Page 19 of Holiday Hitch

Daryl was certain it was Robin’s insistence that kept Zoey attending despite their busy schedules.

Looking at Zoey, Daryl could hardly recall the disapproval she’d felt when Zoey first started hanging around Robin again. She barely knew the girl, but she knew how badly she’d hurt Robin when she left town.

Now here they were two years later, getting ready to start their family.

It had taken them a lot of hard work to get to that point, to be ready to commit to a life together, but the struggle seemed well worth it. Zoey had let go of her life in teh city and Robin made space for her in that big, old house. Daryl couldn’t stop her mind from wandering to Leah’s sweet face. She knew that to build something as strong as her friends had, Daryl would have to be willing to sacrifice something.

But she shook the feeling as Lynn rambled on about the book, about the lumberjack and the billionaire fighting over the main character. Daryl hated to admit that Zoey and Robin had anything to teach her, especially about love.

After the discussion was finished, Lynn clapped her hands together and said, “Okay! Time for Secret Santa. Did everyone bring their gifts?” Daryl raised an eyebrow at Lynn’s excitement, forgetting for a moment how much Lynn loved the holiday season.

Everyone in the group nodded as they pulled wrapped gifts from their bags,

In typical Daryl fashion, she hadn’t bothered to wrap her gift because it wasn’t something material.

The group began passing out their presents one at a time going around the circle.

Zoey had gotten Lynn a special, imported Belgian chocolate that she had once had as a kid. Daryl had heard her talk about the delicacy countless times.

“Oh my god! I can’t believe you managed to find this. I’ve been looking for it for years!” Lynn exclaimed as she smiled at Zoey from across the circle.

Zoey blushed, happy to see her gift well received, and replied, “Well lucky for you, I have connections all over the world. And apparently, I know quite a few chocolate experts.” The group gave a soft chuckle.

When it came Daryl's turn to present her gift, she cleared her throat and began, “Mine isn’t quite material… yet.”

She turned her attention to Zoey and began, “I’m going to custom design a living sculpture for the Oak Lane house. I’d have made it already, but I want you to have full creative direction over the project so we can make something perfect for you and your hopefully growing family.”

Zoey gasped “After all these years, you’re finally gonna do something for free for me? What a treat!” She laughed and wiped at fake tears as she teased her friend, “How did you know free labor was my favorite present?”

Daryl shrugged as she winked at Zoey.

Zoey continued, “But no, seriously, thank you. It’s a gift only Daryl Price can give.”

Daryl quipped, “Yeah, I know. Don’t get too sappy, though, it’s just so that whatever kids you have can grow up around some actually good art.”

Daryl would never admit it, but she loved knowing Robin and Zoey’s kids would have a piece of Daryl around every day. She’d worried about it coming across as a half-baked idea, but Robin had promised Zoey would love it.

After everyone finished presenting their gifts, Cleo came around to kick them out, but not before the group presented one last present for their gracious host.

“Oh, you shouldn’t have,” Cleo joked as they wiggled their eyebrows and held out their hands. Though having so many book nerds in the store certainly wasn’t bad for business, the club knew that they monopolized the small store when they met, so it only felt right to make sure Cleo knew how much they appreciated it.

Passing the gift to Cleo, Lynn gave them a hug before impatiently prodding, “Well go on, see what it is.”

Cleo began to untie the delicate silk ribbon and carefully pulled off the beautiful craft paper, careful to keep the wrapping intact. Underneath was a simple cardboard box that raised Cleo’s eyebrow. It was clear they had no idea what this group of weirdos could have gotten them.

Daryl handed them a pair of scissors to cut the tape along the edge of the box.

“Oh, cool!” Cleo gasped as their mouth dropped open in surprise. Out of the box they pulled a specialty copy of Alice in Wonderland, handling the book as if it was a priceless artifact.

“It’s a first edition. We thought you could add to your collection behind the counter. Merry Christmas, and thank you for letting us invade your store once a month,” Zoey said.

“Thank you so much, it’s beautiful. I’m speechless!” Cleo went around the circle and gave each of them a hug as they made their way out of the store.

Pleased that the gift-giving had all gone so well, Zoey hooked her arm on Daryl’s as they approached the exit. A night where she wasn’t working was rare nowadays, so she might as well take advantage of the walk to the cars to catch up with her friend. “So, how are things with Leah?”

Daryl rolled her eyes and groaned, “What’s that got to do with you?”

Zoey shrugged, “A certain somebody told me that you might not be appearing for the Vargas family Christmas.”

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