Page 5 of Sweet Christmas Wish
I guess that’s just the kind of day it’s going to be, she thought.
She had tossed and turned all night, only getting snatches of sleep. She usually liked to sleep in on Sundays, what with waking up around four a.m. during the work week, but she had finally given up on getting a good rest around six o’clock. So, she had dragged herself out of bed and headed to the kitchen to do the one thing that usually brought her peace of mind: baking.
It had worked for a short time, but it was now nine in the morning and the cinnamon rolls were finished.
Delicious? Yes. Distracting enough? Not even a little.
And so, she found herself glaring at the cinnamon rolls with a slightly burned tongue and a case of the sleep-deprived grumpies. Except, if she was being honest with herself, the whole reason she was sleep-deprived in the first place? One William Parks, unexpectedly arrived in Snowy Pine Ridge and looking more handsome than she had ever remembered growing up.
She groaned, stuffing another bite of cinnamon roll into her mouth. “He’s only here because he wants Michelle back, he’s only here because he wants Michelle back,” she reminded herself, for probably the thousandth time that morning.
The reminder didn’t help though. When William had walked through the doors of Sweet Thing, it had rocked her entire world. He had appeared, like some Adonis-like apparition, tall with crystal blue eyes that seemed to see right through her. Muscular and with that dimple in his chin that she hadnotbeen able to stop looking at during their whole conversation. Which reminded her—she’d been a wreck the whole time he was in the bakery, stammering and blushing and barely able to form a coherent sentence. She was usually put-together and confident, but he wouldn’t know it, not by the flustered and awkward way she’d handled seeing him again.
She groaned again, contemplating banging her head against the table to erase the memories and then quickly deciding against it. Why did he have to be so handsome?
When he’d walked in she’d barely been able to breathe and, for a moment, it had felt like he was the literal “surprise walking through her door” that Lacy had mentioned. After all, those were basically Lacy’s literal words, and then look what had happened! A surprise had walked through her door, and a handsome surprise he had turned out to be.
“He’s only here because he wants Michelle back, he’s only here because he wants Michelle back,” she repeated to herself, almost harshly, then sighed. “Annnddd I’m talking to myself like a crazy person.”
Pushing the rest of her cinnamon roll away, Sarah jumped to her feet, suddenly decided. She needed to get out of her apartment and talk to someone about everything that was swirling through her brain. Trying to handle it by herself was getting her nowhere. She quickly ticked through the people she could talk to, discarding them quickly.
Obviously, anyone in her family was a no-go, but Lacy had become a close friend and, she thought, wouldn’t judge her for feeling all moony-eyed about Michelle’s ex-boyfriend.
Decided, she hurried to her bedroom to get ready. Only a few minutes later, she had thrown on a lazy outfit of joggers and a sweatshirt, brushed her teeth, and pulled her hair up into her signature ponytail.
The thought that she might randomly see William on her way to Lacy’s mansion almost had her running back to her closet, but she stopped herself. That was a low likelihood and, besides, he wasn’t thinking about her the way she was thinking about him.
A few minutes later, Sarah parked her car and hurried up the front steps of St. Nick’s old mansion—well, Lacy’s now, she would have to get used to thinking of it that way. Lacy lived in parts of the house, but the rest was open for events and tours because of its beautiful architecture and interiors.
It was looking especially beautiful now that Lacy had restored it. Sarah knocked at the massive front doors then pushed them open and stepped inside, shivering from the cold outside. Inside, she took a moment to soak in the warmth, looking around her and admiring the grand foyer, with its black and white marble checkerboard floors. The house still wore its Christmas decorations proudly, the grand staircase looped with garlands that filled the room with the scent of fresh pine.
Sarah peeked into the dining room and into the back kitchen, but there was no sign of Lacy. Walking back down the hall to the foyer, she peeked into the grand sitting room and was about to turn around when she didn’t see Lacy, but stopped when she saw a little rear end sticking out from beneath the enormous Christmas tree. Stifling a laugh, Sarah looked closer and saw that Lacy’s petite frame was almost entirely swallowed up by the Christmas tree.
“Has it finally eaten you alive?” Sarah called, and Lacy jumped, her tush bumping into the branches above her and making the ornaments sway.
A moment later, Lacy had crawled out from beneath the tree, her hair sticking up in all directions and her eyes wide with surprise that quickly melted into laughter. “Sarah! You almost gave me a heart attack!” She scrambled to her feet. “I was just watering the base of the tree.”
“Sorry about that, didn’t mean to startle you.” Sarah gave Lacy a wan smile, the hilarity of the situation already wearing off and her earlier low spirits coming back.
“Well, what do you think of it?” Lacy asked, gesturing to the tree.
Sarah dropped onto the sofa with a softthumpand took in the tree. It was even bigger than the one Lacy had used for the Christmas party. “It’s beautiful.”
Lacy scrutinized her for a moment and then, without a word, she walked out of the sitting room. Too tired to go after her, Sarah waited. A few minutes later, Lacy returned with two steaming mugs of apple cider, extending one to Sarah and then taking a seat beside her on the sofa.
“All right,” she said. “Spill.”
“How did you know?”
Lacy gave Sarah a kind look. “Hon, it was written all over your face. I know you’re not usually one to focus on yourself or your own problems—you’re always so busy taking care of everyone else—but today your face is giving you away. What’s going on?”
Sarah sighed. “Oh, nothing. Just the most handsome man I’ve ever seen walked into my bakery and now my life is ruined.”
Lacy raised an eyebrow, clearly trying not to laugh. “Umm… that doesn’t sound like a problem. I’m lost.”
“You’ll see soon enough. That handsome man? He’s my sister’s high school sweetheart, William Parks.”
“Oh no…”
