Page 49 of A Holly Brown Christmas
Lucas grabbed the nearest box of ornaments, and together, they worked to turn a forgotten tree into a glowing centerpiece—imperfect, but full of heart.
Perfectly imperfect.
And really, wasn’t that what they all were?
After work, Holly went home to get Shmoop while Lucas went home to order dinner. They were going to spend the night at his place—the guesthouse—and he had a few things he needed to take care of before she arrived.
When he and Lennon were shopping earlier, he wanted to pick up some holiday decorations for himself. He wasn’t going to go overboard, but he thought a few things might make the space feel a little more festive. His buddy had poked fun at him for even considering it, but Lucas didn’t listen. He knew what he wanted to do and he was going to do it no matter what.
Once he got home, he went into the main house and up to the attic. When he and Holly went up there last week, there was one box of Christmas decorations that he didn’t remember ever seeing on the family tree, but they were ones that he and his sisters made while they were in school when they were younger. The box actually had three boxes in it—one for each of them—so he knew the ones he was taking were actually made by him. And it wasn’t until he took them out and looked at them that he even remembered them.
“Out of sight, out of mind,” he murmured.
Racing back to the guesthouse, he did his best to get everything set up while he waited for Holly to arrive.
And their food.
He checked the app and saw the driver should arrive in the next seven minutes and, with any luck, Holly would arrive around the same time. He couldn’t wait to see the look on her face when she walked in the door!
He was organizing boxes when his phone dinged with an incoming text.
Anna: Hey! Are we still good for tomorrow?
It was a group text between the two of them and Kat.
Lucas: I cleared my schedule, but only for two hours. Hopefully, we can get everything worked out during that time.
Kat: I’m good for tomorrow too! And I have some ideas!
Anna: Well, don’t tell us now! Save it for the call!
Anna: Although now I’m wildly curious!
Lucas: I’m only semi-curious, but I’ve got a date and can’t talk about this now.
Kat: YOU HAVE A DATE???
Kat: WHO IS SHE??
Kat: IS IT SERIOUS??
Kat: OMG! I’M SO EXCITED!
Anna: Then why are you yelling at him in all caps? Lol!
Kat: I’m not yelling. I’m just excited.
Anna: It looks like yelling.
Lucas: Yeah, it felt like yelling too.
Kat: And? Are you going to answer any of my questions?
Lucas: Her name is Holly, we work together, and it’s all new. And that’s all I’m going to say.
Kat: Wait…Holly from the office? Do I know her? Have I met her?
Anna: She’s the cute and perky girl from payroll. Super enthusiastic every year about the party.
