Page 75 of Christmas in Paradise

And her hug may be the one I’m enjoying most.

Especially because there’s another set of arms wrapped around me now that definitely belong to Bear, and I am probably going to die in this group python hug.

“Me too, Charly,” I gasp. “Me too.”

“Alright, enough of this nonsense!” Grandpa’s voice rumbles through the entire restaurant, breaking us apart.

Except for Charly. She’s still got my knees.

I hazard a glance at Grandpa. His cheeks are red, and his jaw is clamped shut. I’m about to explain that the baking is just a hobby and won’t get in the way of running Sparks Electric when he steps so close there’s less than a foot between us.

And there are tears in his eyes.

He claps his hand on my shoulder and squeezes. “It’s good cake, Sebastian. Just like my little girl used to make.”

He lets go too soon and turns slowly to Heidi, who has cake on her hands and face. “Come on, honey. Let’s get you cleaned up.”

I watch him lead Aunt Heidi to the kitchen, with my grandma following. I’ve never seen him gentle or tender, but he’s both right now. And I wonder if that’s how he was as a father.

Charly loosens her grip on my knees, and Hope takes her by the hand to pull her away. I can move again, but I don’t want to. I want Charly hugging me again and Hope right there with her.

If it’s possible for Grandpa to love someone the way he does Heidi, then maybe there’s hope for me.

Chapter 24

Hope

For everyone else, the day after Thanksgiving may be for shopping and eating leftovers, but for Carson and me, it’s t-minus-seven days until both the Twenty-Four Days of Yulefest kickoff and the Thomsen twins televised double wedding.

Which is to say, we are stretched to the limit. The only thing we’re shopping for is last-minute supplies for the wedding, craft paper for theJulehjerterdemonstration, and battery-lit candles for the candlelight tour of downtown. Evie and Georgia keep thinking of more things to add to the decorations, and we’ve had more people RSVP to attend Yulefest events in person than we anticipated.

These are all good things—I mean, except the designer brides making more last-minute adjustments—but it does mean Carson and I are in for an even busier week than we’d planned.

He’s at his desk, muttering under his breath, while putting together the seating chart. “Divorced parents are the hardest. Where am I supposed to put Evie’s mom?”

“As close to Evie as possible,” I answer. “Closer to her than her dad.”

Even though Glen—Evie’s dad—is my stepdad, I have a better relationship with him than Evie does, although they’ve been working on theirs for the past few months.

“Where am I supposed to put this guy, Ralph, who wants to sell reindeer jerky at the Yulefest Market?” I let out a loud sigh. “Obviously not close to Santa and his real reindeer.”

“Definitely not.” Carson answers, then thinks for a minute. “Nick Johnson—who’s playing Santa Claus—told me his grandson is supposed to man the Nick’s Edible Delights booth, but he can’t make it. If you’ll work on this seating chart for a minute, I’ll give Ralph a call to see if he’ll take care of Nick’s booth if he can sell his jerky there.”

“Sounds good… Wait,” I say. “Should we be more worried about what kind of edibles Nick is selling at his booth?” An edibles-selling Santa? Paradise is full of surprises. “Can you ask Ralph to say it’s something besides reindeer too?”

Carson shakes his head. “An unfortunate name for a gourmet food shop that sells the best cheese and bread in a five-hundred-mile range.”

I breathe a sigh of relief. “And Ralph? Is he setting himself up for disaster selling reindeer jerky?”

“I’ll see what I can do about possibly rebranding his product,” Carson answers with a smile.

I click over to the wedding files on my computer and navigate to the seating chart while Carson calls Nick and tells him his idea.

When I’m done with the seating chart, I check in with Gia. The preschool is closed today, but she offered to take Charly all day.

“She’s dancing with Sebastian right now,” Gia tells me when I ask to say hi to Charly. “I’ll get her if you want, but they’re having so much fun. She’s learning all the seven jumps.”

“No, that’s okay. Let her keep doing what she’s doing.” I try, and fail, to hide the surprise in my voice.

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