Mistletoe & Magic (Wisteria Cove #2)

Chapter 1

Ivy

The breakup wasn’t even the worst part. The worst part was that he kept my dog.

My Lola.

“I miss her,” I rant as my sister Willa turns her old tan Jeep Wrangler with the heater that barely works half the time onto the winding road that leads into Wisteria Cove.

She had picked me up at my townhouse in Boston when my boyfriend Derek and I’d had a fight and he’d told me to leave.

The asshole had even been nice enough to pack a bag for me and set it by the door before I woke up. He wanted me gone so his new girlfriend could move right in. Ultimate betrayal.

“I was the one who took care of Lola and did everything for her. She was supposed to be a gift from him. And Derek just—what? Gets to keep her like I’m the one who cheated? Why are Lola and I being punished because Derek can’t keep it in his pants?”

“It’s not right,” Willa replies, shaking her head angrily on my behalf. “He’s an actual reindeer turd in human form. But can I point out something hilarious? You’re sadder about losing the dog than losing him.”

Damn. She’s right. I love my dog. But I definitely fell out of love with Derek.

I fall back against the passenger seat headrest with a dramatic groan, the fluff from my hood poofing up around me like I’m drowning in a marshmallow.

“I knew it was over for a while, and I just didn’t want to add it to my list of failures.

What am I going to do now? I’ve had so many jobs in the last five years.

No one takes me seriously in Wisteria Cove anymore.

My ex is a sleazy, emotionally constipated, controlling criminal defense attorney who is threatening me with legal action if I try to take Lola.

And my best friend—now his new girlfriend—wasted no time moving in with him before I was barely even out the door. ”

I’d wanted to lose it when I opened the door with my bags, thinking Willa was here to get me and realizing instead it was Kristin, my best friend who had been screwing Derek the whole time we were together.

The way she wouldn’t meet my eyes and had turned with her bags and said, “I’ll come back later.”

“Go fuck yourself, Kristin!” I’d yelled at her as she scurried down the street like a rat.

Girl code doesn’t mean a thing to her. Just take whatever you want, I guess.

I should have known when she stopped coming to girl’s night out that something was up, but I realize now that was when she was with Derek.

Derek’s betrayal didn’t hurt as much as Kristin’s did. I felt humiliated because I would confide in her about Derek and she would listen. All along she was screwing him, and I trusted her. I told her everything, and she pretended to support me and encouraged me to break up with him. Now I know why.

“Ex-best friend,” Willa corrects. “Also, she’s a massive turd, too. I think we should hex her.”

“Yeah, she is. She can have Derek. I honestly should have left him sooner. I’m an idiot for not figuring this out and leaving when you guys tried to warn me.”

I pull out the thermos and take a long sip of peppermint cocoa that Willa brought for me because she’s literally the best and has her own cafe in her very own bookstore.

I know what Willa is probably thinking. She and my other sister Rowan repeatedly tried to tell me to leave Derek and that he was bad news.

I never listened. And the truth is, I thought maybe I could help Derek.

Sometimes I’d see glimmers of the person he could be.

But then he’d flip back to the asshole that he always was.

He would make me feel so badly about myself and subtly suggest that he was the only person who would ever tolerate me.

And if I broke up with him, he would just be another failure, like all of the jobs I’ve had.

Sometimes I can still hear Derek’s voice in my head, telling me nobody would want me or put up with my shit.

So, I stuck it out, hoping that it would get better. It only got worse.

“Kristin didn’t take your man; she took your problem, and I actually can’t think of a better consequence for either of them than each other,” she says disdainfully as she makes her way back to Wisteria Cove.

I nod, because that’s all I have in me. I am so tired of fighting with Derek and how he treated me. But it also feels like I’m going back home to Wisteria Cove with my tail between my legs.

“It’s all going to work out. And now you get to be a nanny to Junie. It’s a great job for you until you can figure out what you want to do. This is actually great. You are amazing at so many things,” Willa says as she holds her hand out for the thermos to take a sip.

