from Pauline and her friends, and she was one hundred percent certain that’s all it was. Her gaze rested on Adam’s strong, tanned biceps. Having them around her even if only for a brief moment had been incredibly awesome.

When he’d moved into the cottage beside hers last fall, she wasn’t going to lie. She’d done a silent jig.

Unfortunately, they didn’t run into each other much at first. He was always at Caitlin’s helping her with her triplets or working with his dad on the Majestic Theater renovations that Caitlin had hired them to do.

Word soon spread around the Spring Curls salon, the Star Lite diner—really everywhere—that Adam and Caitlin were dating. Thank goodness that rumor wasn’t true. She was relieved to learn that Caitlin only had eyes for Josh Stevens.

And once Caitlin and Josh had gotten together, Adam began to spend more evenings hanging out at his cottage. Several times after work, he’d invited her over for a beer on his deck, and they’d gotten comfy in his big white wicker chairs while watching the sun set over Buttermilk Lake. Sometimes he’d invite her to watch television and they’d move to his couch, but it was always platonic.

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