Page 64 of Meet Me on Mistletoe Lane

He nodded to the side. “Doing what he does best. Watching from a distance.”

“Well, Operation Ho Ho Humbug doesn’t allow watching.” But I no sooner finished the words than Nona crossed the room and held out her hand to Mr. Bailey, who smiled a bit forcefully as he shrugged out of his long peacoat.

He wasn’t in his typical suit and tie, but he did wear slacks and a dark green button-up with an open collar. Nona guided him to the dance floor, and they moved slowly for a moment or two before she stopped abruptly, pressing a hand to her side as if in pain. I let go of James to check on her, but she had already waved to the other side of the room where I could see a familiar head of dark curls working her way through the crowd.

Nona motioned from my mother to Mr. Bailey and then backed away.

“Oh, that woman takes meddling to a whole new level,” I said, putting my hand back on James’s garland-draped shoulder.

“Who?” he asked, looking around.

I spun us around so he could see and bit back a laugh as Mom made a face at Nona.

So relatable.

James smiled as his dad started slow dancing with my mom. A minute later, both were talking and laughing about something.

Jo hurried over to us with a cup of punch in her hand and nodded toward our parents. “Hey, maybe you two don’t need to fake date after all, eh?”

“Yeah.”

Why did that thought make my heart sink?

“Maybe,” James added, his breath warm against my forehead.

“Can I have your attention, please!” Mayor Moore announced suddenly from the stage, cutting off the music.

Or had the music already stopped?

James and I dropped our hands and faced the stage.

“First, the council and I wanted to say what an excellent showing of gingerbread creations we had this year…Maybe our most inventive yet!” Mayor Moore smiled as he pulled out three envelopes. “So, without further ado, let’s hear the results!”

Dr. Penhallow, former pediatrician for Mullings Creek and current drummer of Restless Dad Syndrome, gave a small drumroll on his snare.

“The award for Funniest Creation goes to…” Mayor Moore paused as he opened an envelope. “Levi Phillips of Chordcrafters!”

Everyone clapped as Levi stepped onto the stage to receive his medal.

“Be grateful you didn’t get that one,” I said to James, keeping my voice low.

“Why?” he asked.

“Funniest Creation is our town’s way of saying ‘It was so horrible, we had to do something.’ ”

“Well, had you and Leo not come over when you did, we would’ve given Levi a run for his money.” James nudged my arm.

“It was no big deal,” I said, brushing off the compliment.

“It was, actually.” He looked down at me and cocked his head. “You always seem to drop everything to help anyone when they need it. That’s admirable.”

Admirable?

I never realized how nice it was to hear someone say something like that to me—someone I wasn’t actively helping.

“Winning the Most Creative Gingerbread House is…” Mayor Moore paused dramatically after opening another envelope, his eyes widening in surprise. “Oh! Would you look at that! It’s Mr. Travis Bailey and his son James!”

I jumped up and down and pushed James toward the stage as my mom did the same to his father. The crowd cheered and whistled as they climbed the short flight of stairs to Mayor Moore, who stepped away from the mic and draped a medal over each of them. James held up his hands in celebration, earning more applause, and then he grabbed his father’s and held it in the air. Mr. Bailey gave his son an incredulous look that slowly morphed into a genuine smile. He followed James off the stage and the two of them came over to me.