Page 8 of Holiday Hook Up

Chapter 3

Bethany slipped into her Nissan, setting her camera bag down on the passenger seat next to her black leather clutch. She hadn’t had any time to run out and get a new party dress, so she had chosen her deep burgundy one, pairing it with high black boots.

As she pulled out of her driveway, she noticed a soft light illuminating Adam’s living room. He hadn’t left yet. No doubt he’d show up in a couple of hours when the event was in full swing, horse around with his buddies at the bar, and then flirt his way onto the dance floor with the first bachelorette who caught his eye.

Although, maybe he’d tone it down since he was supposed to be dating her, after all. She laughed sarcastically. Guess Rachel hadn’t heard the news from Pauline, or any of the mortician’s friends, about last night.

She turned her head, focusing on the road. How was he going to react when Rachel suggested he be her Holiday Hook Up? Would he agree to it?

When she’d grabbed her phone and called Jason, she’d had a fleeting moment of confidence that maybe, just maybe, Adam liked having her arms around him last night and perhaps he might like to be her Holiday Hook Up.

As she blew out her hair for the evening, second thoughts began to creep in. She didn’t have the self-assuredness that Rachel had—never mind the history that her best friend shared with Adam.

She’d finished getting ready, but gone was the confidence she’d had earlier. Nothing was going to change between her and Adam. They would go on being friends, but as of tonight, he could quite possibly be on the road to getting back together with Rachel.

That thought kept her preoccupied as she made the short drive to the start of the lake where the Lakeside Inn was located. Hopping out of her car, she buttoned up her coat and grabbed her camera equipment, shoving her clutch inside.Everything is going to be fine.If Adam accepted Rachel’s invitation to be her Holiday Hook Up, she was going to have to deal with it.

And as much as it would hurt, she’d rather see it all go down with her own eyes than be sitting home alone on her couch, pushing a spoon through a pint of chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream.

“Stupid event,” she muttered, while walking down the long pathway to the Inn’s entrance.

Adjusting her camera bag around her shoulder, she pushed aside her frustration and admired how Christmasy the inn looked with its twinkling lights and gorgeous green wreaths decorated with curvy red bows.

Hats off to Brandon. He’d done an amazing job with this place since he purchased it last year. It was now a popular lakeside dining establishment and wonderful getaway.

She and a bunch of her friends had thrown Rachel a surprise birthday party here a couple of months ago, and it had been a total blast popping the bubbly in front of a roaring fire. It was going to be even more fun this summer, enjoying cocktails near the water.

Her high black boots clicked on the wooden porch steps; she opened the door and walked in.

“Bethany!” Abby Swift greeted her with a huge smile while jostling her daughter, Hannah, on her hip. “Brandon said you’d be photographing the event. I’m so glad you came early so we could catch up.”

“Oh my gosh, your little one is getting so big.” Bethany touched Hannah’s tiny outstretched hand, admiring her red velvet dress that matched Abby’s.

“Yes, she is.” Abby kissed her daughter’s curly red locks. “She’ll be turning into a pumpkin in the next twenty minutes and spending the night at her grandparents’. Let me hand over this little turkey to my mom, and we can set you up. I’ll be right back.”

“Take your time.” Bethany stepped through the foyer and unbuttoned her coat, glancing up at the gorgeous crystal chandelier. Her grandmother had shared stories that many years ago the inn had been the place to listen to jazz and dance the night away. She’d even given Bethany one of her old flapper dresses, saying she’d been wearing it the night she’d met her grandfather.

She giggled at the thought of her grandmother in her dress, wearing a tiara like one of the ones in the shipment she’d opened earlier and swinging her pearls suggestively in the direction of her debonair grandpa.

Thiswasno doubt the singles spot back in the day. Running her hand along the mahogany stair banister, she admired its intricate details. Brandon had kept a lot of the inn’s original décor, and the main room was now usually opened up for parties. Soon it would be packed with women in party gowns and men in ties—a rarity, at least for the men of Buttermilk Falls—but they all took the tradition of the Holiday Hook Up very seriously.

Abby came back and straightened her flowing red dress.

“I love your outfit,” Bethany said, wiggling out of her coat. She handed it to one of Brandon’s staff who offered to hang it on the rack in the foyer.

“Thank you. I know most of the women get decked out for this event, but since I’ve already snagged the hottest man in Buttermilk Falls and will be supplying you all with appetizers for much of the evening, I went for functional.”

“Smart. Comfortable is key,” Bethany agreed. Abby operated Taste the Magic catering company out of Brandon’s kitchen. Her stomach started to grumble at the thought of the amazing morsels Abby most likely whipped up for tonight.

She touched her own simple dress. “It would be hard to take pictures in a long gown, never mind a mask.”

“Wait. You don’t have a mask?” Abby’s scrunched her nose. “How are you going to participate in the Holiday Hook Up?”

“I don’t think the masks really hide our identities. I mean, I’ve always known the guys I’ve hooked up with in the past.”

“Good point.” Abby grinned. “So, do you have your eye on anyone this year?”

“No. Not at the moment.” A total lie, but she didn’t want to broadcast to Adam’s inner circle that she was interested in him. “I’m kind of thinking of passing on this one. With my parents out of town and only a few days left until Christmas, I’ve been slammed at the shop. I don’t really have time—let alone the energy for the required dates after being on my feet all day. Maybe next year.”

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