Page 61 of The Mistletoe Makeover

Cora continues as she cuts her pizza. “The paper lists an hour-by-hour schedule of events for kids and adults, along with local musicians and vendors.”

I skim the list, and my eyes stop on one event. “You’re reviving the mistletoe contest?”

“With a modern twist,” Cora says. “Mia mentioned dropping the contest and creating a mistletoe picture booth. The committee thought it was a fabulous idea. People can take their own selfies under the mistletoe.”

“Did she mention her other idea?” I ask. “About the fundraiser auction?”

I glance over at Mia, who’s staring at her plate, avoiding my gaze. Ever since it came up, I’ve been thinking about how perfect it would be for raising money.

Cora tilts her head. “No, she didn’t.”

“You should hold a fundraiser auction, but with a twist, like a dating auction. Get a few recognizable people from Maplewood and auction off a date with them to the concert.”

“Where in the world would we get tickets?” Mia says. “The concert is sold out.”

“I could pull a few strings. They always save me a few tickets to give away. And I’d be willing to donate them to this fundraiser.”

“I love this idea!” Cora says. “Everyone’s trying to find tickets for your concert.”

Mia frowns. “No one would willingly volunteer to be auctioned off on a date, even if it was to his concert.”

Cora puts down her fork and looks at her daughter. “I know a few people on the committee who would be delighted to, because they couldn’t get tickets. And it doesn’t have to be a date. Just a fun night out at Jace’s concert.”

“Exactly,” I say, glancing over at Mia. “It’s supposed to be fun.”

“I think Mia should do it,” Brax says.

Mia shoots her brother a dirty look. “Nice try, but no.”

I put my fork down. “Right now, you don’t have a ticket to my concert.”

Mia cuts her pizza with her fork. “Yeah, well, I don’t need a ticket, because I’ll be backstage helping you.”

“You can’t see from backstage. And once the concert begins, I won’t need your help.”

“Why, that’s perfect!” Cora says. “Mia could use a date.”

“Mom!” Mia exclaims.

Brax and Vale stifle laughs.

Mia frowns, shooting me a look that saysI’m going to kill you later.

Cora doesn’t notice the look exchanged between us. “This would be perfect for raising funds for next year’s festival.”

Mia shakes her head. “I think we should do something else, like sell caramel apples.”

Cora raises her eyebrows. “Do you know how many caramel apples we’d have to sell to make enough money? Thousands. But one Jace Knight ticket will probably raise hundreds of dollarseach.”

Mia looks from her mom to me. “Seriously?”

“I usually get front-row tickets,” I explain. “I don’t know how much they’ll sell for, but it would definitely raise the money quickly. And it would help you reach your personal goal too.”

“What goal is that?” Cora asks.

“To have more fun. Mia works too much, and this would be the perfect reward for a job well done.”

My personal motives are pushing a hidden agenda now. I want to see Mia in the front row. Having a familiar face there would calm my nerves when I debut my new song. But there’s something else that I can’t admit yet—I don’t want to dance with anyone else but her.

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