Page 60 of Puppy Love & Snowflake Kisses
“Hey, Belle.” When she turned, Candi smiled at her. “Are you going to participate?”
“I’m thinking about it.” She glanced around. “Is Holly here too?”
“I haven’t seen her. She might be home with Tater Tot,” Candi said. “You should stay. I need some real competition.”
Belle continued to hesitate. She thought of Odie, who’d been outside for a short walk in the snow, and had his dinner was waiting for him when he woke up. He would be good for a little while.
And maybe this was what she needed to get her holiday spirit back.Yes.This was exactly what she needed.
“Okay. I’ll participate, but I have to warn you that I’m going to win.” She sent Candi a teasing grin.
Candi’s eyes widened, and then she smiled. “We’ll see about that.”
Belle glanced around the room. “I just have to find my table and find out who they partnered me with. I’ll see you later.”
As Belle walked away, her gaze scanned the numbers on the center of the tables. She was midway to the back of the large room when her gaze strayed across number thirty. She was in the right area. She picked up her pace.
She spotted thirty-one, thirty-two, thirty-three and at last she spotted thirty-four. She lifted her gaze to see who she’d been partnered with. Her gaze met mesmerizing brown eyes. Her heart fluttered in her chest. It was Parker.
Part of her said to turn around and leave, but the other part of her wanted to know why he was sitting at her table. Her feet made the decision for her when they started in Parker’s direction.
When she reached the table, she asked, “What are you doing here?”
“To tell you the truth, I’m not sure. I got a call from Mrs. Kringle that they needed me here. But when I arrived, no one knew why she’d called me. When I tracked down Mrs. Kringle, she said that everything was taken care of and that since I was here, they needed one more person for the gingerbread contest. And you know how she can be. The next thing I knew I was sitting here.”
Belle pulled out a chair and sat down. “That’s pretty much how I ended up here too. Except my story involves pretzel sticks.” And then she recalled the roses. “Thank you for the roses. They’re beautiful.”
“How’d you know they were from me?”
She shrugged. “You’re the only one I know who would do something that sweet.”
He smiled. “I’m glad you liked them.”
Just then a bowl of the pretzel sticks she’d bought for Merry was placed on the already crowded table.
“Pretzels, huh?” In a perfectly straight face, Parker asked, “So, are we allowed to eat the decorations?”
She couldn’t tell if he was being serious or not. Then he grinned at her, and they both let out a little laugh. It felt good. She hadn’t laughed all week. Maybe she’d been missing him more than she’d been willing to admit to anyone, including herself.
Parker reached out and took a pretzel. The next thing she knew, it was in his mouth.
“Parker, stop. You can’t eat the decorations. They won’t give us anymore.”
Parker looked at the bowl. “I didn’t know.” Then his attention turned to her. “So, does this mean we’re doing this?”
She eyed up the table, noticing that they’d included Twizzlers this year and a few other candies. She did have a title to defend after all. And she liked the idea of spending a little time with Parker.
Before she could change her mind, she nodded her head. “Let’s do it.”
The smile slipped from his face. “In all fairness, I must confess that I have no experience with frosting.”
She suddenly worried that this was his excuse to get out of the contest. “It’s okay. You don’t have to build the gingerbread house. You can go.”
There was a momentary look of relief on his handsome face. But soon it was replaced with worry lines. “But what about you?”
She shrugged. “Maybe I’ll go home to Odie.”
“But you can’t. You have a title to defend.”
