Page 18 of Holiday Hook Up

Adam waved it in the air. “Cousin Mary, if you can hear me, can I get some help? I’d like to nail this for once.”

“Who’s he talking to?” Zoe shot that curious question over to Emma.

“My grandmother’s childhood friend. Her ghost was trapped in the Majestic Theater for decades and liked to watch classic movies with Josh before she finally crossed over two months ago. She and Adam bonded before she went into the light.”

“Right,” Zoe deadpanned. “I probably don’t really need to know all the details.” She eased back onto the stool as Adam went to work adding the cake ingredients into the bowl. Within minutes, he had his creamy beige batter. Plunging his finger in, he scooped up a dollop and tasted it. “Man, the spell might fail, but these are going to be awesome cupcakes. You can name these after me, too, Emma, if you’d like,” he teased.

“Your own frozen yogurt and cupcakes . . . don’t let it all go to your head.” She gave him a supportive arm squeeze. “More than you already have. You remember the spell?”

“Sure do.” The words were burned into his memory from the moment Emma had shared it with him. They were a bit hokey, but who was he to critique a magic spell?

Okay, show time.He closed his eyes and plunged the blue wooden spoon into the batter, moving it in a slow motion.

Somewhere that she cannot see is the man that’s meant to be.

Send to me her perfect match.

Spell out his letters in this batch.

“What’s he doing?” He heard Zoe ask. “Why are his eyes closed?”

“He’s chanting the spell,” Emma replied. “He has to concentrate for it to work.”

Adam’s eyelids flew open, and he pulled the spoon out. He motioned for Zoe to look in. “The letters should appear immediately.”

Zoe peered into the bowl, but then turned away. “I can’t look. Just tell me.”

Typical woman.She wanted so desperately for him to do this and now didn’t want to see the outcome. He glanced into the bowl where the first blue letter appeared. “We’ve got an ‘M.’”

Zoe let out a breath and stood, throwing her arms around Emma. “Oh, thank you, lord up above! I’m not marrying Will.”

Emma shot Adam a sideways glance that he caught and delivered the same look back to her. “Um . . . Zoe, you might want to sit back down.”

“Why?” She took her seat. “It’s not Will. That’s all I care about. This is fabulous news.”

Adam set the spoon down and put both his now shaky hands on each side of the bowl. He’d done something extraordinary. He knew it. There was something different in the way the spell seemed to have flown through him into the batter.

“Okay . . . so here’s the scoop. Will’s always gone by his middle name, William. Not many people who didn’t grow up with him, like Em and I did, know that he was named after his late grandfather.”

The color drained from Zoe’s face. “And his name was?”

He tilted the bowl in her direction. “Marvin.”

“Oh, my God. Oh, my God.” Zoe started to hyperventilate, and Emma ran behind the counter, reaching for a water pitcher and pouring a glass.

“Will’s not so bad,” Emma started, handing Zoe the water. “Maybe his vanity phase is coming to an end. He is pretty handsome. All the women in this town think so.”

While Emma continued to offer emotional support, Adam stared into the bowl. Had he finally gotten the spell right? He’d hoped that when it finally happened his first bachelorette would be over the moon excited and not look like she was about to go into cardiac arrest.

He looked up and saw Bethany walk past the Sugar Spoon, paper coffee cup in hand and camera bag swung over her shoulder. He couldn’t wait to tell her what he’d done. He also was a little curious what she’d been up to last night because he hadn’t seen a trace of her after their conversation when he first arrived.

Not that it was any of his business who she hooked up with. He just wanted to know the name of the guy he’d have to share his neighbor with for the next two weeks. He’d gotten quite used to their hanging out after work.

He maneuvered over to the other side of the counter and grabbed his jacket. His work here was done, and since Tom hadn’t called, he could stop by and fill Bethany in on what had happened.

“I’ve got to stop into the Christmas Corner.” He reached over and playfully tugged Zoe’s ponytail. “Send me an invitation to your wedding,” he teased.

“There will not be a wedding, not with Will.” She lifted her chin. “Hey, can you ask Bethany to delete any snapshots she may have gotten of him and me? God knows I don’t want any physical proof getting around of what happened last night.”

---