Blame It On the Secret Santa by Samantha Baca

Author:Samantha Baca
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Holiday romance, Steamy holiday
Publisher: Samantha Baca
Published: 2024-12-20T00:00:00+00:00

Nineteen

Cassidy

“Sorry I’m late, but I come bearing coffee,” Sam said as he walked into my parents' kitchen, which was covered in flour and baking utensils.

“If you don’t have a gingerbread latte, I’m going to—”

“Relax,” my brother replied with a chuckle. “I have your gingerbread latte, and mom’s peppermint mocha, and dad’s black coffee. Trust me, I know what everyone likes by now.”

“Well, some of us have been up baking since the butt crack of dawn and need an afternoon pick me up,” I said, narrowing my eyes as I accepted the drink he handed me. “Thank you.”

“Yeah, and some of us have been up since three this morning making lattes to keep the crazy town of Sugarplum Falls running,” he countered. “Some of us need the afternoon pick me up more than others.”

“Has it been that busy?” my dad asked, taking a sip of his coffee.

“Yeah. I don’t know why, but people are way more stressed about Christmas this year than usual. We’ve had lines out the door since we opened, and the drive-thru line has blocked traffic on Main Street. Piper is closing today, but I imagine she’ll stay open late to get through the line.”

“Wow. I didn’t know people were so stressed right now,” my mom said with a cinnamon stick poking out of her bun.

“Mom, you have cinnamon in your hair,” I commented, pointing to it.

She reached up and felt around until she found the cinnamon stick.

“Oh, my goodness. I thought that was a pen.” She looked around the messy kitchen that had cooling racks scattered about with stacks of cookies on them. “I wonder what I did with the pen.”

My dad leaned over the pot that was boiling on the stove, using the tongs to pull something out.

“Found it,” he said, holding up the dripping wet pen.

“Oh my God!” I burst into laughter, making everyone else laugh with the snort that came out with it. “Mom!”

“What? I’m sorry, but things have been busy, and I’ve been distracted. It’s not my fault. This is why I said we should have just gotten everything from Sugarplum Sweets and saved everyone the trouble this year.”

“Yeah, but I like our family tradition,” I said softly.

Sure, the day was long, and my feet would be killing me by the time I sat down, but I wouldn’t trade this for anything in the world. Baking as a family were some of my fondest memories growing up, and spending time in my grandparent’s kitchen as we learned from them.

“Mine too,” Sam replied, hanging his coat on the back of a chair. “Even if I’m always late and miss most of it. I still enjoy being here and doing this as a family.”

“Well, I don’t know about you guys, but once I finish this latte, I’m bringing out the real afternoon pick me up,” my mom said, nearly downing her latte in one big gulp.

Sam and I exchanged a look with each other before staring at our mom in disbelief.

She set her empty cup down and then went to the fridge.

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