Page 28 of A Very Merry Enemy
“Can’t. My arthritis is acting up. Can’t roll dough like I used to.”
I grab a cookie and bite into it. It’s still warm. “What about Jake and Claire?”
“They’re too busy with wedding planning.”
“Bella and Wendy?”
“Please, you know those girls can’t cook.” Mawmaw sits back down, folding her hands on the table. “I signed you up.”
The cookie turns to sawdust in my mouth. “Excuse me?”
“You’re entered.”
Anger floods through me. “Mawmaw, I don’t have time. Jakeis busy with his wedding, and Hudson is occupied with Emma. It all falls back on me, you know that.”
“I know. Dean and Matteo have agreed to pick up the slack. And this year is partners only.”
No.
“Who did you sign me up with?” I ask, nostrils flaring.
“Well, you see…”
“Mawmaw!”
“You’ll be working with Holiday,” she says, then smiles.
Her name lands like a physical blow.
I stare at her. “You didn’t.”
“I did. Paid the two-hundred-fifty-dollar entry fee this morning. Nonrefundable.”
“From your Christmas fund?”
“Yes. And I’d do it again.” She takes a cookie for herself. “The Jolly family has won that contest for twenty years running. Hudson and Emma won last year. Our family should keep that title.”
“I can’t.”
“Holiday can win.” She waves the cookie dismissively. “She’s the best baker in the state. You’re a Jolly. It’s perfect.”
“We can’t even speak to each other without fighting.”
“Then figure it out.” She’s direct.
“I can’t work with her. I can’t be in the same room as her without wanting to?—”
“Without wanting to what?” Her eyes narrow knowingly.
I stand up, the chair scraping against the floor. “This is manipulative.”
“I prefer the termstrategic.” She stands, too, and somehow, she seems ten feet tall. “You’re going to partner with Holiday. You’re going to bake delicious cookies. And you’re going to win.”
“No, I’m not.”
“Yes, you are.”
“I refuse.”
