Close Enough for Christmas: A Short and Sweet Small Town Holiday Romance (Evergreen Mountain Book 1) by Brit Ashby

Author:Brit Ashby [Ashby, Brit]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Mulberry Creek
Published: 2023-12-02T00:00:00+00:00

Seven

Mariah

“Hey Ginger, I know it’s late and you’re about to close up, but…” I plop down in a chair by the window and she hands me two cookies and plunks a glass of milk in front of me. “Thanks.”

“How’s it going?” she says, her lips pursed as if she already knows the answer.

“I’ve been barely squeaking by, but thanks to Sully’s help I haven’t missed any deadlines.”

“So what’s got you so flustered?”

I exhale forcefully. “I just don’t get that guy.”

“What do you mean?”

“I feel like I’m getting mixed signals from him. Most of the time, he’s just this silent, grumpy lumberjack guy. But there are moments when it feels like there’s a spark sizzling between us. I think he may have feelings for me.”

“Do you want him to have feelings for you?” A smile spreads across her face.

“I have way too much on my plate right now,” I say, shaking my head. “I need to put all of my energy into finishing school and running this business. Honestly, it was hanging by a thread when I took over. This floral arrangement thing has to work or I’m screwed.”

“Do you want him to have feelings for you?” she asks again, waiting for my answer.

“I don’t know. Is it hot in here?” I brush my hair out of my face and pull my cardigan off. “He asked me to go to the Winter Wonderland with him. But then he made it sound like the only reason he asked me was because he thought I didn’t have any friends. And he’s bringing Addie. So it’s not like it’s a date.”

“Ok. Well, do you want to go to the Winter Wonderland with him?”

“Yeah, I think I do.”

“So don’t overthink it. Just go. What’s the worst that can happen?”

◆◆◆

Looking into my bathroom mirror, I must admit there’s been a vast improvement. It’s amazing what mascara, lip gloss and a blow dryer will do. The shadows under my eyes are decidedly less noticeable since I got a decent night’s sleep. Thanks to Sully’s quick work, I got a lot done last night after my chat with Ginger. But the butterflies in my stomach are fluttering around like crazy because I’m set to meet Sully and Addie in front of the store in five minutes. I pull my coat on and wrap my scarf around my neck.

A tap on the glass jolts me into almost dropping my bag and I see Addie’s sweet face smiling at me through the window. I wave and she waves back with excitement. Sully stands beside her in a dark green puffer jacket and he holds the door open for me as I step out into the crisp mountain air.

“I made us something,” I say, pulling two sparkly headbands out of my bag. I stick one on my head and plop the other on Addie’s head, bopping the antennae-like snowflakes so they bounce around.

“Glitter everywhere,” Sully says, shaking his head, but grinning.

“I’m an ice princess like Elsa,” Addie says, spinning around with her arms outstretched.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.