Page 67 of Holiday Hook Up

“Did Adam tell you who he was doing the spell on?” Rachel asked as they hurried down Main Street.

“No. I didn’t even know he was going to do it.” Bethany stopped at the corner, shaking her head. Someone could get her heart broken or Adam could get his butt kicked. “This is all my fault,” she said out loud.

Rachel scrunched her eyebrows. “What is your fault?”

Realizing she’d said that out loud, Bethany downplayed it. “Nothing. You know how women get. If they see a man’s name in their batter they didn’t expect, it could be disastrous. I should have encouraged him to practice some more.”

“Right. Like how Zoe freaked out when she saw Will’s name. Why he even agreed to be her Holiday Hook Up is beyond me?”

Bethany eyed her friend. “Youareinterested in Will.”

“No, I most certainly am not.”

“Then why do you care? And how do you know it was Will’s name that showed up in the batter?”

“It was, wasn’t it?” Rachel asked, looking sheepish.

“Rachel, you tricked me.” She couldn’t help but chuckle. “Well, technically it was Marvin.”

“Marvin?”

“You know. Will’s first name.”

Rachel put her hand to her mouth. “I totally forgot his first name is Marvin. I had sex with aMarvin.”

“Apparently, a few times.” Bethany stopped and crossed her arms. “Tell me now. You do like him, don’t you?”

“Definitely not. Maybe.” Rachel shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t know. We had a big fight last night before the fire and he stormed out of my house. He came back later on to check on me, but I was in no mood to talk so that conversation went worse than the first.” She turned her head back in the direction of the bridal shop. “He did look pretty hot in that suit.”

“Yes, he did.” Bethany latched arms with her best friend as they rounded the corner. An all dressed up Will Jenkins could definitely spell trouble for one Rachel Foster. Her best friend status would surely give her a front row seat to watching how that potential pairing played out.

A few minutes later, they reached the bakery, and indeed, it was packed with women. Rachel opened the door and Bethany stepped in, trying to get a good look at what was going on.

Unable to see Adam, they eased through the crowd until they reached the counter. Adam stood behind it along with Sheila. He was pouring ingredients into a white mixing bowl, nodding his head to Sheila’s instructions. “Hi,” Bethany interrupted, and took off her coat.

He smiled widely in her direction. “LB. I was hoping you’d be here. You look beautiful.”

“Thank you.” She slid onto a stool, thankful she’d decided to wear the black dress. Plus, she’d left her hair down today in loose dark waves because it always ratcheted up her confidence when she had pretty hair.

“You’re welcome.” He continued to smile directly at her.

“What am I, chopped liver?” Rachel placed her black clutch on the pink countertop and slid onto the stool directly in front of Adam.

“You always look pretty, Ms. Ex.”

“Thank you, Mr. Ex.” She grinned. “Hi, Mrs. Stevens. I heard you came out of retirement.”

“That I did.” She beamed as she pulled out two red velvet cupcakes with white icing and set them down in front of Bethany and Rachel. “On the house.”

“Thank you,” Bethany said, and picked up the cupcake. It’d been quite a while since she had one.

“Oh, wait. Bethany, hold on.” She bent down and disappeared behind the counter. When she popped back up, she held a blue and white candle, placing it in the middle of Bethany’s cupcake.

“Thank you, Mrs. Stevens, but it’s not my birthday.” She watched as the old woman struck a match and lit the candle.

“Call me, Sheila,” she said, and pushed the candle into the center. “Being in retirement, I’ve missed so many of your birthdays. Now make a wish.”

Bethany smiled. Stopping in here with her parents and selecting a cupcake had always been the favorite part of her birthday. Sure, her mom also made her a nice cake, usually vanilla with chocolate icing, to share with her friends, but the birthday cupcake from the Sugar Spoon was hers alone to make her one secret wish. “Thank you, Sheila.”

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