Page 36 of Mistletoe Kisses

He dropped his head back against the bench. “Some highlights include tripping over a cord, taking out the electricity for half the town, knocking something over that caused a domino effect of knocking over other displays on stage, and throwing up when I tried to serenade a boyfriend. He dumped me immediately after.”

“Wow.”

“Yeah. Oh, and the one year I tried to get fancy with an electric guitar was a nightmare. The frayed cord attached to the ancient amp created a small fire. Before we could put it out, it caught on the sequined snowflake decorations. Not only was the smell atrocious, but some of the snowflakes melted into a pile and stuck to the stage. The city council had to hold a special budget meeting to figure out how to pay the damage fee for the ruined stage.”

I struggled to process it all. “That’s like a lifetime of mortifying moments over a few years.”

“Yup.”

“And all at that one event every year?”

Lucas nodded.

“I’m surprised you’re still so into the festival. I’d be too traumatized to dare to even look at an event poster.”

He laughed. “I keep my distance from the stage, but otherwise, it’s fine. I know performing again would be tempting fate, so I’ve avoided it for over a decade.”

“I don’t blame you. Too bad though, I’d love to hear you sing.”

His smile broadened. “We still have a couple of days. Maybe I can make that happen.”

Swoon!

“I suppose now we’re even on sharing secrets.”

Lucas tapped his cocoa against mine. “Cheers to secret swapping.”

“Cheers to that.”And cheers to meeting you.

I had a feeling that when I went home, I’d be leaving all my cheer in Dahlia Springs.

Chapter15

Arlo

“Are you ready?”Lucas squeezed my shoulders as we stood outside Ron and Karen’s lovely ranch-style home.

I nodded, shook my head, nodded again, and then did a weird circular head move. “As I’ll ever be.”

“Let’s use eggnog as a safe word again,” he said with conviction.

“But what if they serve eggnog?” I whispered.

Lucas gave me an indulgent smile that made my insides melt like marshmallows. “How about calculus? I think it’s a safe bet that we won’t be talking advanced math.”

“Unless one of them is a calculus teacher!” I covered my face with my hands.

His hands moved from my shoulders to my cheeks. “It’s going to be okay. You’re going to be okay. I’ll be right there by you.”

“Arlo? Lucas? Is that you?”

We turned at the open door and found Karen standing there.

“Oh! Sorry! Don’t mind me.” She beamed at us but didn’t close the door to give us privacy. Not that we were kissing or anything.

“It smells amazing. Is that lasagna?” Lucas smoothly went in for a hug with Karen while I collected myself. Had he done that on purpose? He seemed to instinctively understand what I needed, like no one but Keaton had before.

“Hi, Karen. Thank you for having us over.”

---