Page 22 of Holly, Jolly, and Oh So Naughty

“I had a fantastic time tonight,” James says as we stand on the sidewalk with the bitter cold winter air weaving around us. I’m distantly aware of how cold it is but somehow, it doesn’t reach the forefront of my mind.

“Me too.” I smile warmly up at him. “We should be well on our way to fooling Margret.”

“Ahh, yes,” James chuckles. “Margret.”

He steps closer, and the world melts away. James has always been incredibly handsome, and now, with the restaurant's twinkling lights as a backdrop and snow dancing in the air, he looks positively mouthwatering.

Alcohol warms my veins, and I feel at peace after a good meal. My skin flushes hot the longer he stares at me without saying a word, then his lips part.

“Taxi for Thompson?” A voice to my left cuts through everything, and I’m quickly jerked back to reality.

“That’s me.” I smile at the driver who’s pulled up alongside us, then glance back at James. “This was nice. Thank you. Goodnight.”

“Goodnight, Lily.”

The soft way he says my name sticks with me as I slide into the taxi and begin the drive home. Seven years ago, if he’d said my name like that, I would have dragged him into the taxi with me, and his clothes would be on the floor by the time we got home.

I tell myself I have to be strong.

And yet, as I close my eyes and settle into the drive home, all I can think about is how badly I wanted to kiss him.

8

JAMES

Knowing I shouldn’t put any stock into how successful dinner was with Lily and actually preventing myself from doing so are two different things.

Ever since dinner, I’ve been unable to get her out of my head way more than normal. The image of her in that stunning red dress is on constant rotation in my mind, as is how good it felt to sit and talk with her again. Like always, she made me feel seen. Like I was the most important person in her entire world just for a few hours, and it was like no time at all had passed.

I kept bracing myself for her to ask why I had left and why I had gone back with my father, but the question never came. That was probably a good thing, as I think the night would have taken a different turn had our conversation gone that route.

Luckily, everything stayed fun and dare I say, romantic. My feelings for Lily are still as strong as ever, though I was unclear on exactly how she was feeling. Her smiles felt like little secrets that I needed to earn.

Our ‘date’ had gone down well at work too, since the very next day I turned up to work, Margret was all over the news. She kept telling me over and over again how wonderful Lily is and how I’d made an excellent choice. It also made her very understanding about fielding calls from my mother as, in her words, Lily is far too gentle to be subjected to an overbearing mother until she’s ready. People in this town really have a lot of respect for Lily, and it shows.

So, my job is no longer on the line, and I am no longer seen as someone bringing in trouble. Instead, Margret and Taylor are happy to help me dodge my overbearing mother, and after a quick Google search, Taylor was able to forward the call back to herself. That loop gave us a few days of peace as my mother tried to work out how she kept calling herself.

One thing I didn’t count on was how quickly the news would spread around town. When I was out shopping for groceries, people I had never seen before came up to talk to me like we were old friends, and they all had something in common.

They all praise me and congratulate me on dating Lily. She’s a sweetheart, a great catch, deserving of love and more. The more I go about my day, the more I learn just how loved she is in town. Deirdre from the bookstore stopped me in the butcher’s for twenty minutes to tell me all about Lily’s favorite books and how to surprise her with stories. Aaron from the convenience store told me all the details about her favorite snacks and how often she comes in for bottles of wine.

Heather at the pharmacy warned me that breaking Lily’s heart would get me castrated and chased out of town, while Frank from the candy store told me that Emma is the key to Lily’s heart.

Lily’s family is huge. Everyone in this town looks out for each other, and this is no different. While it’s overwhelming in some areas, it’s rather wholesome in others.

And it gives me a bottomless pit in my stomach when I consider the consequences of people learning that our date was fake. This spurred me to reach out to Lily, but that thought slips from my mind when I return to the inn one night and find none other than Emma at the front desk pressing the stamp against various ink-covered sheets of paper.

“Well, hi.” I smile at her as I approach the front desk. “Are you the new hire?”

“Yep!” Emma waves the stamp high in the air, then brings it down onto the paper. “Gotta make sure the stamps work.”

“Oh, of course.” I nod quickly. “Is your mom here?” I glance behind Emma and see David busy on the phone. If Emma is here, it’s not much of a leap to expect Lily to be around the corner, but Emma shakes her head and my heart sinks.

“Mommy’s working.”

“Oh, of course.”

“She’s got some big–some big project that she has to finish so I get to come here and make sure only good people get in!”

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