Page 23 of Three Days of Holiday

But I needed the best cookies for the toppings and there was only one place in the state of Maine to get those.

I parked my sister’s car in front of the large glass window and walked in to the warm bakery, my eyes never leaving the person behind the counter.

A brunette was shoving as many cookies as she could into a big grocery-sized paper bag.

“What are you doing, Katy?” I asked as she dumped the entire tray of chocolate chip cookies into her bag and then tried to roll over the top.

“Lunch,” is all she said before she jumped on the bakery counter, slipped across the shiny metal, and then let herself out the door.

The bell over the door was still ringing when Vonnie pushed her way through the swinging kitchen doors from the back section of the building. “Where did Katy go?”

“Her and her sack of cookies just left.”

Vonnie shook her head and then pointed a finger and leveled a stare at Katy through the window as she walked across the road back to the bed-and-breakfast down theblock. “She said it’s because her employees are addicted, but I’m sure it’s just her.”

I watched Katy’s retreating form until she made it far enough down the road. “Did she pay?”

“I bill Pierce,” Anessa said, popping her head out of the kitchen. She passed another big tray of chocolate chip cookies to Vonnie. “These are cool enough to replace the ones Katy stole.”

“Do you have a few minutes to talk about my cookie order for later this week? I decided what I want as long as we can find a good recipe.”

Anessa, the bakery owner, finished passing off the tray to Vonnie and then looked at me once, pinching her lips together before opening them with a slight pop. She leaned against the same metal counter Katy had just slid her butt across.

“Sure, Holly. I can make the cookies, but only if you do one thing first.”

We’d already worked out a price, and I had two different recipes saved on my phone, but if she needed something else, I’d do it. We needed her to win the event. My cooking skills were last-place material. “Anything.”

I couldn’t win the competition without her special touch.

“Vonnie and I need a detailed breakdown of what happened in the parking lot yesterday.”

Vonnie slid up next to her boss. “No, a second-by-second breakdown. Your sister said there was tongue.”

I closed my eyes, hoping to make the entire situation go away, but when I opened them again, the bakery and its bright pink walls were still there. The fresh scent of recently finished cookies saturated the air.

Well, I came to the bakery for girl advice and at least I wouldn’t have to waste any of my time explaining the story to them again. I should’ve known everyone in town would find out eventually. This was Pelican Bay after all.

There came a point in every person’s life when you learned it was best not to fight it.

“We kissed. That’s what happened.”

Anessa shook her head. “No, sorry. Not good enough. You need to start at the very beginning.”

My eyes widened. “The very beginning?”

Both women nodded, and I pulled out a seat at one of the little tables in the open eating area. This was gonna take longer than I expected.

I had just hitthe point where Will Davis became William Davis Causebay Junior when the bell above the bakery door jingled. Both women were leaning over the counter entrapped with my story, but they turned to see the newcomer at the same time I did.

And then I sucked in a loud breath, causing both of them to turn back in my direction.

“Is this the guy?” Vonnie asked, pointing her thumb at William as he walked through the bakery door.

My mouth hung open, still partially full of the cookie Anessa offered me halfway through my story as I nodded.

8

WILL

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