Page 26 of Don't Clause a Scene

I laughed. “Fair enough.”

“Do you remember Alex MacDougall from high school? He’s our dungeon master and runs all the games. It’s all high school people, actually. Finn Hunnicutt, Jason Zervudachi, and Sam Thatcher. Bo even plays once in a while when his schedule allows.”

All those names were familiar, and I could place most of the faces. I had even been friendly with one or two of them back then. “It sounds like a great group. I’m jealous you have such a tight-knit squad.” My social life was barren in comparison. I had countless acquaintances but few people I could call true friends.

Mickey’s eyebrows pinched together. He looked like he was thinking through something, but as he opened his mouth to speak, the chime over the coffee shop entrance dinged.

“There’s Bo.”

Bowie stepped halfway inside while shaking his umbrella off outside.

“Pick the book talk back up later?” I asked.

Mickey’s charming smile sent a jolt of electricity through my veins. “Can’t wait.”

Bo exchanged a few quick words with Caspian and left cash on the counter, then strode over to us, taking the chair next to me. “How’s the menu coming along?”

Mickey pulled a piece of paper from his pocket, unfolded it, and handed it to Bo. “Good. We finished, assuming it’s not too many dishes for the volunteer kitchens to handle.”

He scanned the page. “I’m impressed. This looks good. Can you email me a copy?”

“Did it before I got here.”

“You’re the best.” Bo aimed a teasing smile at each of us. “And people thought you guys couldn’t work together.”

“We grew up in restaurants. Menu planning comes second nature,” I said.

Bo laughed. “I wasn’t too worried, but it’s a relief this is running smoothly.” He gestured between Mickey and me.

“Why?” Mickey took the question from my mouth.

Bo leaned close. “I know I said all I needed you guys to do was prepare the menu, but I need more help. Something exciting has happened that will be pulling a lot of my time.”

I’d half expected that to happen with everything Bo seemed to have going on. The impression I’d gotten was that he was drowning at work. The caterers in the area were probably all booked up with Christmas gigs, and the estimated attendance was more than Sparky’s and Red’s kitchens combined could handle. Even if the diners decided to close for Christmas Eve breakfast and lunch, it still wasn’t enough time and space to do all that cooking.

“Is it something you can share with us?” Mickey asked.

Bo’s demeanor was even more eager than at the last Holiday Hoopla meeting when he’d sprung this event on us. “I wasn’t planning to say anything since I didn’t expect it to happen. Never in a million years.” His voice was low despite no one sitting near us.

“Last month, I saw a social media post fromGood Morning, USA,where they said they were accepting submissions of the best Christmas celebrations around the country. They planned to visit some for their Christmas Day special.” Bo shook his head in disbelief. “They’re coming here!” he said loudly.

Caspian approached with Bo’s coffee in a to-go cup. “Who’s coming here?”

“Rumor has it Poppy is considering a return for the Maplewood Music Festival next year,” Mickey said easily.

“No way! That would be amazing! She was incredible. When I moved here, I didn’t expect we’d get such top-tier performers coming to town.” Caspian nodded his goodbye and moved to bus a table.

I hadn’t believed Sage when they’d told me that one of the world’s biggest pop stars was playing a music festival in Maplewood of all places. Poppy in my hometown. I still couldn’t believe it.

Mickey leaned in close. “You’re telling us that the biggest national morning show in the country iscoming here? For our festival?”

Bo’s nods grew more bobblehead-like with each word he spoke. “We’re still ironing out the details of what they want to cover and when, specifically, they’ll be in town. It could be any event in the two weeks leading up to Christmas. This is going to pull a lot of my attention to make sure we’re prepared for a national spotlight.” He smiled apologetically. “I’m going to need you guys to take over a bit more of the Christmas Eve Community Dinner planning. Is that okay?”

“Sure,” I said quickly. I hoped that meant more visits to Mickey’s house with great cheese and, if I got lucky, picking up where we left off on Halloween. I tried to push the desire away, but it was like stopping a freight train with an open hand.

“No problem,” Mickey said, words overlapping mine.

We smiled at each other, and my crush grew even bigger.

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