Page 73 of Holiday Hook Up

Wow, and there it was. Just like that, they had traded roles. Rachel was in the background cheering her on. “You go be happy, too,” she said, because some things would never change. She’d always be rooting for Rachel.

“I’m working on it. Now I’ve got to go make sure my brother doesn’t burn my house down. My twin loves to play with fire. I’ll see you tonight at the ball, yes?”

“Maybe.”

“Well if you’re there, you can help me keep my brother in check. The guy is seriously ready to hook up, and who knows who will be his target.”

“That might be a tall order.” Bethany said her good-bye and clicked off her phone.

Should she go through with tonight? Adam would definitely be there to support Caitlin. Maybe she could suggest they have a word on the balcony where she could finally admit to him how she felt—how she’d always felt about him.

She ran her finger along the railing. If she did go, she’d need a dress.

She grinned and took the remainder of the stairs two at a time, her heart racing as she dashed into the empty guest room and closed the door.

The antique hope chest was still there. She walked over, bent down, and brushed her fingers across the top, bringing her hand down to the handle.

“Mary, am I meant to wear your wedding dress to tell Adam I love him?” she asked in a whisper, praying that the gown was inside.

Adam staredout the window onto the empty street, his gaze resting on the Christmas Corner. Bethany must have decided to close the shop early or taken the day off because the lights were off. He adjusted his black silk tie and broke off another slice from his pizza. His grumbling stomach was put at ease by his favorite meal before he made his way to the Majestic Theater.

He should be going to the First Kiss Ball with Bethany and not alone, but he’d blown any chance of that.

It’d been four days since his and Bethany’s argument on the street. Four long days.

He’d wanted to stop by her cottage and apologize, but he hadn’t known what to say.

The fact was. The kiss between him and Rachel did happen.

He took a sip of his soda. But it didn’t mean anything, and he needed to come up with a way to make Bethany understand.

He stared down at his half-eaten pie, thinking back to that horrible night and their heated exchange outside the bakery. That he was outing last kisses with the spell had been a shock, but what Bethany had said made total sense. He couldn’t lie. On his walk back to the Sugar Spoon, he’d experienced an overwhelming sense of relief.

Not about the fight he’d had with Bethany that led to her storming away, but the fact that there was another explanation to why his name showed up in Rachel’s batter, and a very good reason to why he knew in his heart that Rachel wasn’t his soul mate.

Once he shared Bethany’s theory with Sheila, she agreed that it was entirely possible that that was what was happening. She brought up the fact that Abby also had trouble with the spell. It could be that Adam wasn’t getting it right either; although, she didn’t have an explanation to why.

She offered to do the Batter Up spell on him to confirm one way or another, but he couldn’t bring himself to let her do it. There was only one name he wanted to see, and what if it wasn’t Bethany’s?

He leaned back in the booth. How was it that he could have it so bad for a woman he’d never even kissed?

Not that his feelings for her mattered, because the way Bethany stormed away, he’d blown his chance—most likely wrecked their friendship. He wouldn’t blame her if she didn’t want to speak to him ever again.

“Hey, handsome.”

Adam looked up to see Ella, his favorite waitress, standing over him. She’d been working for Ralph for years and had been the one to show him how to bus tables as a teen. As a customer, she always made sure his soda was topped off and would bring him a warm chocolate chip cookie. Tonight was no exception. He smiled and took the cookie she offered. “How you doing, Ella?”

“Can’t complain. How about yourself?”

“Groovy.” He flicked his necktie. “I needed fuel before the First Kiss Ball.”

“Well, don’t go breaking any hearts tonight with that schoolboy smile of yours.”

“I’ll try not to,” he said, not revealing that it was his heart that was the fragile one these days.

“Looks like someone else is going to a party.” She nodded to the window.

He caught a glimpse of a bundled-up Bethany, racing down the street toward the Majestic Theater.

---