Page 22 of Flake It Til You Make It

He and Jem had worked together pretty closely over the summer with funding for the Holiday Hope Foundation, making sure there’d be enough money in the coffers for them to hire Mason and also for the foundation’s move to better facilities that could support them year-round.

“Yep,” Taylor said, nodding. “Hayden Bradley and I try to meet up every Saturday morning. Good to see you, too, Mrs. Knight.”

“You, too, Taylor, and I always have to tell you to call me Sophie,” she said, a small smile on her face. “Jem, you should join them.”

Jem flushed. “I don’t want to invite myself—”

“You’d be welcome to join,” Taylor said. “Just don’t expect too much. Neither of us are professional athletes. Not even close.”

“And neither am I anymore,” Jem said wryly.

Taylor shot him a look. “I’d still bet you’d run circles around us.”

“I’ll try not to,” Jem said, “but it’s not going to be a problem. I promise.”

“I love a serendipitous moment,” Sophie said.

“You here to see Murphy?” Taylor asked.

Jem grinned. “Per Tasha, if he makes a break for it, I’m supposed to drag him back to the festival by his ear.”

“Ouch,” Taylor said. He knew Murphy Clark was far, far more comfortable in his barn, carving his fanciful and whimsical gnomes, than selling them to an interested crowd.

“I told him I’d do it by the hair, instead,” Jem joked.

“Jeremiah!” Sophie said, smacking her son on his arm. “That’s my future son-in-law you’re talking about.”

Jem’s expression softened. “Yeah,” he said.

Taylor wanted to ask if this was a faraway future kind of expectation or a solid reality that would be happening soon, but before he could, Jem shot his mother a look and Sophie turned to Taylor, changing the subject. “And what’s this about you and the new coffee shop owner, Taylor?”

“Uh, well . . .” Taylor stammered.

He was going to have to practice his answer to this question. The whole freaking point of dating Rocco was for it to be public knowledge, but right now, he couldn’t even manage a simple question about him.

“Aw, you’re cute,” Sophie said, patting him on his arm. “You’ve got a real crush on him. I can tell. You look just like Jem did when he first came back to town last year. Walked around every day with his head in the clouds and hearts in his eyes.”

“Mom,” Jem said, flushing redder.

“Youdid,” she said with affection. “And it was just as adorable then as it is now, with Taylor here. It’s beautiful how much Christmas Falls loveslove.”

“That’s a lot of love,” Jem said. But he didn’t look like he hated it. In fact, he looked happier and more relaxed, comfortable in his own skin in a way he hadn’t been, when he’d first come back to Christmas Falls last year.

“Andyouloveit,” Sophie said, poking him in the arm. “Will we see you at the skating rink tonight, for the social?”

“Uh . . .sure,” Taylor said. Mona had said,get out and be present,remind everyone who you are, and that you love this town, even if you’re not from it, so he supposed that included wobbling around on the temporary rink set up in Sugar Plum Park and drinking lukewarm hot chocolate.

It would be better if Rocco was by his side, but he still had their date on Monday night to look forward to.

He wouldn’t be alone, then.

And maybe before that, he’d practice acknowledging his interest in public without stammering or flushing an even brighter red than Jem Knight when his mom teased him about his boyfriend.

“Well, see you then,” Jem said, patting him on the shoulder.

Taylor walked around for another few minutes. He bought a chai snickerdoodle candle that he hoped would make his house smell like heactuallybaked chai snickerdoodles and a cat ornament that reminded him of Meredith from the booths, and shook more hands. Greeted tourists and townspeople alike, until forty minutes later, purchases in hand, he headed home.

By Monday night, Taylor felt like the whole town not only knew about their date, but they’d gone out of their way to ask him about it.

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