Your Sweater is Uglier Than Mine

Chapter 1

ONE

WILLOW

“H ot stuff coming through.” I held up a sheet pan full of bagels and weaved around Anika and Molly, sitting by the wooden prep table.

“Hot stuff is right.” Molly whistled and moved her legs to the side.

“Not me, the bagels.” I giggled and set the pan on the table. The pan had to be propped up on one side because the indentation in the antique table was so defined.

Knead A Little Love was located in the center of town. Like the table, it was one of the oldest bread bakeries in Crystal Shores. We even used a sourdough starter that was over a hundred years old.

“Oops, my mistake.” Molly laughed and jumped up to wrap her arms around my waist to give me a side hug. “You are becoming a pro with those bagels. You better be careful, Anika; Jackson could start to notice.”

“Not going to happen.” Anika smiled.

“Plus, that man only has eyes for her.” I slid the bagels off the pan and onto a cooling rack. “Have you seen the way he looks at her?” I glanced at Molly.

“Smart man.” Molly ran over to stop a timer that had just beeped. “Jasper is going to be so excited tonight.” She pulled out a pie from the oven.

“Oh, what did he do to deserve your award-winning pie?” I bumped my hip against Anika. “Or what will he be doing?”

“You are officially a part of the family with that question.” Anika burst out laughing. “Molly, care to elaborate?”

“Can’t he just be amazing?”

“No,” Anika and I answered at the same time.

Chaos. That was my life: chaos and fun.

Ten months ago, I closed my eyes and randomly pointed my finger on a Michigan map to find a new place to live. I was born and raised in a suburb of Detroit, but I was ready for a change. My finger landed right on Crystal Lake, next to a small town called Crystal Shores. I had never heard of the town, but after researching the area and looking through photo after photo, I wanted to know more.

I caught a sign for fresh, hot bagels when I arrived in town.

Ten months later, I was becoming a pro at making those same bagels.

“How is it possible Christmas is a month away?” Anika grabbed a mixing bowl. “Willow, did you see they’re looking for people to help decorate the downtown area?”

“Oh, that would be a great way to meet more locals.” Molly placed the chocolate lemon chess pie in a box and closed the lid. “I think Mack from Snuggle-In helps out every year.”

“Mack?” By the sound of the name, I thought Molly was trying to set me up with a guy.

“Mackinac, she’s Holland and Jenison’s younger sister.”

“Oh, I thought…”

“It was a guy.” Molly laughed. “She’s in charge of the rescue at Snuggle-In, if you’re looking for a furry companion.” She winked.

My first instinct was to say no. My parents were not animal people, so I didn’t have an animal growing up. Since this was the year of change, maybe I needed to think about taking a trip to the shelter.

“Well, maybe.”

“Why are you hesitating?” Anika grabbed the vanilla extract off the little shelf in front of me. “Are you not an animal person?”

“Honestly, I have no idea.” I shrugged. “We didn’t have animals growing up.”

“I can’t imagine not having an animal in my life.” Molly rested her hands on the prep table.

“Let me think about it.” I grabbed the oven mitt and made my way back to the oven. “For both the animal and decorating.”

“Mack is always looking for volunteers to spend time with the cuties.” Molly kissed my cheek. “See you both tomorrow.” She held the pie box up and winked. “Not too early, though.”

“TMI,” Angie yelled and then turned toward me. “I guess I just assumed, but do you celebrate Christmas?”

“Yes, but in my family, it was always low-key.” I grabbed another pan of bagels from the oven. “My mom hated to decorate. She would do the bare minimum for my brother and me.”

“So, if this is the year of change…”

“I should go crazy with the decorations.”

“Exactly.”

I placed the hot pan on the table. “Huh, that does sound fun.”

“Wait—” she grabbed my forearm— “I should throw an ugly Christmas sweater party.”

“That’s a thing?” I knew I sounded confused.

“Yes, and it would be such a great way for you to meet several of our friends.” She clapped her hands together and picked up the spatula to continue mixing a batter. “Molly may go a little crazy with this idea.”

“Because she likes parties?”

“Because she keeps talking about how you need to meet more people.”

“Got it.” I laughed, grabbed some cooled bagels to carry up front, and put them in the display case. The bell above the door rang, and a guy walked in. “Welcome. How can I help you?” I lifted my head for a split second and finished with the bagels.

“Hi.” He was slowly walking the length of the display. “Damn, you’re already sold out of the stollen bread.”

“We did. Someone bought the last one about an hour ago.” I straightened and leaned my forearms on the end of the cabinet. That’s when I finally noticed him . Holy shit. His dark green eyes almost took my breath away.

“Are you going to have some tomorrow?” He shoved his hands in his pants pockets.

“We will. Every day this month. Do you want to place an order so you don’t miss out again?”

“Andy,” Anika said from behind me. “It’s good to see you.”

“Hey, Anika.” He smiled, and I placed my hand over my chest to keep from making a sound. I had met a lot of guys in town, but something about this guy had woken up my girl parts.

“He was just asking about the stollen bread.” I removed my hand from my chest and laced my fingers together in front of me.

“Oh, yeah, that’s right.” She nodded. “You’re offering it at the bar, right?”

“Yeah. Maybe I should place an order for every day this month.”

“I’ll grab an order form.” I needed to leave the room. There was something about him. The order forms were in a book in the back. I stood at the shelf and took a few deep breaths before letting them out slowly.

“You okay.” Anika stepped up beside me.

“What? Yeah. Totally.” I reached for the book.

“I told him we’ll add his information.” Anika handed me a pen. “He’s a bartender at Lakeside Pub.” She turned her head to the side. “Willow, you’re flushed. Did something happen?”

“ He walked into the bakery.”

“Oh!” She grabbed my hand. “Oh, wait, and I never introduced you to him.”

She walked back up front, but I grabbed her hand. “No. Wait. Next time.”

“Are you sure?”

“100%.”

“Okay, next time.”

When I moved here ten months ago, I wasn’t interested in finding a boyfriend, but it was safe to say times had changed.