Page 28 of Mistletoe Mistake
“I guess.” She moves the gingerbread houses over to the kitchen island and comes back to help me clean up. “When I was little my parents would spend the twenty-third preparing for their Christmas party, so they would send Brandon to our nana and papa’s and I would go to our great-grandma’s for the day. It was my favorite day of the year. She used to take me shopping for a birthday present at this tiny little toy store that was around the corner from her apartment.” Her face takes on this faraway quality and I sneak a photo of her. “I would spend hours in that shop and Grandma Ginny never rushed me. She would slip me candy canes all day and basically let me do whatever I wanted. December twenty-third was my day of magic and I looked forward to it all year.” She bites her lip and starts hurrying to put the rest of the things away, turning away from me. “Ginny passed away when I was seven. Peppermint reminds me of her. I have peppermint scented shampoo, moisturizer, hand cream, everything. I probably go overboard, but—” Holly shakes her head and she gives in to a small smile. “She deserves to be remembered.”
I cross the room and wrap her in a hug, kissing the top of her head.
“I like your heart, you know that? It’s pretty damn special.”
She pulls back slightly, looking up at me before she opens her mouth as if to say something.
Instead, she lets her head fall to my chest and I hear her whisper, “I like your heart, too.”
11
Holly
“Who’s coming again?”
Nick sits on the floor, throwing a ball for Gypsy and watching me finish loading the coffee table with snacks.
“Billie, April, and Owen. Oh, and Tessa will be FaceTiming with us from whatever city she’s in at the moment.”
“And, you work with Billie, April and Tessa, right? How do you know Owen?”
“Owen is married to Tessa’s college roommate. She set them up and they are the reason Tessie now thinks she’s god’s gift to matchmaking. If anyone ever tries to refuse a setup, the first thing out of her mouth is,‘But you’ve heard about Carrie and Owen, right?’” I roll my eyes. “Apparently getting it right once entitles her to fix up every single person she comes across.”
I head back to the kitchen to grab the charcuterie board I made earlier. Nick hops up and follows me, and I pretend not to notice the handful of pretzels that he grabs.
“They’re her only success story?” he prods.
“Uh…” I give the platter a final once-over. “No, I actually think she has a pretty good track record. With people who want to be set up, that is.”
“What do you mean?” I see him give Gypsy a pretzel from the corner of my eye.
“Don’t give her people food, Nick!”
I scowl at him across the room and he throws his hands up before sauntering over to me. “Sorry.” He kisses my shoulder and then reaches down for a cube of cheese.
I am going to kill him if he doesn’t leave soon.
“I mean, who has she tried to set up who didn’t want to be?”
“Billie.” I snort out a laugh, thinking about all of Tessa’s failed matchmaking attempts with Billie and the parade of different men. “She’s been trying to set her up for at least six months.”
“Ah.” He wraps his arms around my middle and leans his chin on my shoulder. “I thought you were going to say you.”
A shiver skates up my spine at the feel of his warm breath on my skin and the memory of a long-forgotten conversation with Tessa flashes through my mind.
“Why have you never tried to set me up?” I wring my hands awkwardly. I mean, it’s not that Iwantto be set up, but, also, it’s kind of embarrassing that she’s never tried. I’m a catch, dammit!
“Oh, honey.” She pats my shoulder sympathetically. “You’re in love with your brother's friend. There would be no point in setting you up with someone.”
Yeah, he doesn’t need to know that.
“Nope, I told her I wasn’t interested and she respected that. Um, what are you doing tonight?” I fumble to change the subject before he notices the contradiction in what I just told him. “You don’t need to leave, you know. Nobody will mind if you’re lurking around.”
“As much as I would love to be a lurker, I’ve made plans with Cohen. You’re still not working tomorrow, right?”
“No,Avondalecloses from the twenty-third until the sixth. My only plans for tomorrow are sleeping in and then packing to go home.” I turn in his arms so we’re face-to-face. “We should talk about what we’re going to say to Brandon tomorrow, right? I think he said they’re going to leave Philly in the afternoon. Amy has tickets forThe Nutcrackertomorrow night.”
“How the hell did she get Brandon to agree to that?” I laugh.
