Page 1 of A Cuddly Christmas
Chapter One
TILLY
“Come on, Tilly,” Molly says and shakes her head at me. “You’re from Cheerful. Smile.”
“I am!” I swipe one of my unruly curls out of my face with frustration. I don’t wear my hair down often because it gets in my way, but Molly said I had to for this.
“Try with teeth,” she encourages, and I do what she says. When Molly’s face scrunches, I know it’s bad. “I’m not photogenic. This was a terrible idea.”
“This was your idea.”
“Hey! You don’t have to call me out,” I say as I lick my lips. “What is this lipstick? It tastes like sugar cookies.” It’s making me hungry, but then again, I’m always hungry.
“It’s just lip gloss.”
“Dang, I might start wearing it then.” Molly put a little makeup on me when she pulled down my hair to take this picture.
“What did Frosty’s girlfriend give him when she was mad at him?”
Ope, here we go. I think it over for a second. “A blowtorch?”
“No,” Molly giggles. “The cold shoulder.”
I can’t contain my laugh, not because the joke is that funny but because this is Molly. She’s got Christmas dad jokes for days. It’s one of her many quirks. To love her is to love them. Plus, I’m legally bound to. It comes with being her best friend ever since we made that pinky promise in kindergarten to gang up on one of the boys who was picking on us.
“Got it!” Molly bounces on her heels excitedly. “I needed to get you into a real laugh.” She turns her phone around to show me the picture, and it’s not bad.
“Can we Photoshop my freckles out?”
“No! They’re adorable.”
“Isn’t the goal to be sexy?” I thought that’s what dating apps are for, but what do I know? I flip one of my curls out of my face.
“You’re sexy,” Molly says with so much enthusiasm that I want to believe her.
“You think? Is it the overalls?” I joke, pulling on the straps.
“Those are your work overalls,” she says, and I lift my eyebrow at her. “And sometimes when we go out for lunch or shopping. Or for when we go to the movies.”
They’re very functional for working in a hardware store, but they’re also really comfortable. When she finishes editing my dating profile, I notice she crops the picture so my overalls aren’t in it.
“Maybe I should go to the lake so you can take a picture of me catching a fish and posing with it?” I notice a lot of men doing that. I don’t get it, but if you can’t beat them, join them. Although I could probably beat them too because I always catch big fish.
“The lake is frozen solid.”
“I’ll bring a pickax.” I motion to one of the aisles in the hardware store Jingle Bells and Nails. “I can get through the ice.”
“I think you could get through anything,” she says, but I’m not sure I agree fully with that. A chainsaw can get you through most things.
Currently, I'm attempting to overcome my infatuation with the new hot-ass veterinarian in town. The one whose office is straight across from the hardware store.
Hot isn't even the right word for him. That man belongs on the cover of GQ. He successfully combines rugged masculinity with striking handsomeness. I can't even get started on his hair. It’s usually falling into his eyes when he's working with adorable animals. Then he runs his hand through it, causing all the girls in town to swoon. Like literally swoon. I thought that was only a turn of phrase until I saw it in live action.
I will not be one of them. I’ve made sure of that by annoying the shit out of him whenever we cross paths. The thing is, he was supposed to give it back to me, but he’s always so nice.
Doctor Paxton Rudolph has heartbreak written all over him. There isn't a girl in this town he couldn't have, except maybe Molly. In true best friend girl code, she obviously hates him too.
“We are all set, and you’re live!”
