Page 8 of A Holly Jolly Mix Up (Sweet Christmas Kisses #12)

Jane

“I’m surprised with how fast the paperwork was done for the bookstore,” I tell my mom as I sit on her porch sipping on a cup of hot cocoa. “I thought it would take quite a bit longer to finalize.”

“Oh, you know Regina. When she puts her mind to something, there’s no one and nothing that can stop her,” my mother begins.

“Plus, she wanted Timeless Tales to stay here. If she sold to that big name company, they would have torn down everything she built. I’m grateful you were able to purchase it and come home. ”

“Me too, Mom.”

“How did your boss take the news?” she asks, with a hint of concern.

“Well, he wasn’t thrilled about losing me, but he was understanding and excited for me. I’ve been the most flexible writer for years. I don’t have my own family or littles at home to worry about so I took on stories that others couldn’t.”

I shake my head as Andrew appears again, not for the first time since I’ve been home.

He’s like an infection spreading through my heart and mind.

Three days. It had been three days out of my entire lifetime of thirty years, and somehow, the man mesmerized me completely.

I’m so smitten over someone I most likely will never see again.

I haven’t told anyone about what happened over the weekend. I’m not lying, just not revealing certain information, and it needs to stay that way. People would think I am crazy for falling for a man so quickly especially after I called off my wedding. I think I’m certifiably insane.

“Well, I, for one, am grateful to have you here with us. I can’t even begin to tell you how much this means to me. We’ll be able to spend the holidays together—from preparation to Christmas morning to the new year,” she gushes as she reaches across the table to squeeze my hand in her own.

Tomorrow is the grand rebranding celebration.

While I want to keep the rustic charm of Timeless Tales, there are a few things I want to spruce up prior to opening under my ownership.

We’ve been working tirelessly the past few days to get everything in order.

Mom and Dad have been helping, Nonna has, of course, offered her opinion on everything, and various townspeople have stopped by to offer their congratulations and their help.

That’s one of the many blessings about living here in Oakridge Hollow, the people are sweet, generous of their time, and all around good people.

As we sit and soak up the beautiful day, I still can’t wrap my head around the fact that I’m a small business owner here in my hometown.

It’s a dream come true. And if I could meet the man of my dreams and get swept off my feet, literally or figuratively, I’d be an even more happy Jane.

A noise overhead pulls me out of my thoughts. “What are you doing?” I ask as I see my father moving on the roof.

“I wanted to get a head start on the lights,” he mutters. “We’re going to win the neighborhood contest this year. I’m not letting Davison across the way get his teeth into the voting committee before me.”

“Harry, dear, maybe you can wait until we can get you someone to help. What about those teenagers last year? They worked out well, right? I can give those same boys a call,” my mother calls out as I bite down hard on my lip.

“You can do whatever you like, but I’m not waiting,” he grumbles as he steps around on the roof.

“Does he not remember that he has—” I raise my voice loud enough for him to hear me “—knee problems?”

I hear him scoff.

“You know he and Davison have a long-standing feud over decorations in the neighborhood. It’s been going on since, well, forever.

But it feels like the older they get, the pettier they are.

You just wait until the trash talking over coffee every morning starts,” my mother sighs good naturedly.

“Sometimes I wish that storage shed with all the decorations would just catch fire. This time of year would be so much more peaceful.”

I spit out some of my cocoa. Dad has always been competitive, in every way possible.

He loves Christmas and makes toys through his custom woodworking shop so I’m not surprised by his behavior.

Davison, on the other hand, is an attorney with a very serious demeanor.

I always thought he was the mean neighbor.

But put a string of lights in logical male hands and they turn back into teenage boys. They always have to one-up each other.

“You know if the shed did somehow catch fire, he would just upgrade everything.”

“You’re probably right,” she laughs. “I do find it endearing how much he loves this holiday. Just don’t tell him I said that. I have never had to do anything for Christmas but cook, which is my love language, so I don’t mind. He always takes care of the rest even though it’s his busiest season. ”

“And I love to eat, so it works out great for me,” I tell her with a smile as I let loose a deep sigh.

“You know, when I was a kid and had all these big dreams of life out there in the world, I never thought I would be this happy moving back home running a small bookshop. I did everything I thought would make me happy, traveling for work and almost marrying Daniel, and I do have some wonderful memories from both. But I’m grateful to slow down, focus on time with family, and build a new little community here at the bookstore.

It feels like a big weight has been lifted off my shoulders. ”

“Don’t get too comfortable,” Nonna says as she pops her head out the front door. “I intend to find you a date for Christmas.” She sits down in the chair next to me.

“Nonna, absolutely not.”

“Oh, honey, it’s time to get back out there. You aren’t getting any younger, you know.”

“Mom?” I whisper, pleading for her help to talk some sense into Nonna.

“I don’t disagree with her,” she says, shrugging.

“Mother!”

Nonna takes my hand. “Janie, dear, you aren’t heartbroken over Daniel. You two just weren’t meant to be, and that’s okay. ”

My mind returns to Andrew. I felt more in thirty-six hours with him than I did in two years with Daniel. We’ll probably never cross paths again, but the thought of him dating any woman sours my stomach.

“Is there someone you have on your mind?” Nonna looks at me with raised eyebrows.

I scrunch mine together. She has an intuition about these things. It’s annoying. “Not a someone but a something. I have a new business to run, and with the holidays, my time will be limited.”

“Ja—”

I cut off my mom before she can counter. “If Mr. Wonderful walks into the bookstore, I promise I’ll get his number. But other than that, can we postpone any matchmaking until after the new year?”

Nonna squints her eyes at me. This conversation most definitely is not over. I glance at Mom, whose eyebrows are raised like she knows Nonna has more to say too. I take a deep breath.

“Alright,” Nonna says, matter-of-factly.

My head whips to her in surprise. “Alright?”

“Yes, alright.”

I better keep an eye on her. She’s acting suspicious. There’s no way she could know something happened this weekend, right ?

I shake my head, dislodging the thought. No one knows, not even Andrew. I didn’t give him my real name, or tell him where I lived. We were two strangers enjoying each other’s company, two ships passing in the night.

“Just keep an open mind. Your father and I met at a gas station. He was pumping gas on the other side of me. The perfect man could come to you in the strangest way possible,” Mom says with a hopeful look.

Yeah, like he could’ve double-booked the same rental for a holiday.

Now, that would have been the best romance story ever.

But our story ended the minute I pulled out of the driveway.

Still, a small part of me wishes that he had walked away with more than my fake name and the memory of that weekend.

Why couldn’t I just write a note with my phone number? I’m a total chicken.

I wonder what he’s doing now. He’s probably back at work, solving crimes. Telling people of the crazy journalist he got stuck with over the weekend, or not saying anything at all because it was just a small blip in his life.