Page 42 of A Very Titan Christmas
Bryce glanced at Rachel and shrugged. “Sure, sounds good.”
Mayor Fowler walked ahead of them to the little town hall building. Bryce held Rachel’s hand as they navigated the icy brick sidewalk. The sun was dipping, and the afternoon shadows were drawing long.
“Just in here.” The mayor opened a tall, white door with long windows and an old brass doorknob. “I have all the supplies in the break room for just this occasion. This is what we do. Sit, sit.” He gestured for them to sit at the old, oversized wooden table. “Rachel, you should do this, too, since you missed our decorating party.”
Bryce pulled out her chair before taking his own.
“Town tradition says this.” He handed Bryce a slip of paper. “Jot down something you’re thankful for during the holidays,and then pop the note into the ornament.” He pointed to the boxes of metallic ornaments in dozens of colors. “Close it up and grab one of those little hanger jobber-dobbers, and when you hang the ornament on the tree, make a holiday wish. That simple.”
Mayor Fowler handed Rachel a slip of paper. She’d never before overthought what she would write. Suddenly, it felt weirdly personal, as if she should hide her paper like it was a secret ballot. She considered writing about her holiday cover story and the cute agendas Eloise had come up with, but that wasn’t what made her happiest over the holidays.
Bryce scribbled his note and turned it over before walking to the boxes of ornaments.
So it was like a secret ballot. She wrote out her message and turned over the paper as well. Bryce chose a bright blue ornament. She chose a bright green one. They returned to the table as the mayor’s cell phone sang out “Jingle Bells.”
“This town is just jingling with joy,” Bryce muttered under his breath, but when he looked over at her, he smiled. “You show me yours; I’ll show you mine.”
Rachel slapped her hands over her note.
“Wimp.” He turned his over and slid it in front of her.
I’m grateful a certain someone asked me to tell a lie.
Rachel’s belly flipped. “That’s really sweet.”
Carefully, she removed her hand guarding the note and flipped it over.
I’m thankful for playing pretend.
“Very cute, Rach.” He rolled his paper and slipped it into the ornament, refastening its cap.
Blushing, she folded hers and did the same. “Thanks for doing all this for me. I know it’s ridiculous.”
They stepped out of the town hall building. Night had fallen, and the Christmas tree lights glowed. The lamplights illuminated the foot traffic over the brick sidewalks. The moon hung bright and full overhead. The temperature had dropped, so she tugged her mittens on while walking to the Christmas tree.
The tree really was beautiful. The mayor had reminded her that it was covered with ornaments that included hundreds of private notes of gratitude. Rachel’s heart swelled.
“Where should we hang our ornaments?” Bryce asked.
The lower branches were already covered, though there were several ornaments high on the tree. On decorating day, the town had provided cherry pickers and ladders to enable those present to place their ornaments exactly where they wanted.
“Over there.” She pointed to a sturdy branch and hung hers.
Bryce placed his blue ornament next to her green one. “That looks good.”
Rachel backed up to get a better look at the tree. Bryce stood behind her. She leaned back. Her head rested against his chest, and his hands settled on her waist. She closed her eyes and breathed deeply as Christmas magic rolled over her.
“I like the tree topper,” he said.
She raised her eyes to the large star that glowed white and gold. Everything about the tree lights and the gratitude-filled ornaments made her heart squeeze.
Bryce rested his chin on top of her head. Her eyes pulled shut again. This was too familiar. Too lovely. Too sweet and too affectionate. The quick pace of her pulse and the heavy crush in her chest combined to make it all too much to take. She loved being here with Bryce far more than she should have, considering their relationship wasn’t real.
“I was wrong,” he said.
She didn’t move and didn’t want him to either. But Rachel would rather he not know that. “I bet that list is long. Could you narrow it down for me?”
His chest rumbled with laughter. “About seen one, seen them all.”
