Page 11 of Fa-La-La-La Faking It
“I have this space reserved, starting today and ending the day after Christmas.” Her gaze flitted over his head in the direction of the gazebo. “Comfort Paws is holding a big fundraiser here. It’s what’s going to pay for our entire training program next year.”
“I don’t think so.” Jace never would’ve arranged to haul everything that was left of this year’s harvest all the way to Bluebonnet without all the logistics figured out ahead of time. He reached into the pocket of his flannel shirt for his copy of the contract. “I have a fully executed agreement from the mayor. I paid a pretty penny to lease the town square for the duration of the holiday season.”
“Adaline, that looks like an official document,” one of the dog ladies—the one with the golden retriever—said, placing special emphasis on the wordofficial.
At least someone was seeing reason around here.
“Nice dog,” Jace said as the retriever nudged his hand with her big gold head. He gave her a scratch behind the ears, as the two smaller dogs scurried toward him to sit politely at his feet and wait their turn.
“Thank you.” The golden’s handler smiled.
Hurt flashed in Adaline’s blue eyes. “You don’t need to be nice to him, Maple. He’s stealing the town square right out from under us.”
“If you call reserving the space, signing a contract and paying for the entire lease in advance with a cashier’s check stealing, then yes.” Jace placed a hand over his heart. “Guilty as charged.”
“I can’t believe this. You’reimpossible. You were impossible in fifth grade, and you’restillimpossible. This is not over!” Adaline spun on her heel and marched back toward Cherry on Top with her apron strings trailing furiously behind her.
Another of the dog ladies blinked. “I don’t get it. What just happened? And why is she talking about fifth grade?”
“I’ll explain later,” Maple said under her breath.
“You sure you don’t want a Christmas tree?” Jace called after Adaline, because he couldn’t quite resist. He’d never had this effect on a woman before, and as baffling as it was, it was also intriguing. And maybe even a little bit fun. “The offer still stands.”
She shot him a glare over her shoulder before proceeding to walk straight into a row of Fraser firs.
“Let me know if you change your mind. You know where to find me.” Jace felt himself smile. “Right here until December 26.”
Chapter Four
Adaline channeled every last ounce of her frustration into baking, and by noon, she’d made enough pie to feed half of Texas. Too bad she didn’t have someplace to unload all the extra inventory. Like abake sale, for instance.
Since she was now swimming in pie, she shot off a group text to the Comfort Paws girls inviting them over for an after-hours meeting about the Christmas fundraiser—which, for all practical purposes, was nonexistent. Maple, Jenna and Belle turned up just as Adaline was flipping the sign on the French doors from Open to Closed.
Within minutes, she was feeling better about things. She could figure this out. Shehadto figure this out. In the meantime, her little bakery on the square was filled with the warm, comforting scents of flaky pie crust and buttery cinnamon. Her three best friends in the world were there, supporting her, even after the mess she’d made of her grand plans. Lady Bird was splayed on the tile floor, patiently allowing Peaches and Fuzzy to climb all over her while Ginger sat beneath the bakery counter in hopes of catching a stray crumb. All in all, there were certainly worse ways to spend a Friday night.
The only thing lacking was the view.
“I can’t believe he’s still out there hauling trees around.” Maple attempted to spear her fork at a slice of peach pie and missed. Hardly a surprise since her gaze was glued to the front windows and the scene beyond.
The Christmas tree lot looked like something out of a Hallmark movie. Between rolling out crusts and swirling buttercream on top of cupcakes, Adaline had watched Jace meticulously string twinkle lights from each corner of the gazebo to the antique light posts flanking the square. The trees stood in majestic rows, from short to tall. He’d even hung a hand-painted sign that read Texas Tidings Christmas Tree Farm. All he needed out there was a dusting of snow, and Lacey Chabert would probably appear out of nowhere with a camera crew.
The wholesomeness of it made it hard for Adaline to look away. That was the only rational explanation for the fact that she’d been stealing glances at Jace and his dreamy winter wonderland every chance she got. Her preoccupation with the Christmas tree lot had nothing whatsoever to do with the way his strong shoulders strained the seams of his flannel shirt every time he hauled an armful of timber across the square.
Belle managed to drag her gaze away from the man in question as he tied a tree to the roof of someone’s car. She aimed a fascinated glance at Adaline. “He’s really been out there all this time? He must be exhausted.”
“Maybe you should offer him some pie. He could probably use it, and it looks like you have plenty to spare.” Jenna cast an amused glance at the stacks of pink Cherry on Top pie boxes behind the counter.
“You can’t be serious,” said Adaline, agog. “He stole our spot.”
Jenna’s eyes narrowed. “Did he really, though?”
“I agree. It seems more like a misunderstanding than outright theft,” Belle said.
Technically, her friends were correct. But Adaline was having a difficult time seeing the situation through an objective lens. On the contrary, her lens had never been more biased.
“What did the mayor’s office say when you reached out to them?” Maple offered Adaline a sympathetic smile. She was the only one who knew the full story of Adaline’s history with Jace. Adaline had simply told the others that she and Jace had known each other in grade school.
Not that she was trying to hide anything. She was simply trying to keep the full extent of her fifth-grade drama in the past where it belonged, especially now that the source of that drama had moved back to Bluebonnet and set up camp directly outside her door.
