Page 29 of Meet Me at the Christmas Cottage
“But first”—he settled back into the couch, turning the volume up on the TV—“I think you need to watchElf.”
“Elf?”
“Only the best holiday movie ever.”
“I’ve never seen it.”
“What?” Jonah’s head swung in her direction, mouth agape.
“Not a fan of the actor who plays the elf.” Bronte shrugged her shoulders, plucking another thumbprint cookie off the plate. “And a man running around in tights? Please.”
“You gotta give it a chance.”
Bronte chewed the inside of her cheek. They had spent most of the morning making cookies, and she really did need to get caught up, but maybe there was a compromise. “How about, I’ll watchElfwhile I work, but then I should probably hole away and get some serious words down.”
“Deal.”
Bronte had never needed to make deals with anyone before regarding her work, and she didn’t need to now. She could leave and head upstairs and get to work right now. She didn’t need to watch a Christmas movie—especially one that starred her least favorite actor. But what could it hurt if she sat here for just a little bit?
* * *
The credits had just started rolling when the doorbell rang.
Bronte shot a look toward Jonah, not sure if she should answer it or if he should. Technically, she was renting the house, but he lived here. Had lived? It was his sister’s house.
Before she could open her mouth and ask, Jonah popped up from the couch. “I’ll get it.”
Bronte tried to get back into what she had been typing, but if she was totally honest, she hadn’t gotten much written in the last two hours anyway. She wasn’t convinced she’d callElfthe greatest Christmas movie ever, but she had enjoyed it.
“Look who stopped by.”
Turning, Bronte found Jonah being followed by Mia carrying a pot of soup, and a man with floppy brown hair and chocolate eyes was behind her with a loaf of homemade bread. The scent of the bread hit her two seconds later, and her stomach growled.
“Hey, Bronte. We heard about the mix-up with Jonah coming home.” She shot Jonah a grin. “Cody and I wanted to stop by and see how you were doing and to bring you some vegetable soup and bread.”
“Oh, wow.” Bronte set her laptop aside and stood to take the pot from Mia. She’d never had neighbors check on her before. She didn’t know how she was supposed to feel. “Thank you.”
“Why don’t you guys stay for a bit? Have some soup and bread with us,” Jonah said, taking the bread from Cody and putting it on a wooden cutting board.
Mia shot a look to Bronte. “My kids’ grandma is watching them for a bit since they were going stir-crazy at my house, so we’ve got time, but only if you’re sure you don’t mind.”
Bronte’s mouth tugged into a smile—at least, she hoped it was a smile. She was still trying to place this warm, gooey feeling in her middle. “Only if you and your husband promise to take cookies with you when you leave. We baked enough for a small army, and I’m afraid I’ll eat every last one of them if they’re here.”
“Oh, we’re just dating.” Mia blushed at Cody’s declaration of “for now” and cheeky grin.
“I ended up over at the house this morning checking on her and the kids,” Cody said, shrugging out of his coat and draping it on the back of a chair. “I needed to make sure her snowmobile was in good working order in case they needed to get out and get somewhere.”
“How are the kids doing?” Jonah asked, pulling a knife from a drawer and slicing the bread while Cody pulled bowls from the cabinet and Mia got the soup ladle from a drawer and turned the oven on low. There were no strangers in Holland’s kitchen except for Bronte.
Needing to do something, Bronte grabbed the spoons from the drawer she had seen Jonah get some from earlier.
“Doing good,” Cody replied, setting four bowls out on the counter. “The kids got out and played in the snow this morning. We probably shouldn’t have let Maggie go out, but she’s convinced she can do anything Finn can do.” A grin tugged on Cody’s mouth. “They made a few snow angels and fed Jack—that’s the town’s dog,” Cody explained to Bronte. “But they only lasted about five minutes before they were inside asking for a movie and hot chocolate.”
Jonah slathered butter on the bread slices and put them on a cooking sheet before sliding them into the oven. “I don’t blame them. It’s cold.”
“At least the snow seems to have stopped, and I don’t think we’re supposed to get any more.”
The doorbell rang again, and Bronte’s gaze shot to Jonah. She was beginning to feel like the White house was Grand Central Station.
