Page 43 of Blame It On The Carols

I began singing, closing my eyes as I allowed the music and words to consume me. Singing was what always calmed me, and being the center of attention was something I was used to. But nothing could stop that rush of adrenaline I felt every time I heard the people of Sugarplum Falls cheer for me.

By the time the parade was over, I was shivering and in desperate need of something warm to drink. I rushed into the mall as my mom stayed behind to talk with the ladies. Apparently, they were helping out with the rest of Frosty Fest and needed to check in with Jasmin to see where she wanted them.

I made my way through the mall, grinning ear to ear as I took in the massive displays in front of me. There were booths lined up as far as I could see with vendors I hadn’t heard of before. In the middle of everything was the same stage we had performed on yesterday that was now transformed into the North Pole. Elves were rushing around setting up the last few details before Santa and Mrs. Claus came out to take pictures with the kids.

“Where are you headed?” Aiden asked, coming up beside me and startling me.

“You scared the shit out of me,” I said with a laugh, holding my hand over the fuzzy ornament on my sweater.

“Sorry. I thought you heard me calling your name.”

“Nope. I was lost in thought, taking this all in while searching for coffee.”

“Sam has a booth set up in the food court if you want a latte.”

“Seriously? That’s pretty awesome.”

“Yeah, he does killer business during Frosty Fest. His assistant manager runs the shop while he runs things here. They hire extra help a few months before because it gets that busy.”

“Wow. He’s doing amazing things for himself.” I looked around at the lines forming around the booths and shook my head. “You all are. I cannot believe this. It’s insane how many people are here.”

“Frosty Fest is a huge deal. Everyone in town shows up for it. We also make sure to help out those who are working it so they have time to go enjoy it as well. There’s a lot of community support here, but a lot of the traffic today is people coming from out of town. We’ve grown so much in the past five years, but I worry that we’re already to the point that we’re going to outgrow the space again. Jasmin does a great job managing everything and redirecting traffic so all of the vendors stay busy, but it’s getting to the point where she’s going to have to look for a new venue to accommodate everyone.”

“I can imagine. I don’t think I’ve seen this many people in a mall before.”

“Why don’t we get you some coffee, and then we can look around?”

“I’d like that. Thank you.” I locked my arm in his and allowed him to lead the way as I soaked up the feeling of contentment that was radiating through me.

Twenty-Seven

Aiden

Shopping with Makaylaat Frosty Fest was fun, but I couldn’t stop worrying about the possibility of Kevin making a move today. Without knowing what he looked like and so many people visiting from out of town, he could easily get close to her.

Tony and Patrick did their best to blend in as they followed right behind us, but everyone in town knew they were there for Mak. I knew there were at least twenty other security guys dispersed throughout the mall, but I didn’t know who they were or what they looked like. We were supposed to just carry on as if there was nothing to worry about, which was incredibly hard to do.

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