“I don’t know… Are you really sure Remy is okay with all this?

I mean, don’t get me wrong—being a nanny for Junie sounds absolutely amazing.

And not to mention living at the tree farm at Christmas.

It sounds magical and all that. But Remy is just…

I don’t know. I need to think about something long term.

I guess I could do that while I’m there… ”

And honestly working with Remy would be…a dream. He’s so freaking mysterious and devastatingly handsome. He’s got the whole grumpy single dad thing down. And I would love to work with Junie. This truly would be a dream job for me.

“Remy’s mom was at the bookstore with me when you called me and said that this is perfect timing for everyone. She said that he really needs your help,” Willa says as she hands me back the thermos.

Donna is Remy and Finn’s mom. She’s also an incredibly famous author, like Nora Roberts-famous, and has written over a hundred bestsellers in the past few decades.

If towns had grandma’s, she’d be Wisteria Coves.

Our very own royalty. We all love her so much.

I guess if Donna says it’s okay, it must be okay.

But I’m still not completely convinced. “It’s just that every time we’ve been at things together, Remy barely talks to me or acknowledges me.

It’s like he doesn’t even like me,” I say as I glance out my window at the neighborhood, where every house looks dressed for a storybook holiday.

Porches are wrapped in garlands and big red velvet bows.

Wreaths hang on every door. Windows glow with paper snowflakes taped on some of them, and I can see trees inside, twinkling and ready for presents.

Snow dusts the sidewalks. A pack of kids waddle in puffed coats, bundled like marshmallows, dragging bright red sleds.

Their laughter skips across the street and lands in my chest. Someone’s chimney sends up a ribbon of smoke that smells like cedar and comfort.

The air slips in through the crack in my rolled-down window and brings pine, a hint of sugar, and something buttery that has to be coming from the corner bakery.

It wraps around me like a memory of mittened hands and a mother’s scarf tied snug under my chin.

Across the way, a neighbor lifts a strand of lights and the bulbs blink one by one, soft gold. The whole world feels softer, whispering that I am exactly where I am supposed to be. Coming home to Wisteria Cove feels right.

Willa breaks through my thoughts and smirks.

“Donna may have mentioned that he’s been extra grumpy with the holiday season approaching at the tree farm, so he definitely needs your help.

Besides, Junie is a great kid. You always have fun with her.

Plus, Remy is not bad to look at. Maybe you two of you can work out your issues together over the holidays.

If you know what I mean,” she wiggles her eyebrows.

“I’m not emotionally ready to handle a hot, grumpy single dad, Willa.” I say dryly.

“Oh, so you admit he’s hot,” she smirks.

All right, I’ve always had a crush on Remy.

Age gap is one of my favorite romance tropes, and Remy definitely gives off the vibes.

He’s thirty-five and heart stopping handsome.

He’s only nine years older than me, so my fantasies of Remy have always been chef’s-kiss perfection.

Of course, I am not telling Willa any of this.

Or that I named my favorite vibrator Remy.

Nope, she doesn’t need to know any of that.

And this might be exactly why I’m having second thoughts about working with him.

Because it’s not just second thoughts, it’s some seriously dirty thoughts.

Working for someone I’ve had a crush on for so long is likely to bring on complicated emotions.

And I’m feeling complicated enough these days.

Willa lives in a cabin out on Remy’s tree farm with her boyfriend Tate, who works as a manager for Remy.

She and my other sister, Rowan, would tease me mercilessly if they knew I had a thing for Remy, and I most definitely have a thing for Remy.

I think any hot-blooded woman with a beating heart would have a thing for him.

First of all, he’s tall—at least six foot two.

Derek was maybe five foot six. I’m not crying over a man who isn’t even six feet tall.

Remy’s got that dark hair, brooding storm-gray eyes, sexy jawline.

And he’s built with buff arms like a bodybuilder, only I know for a fact he got that body naturally working his tree farm.

Yeah, I’m a goner for Remy Bennett. Even though he’s always been that unattainable book boyfriend that you dream about and never a reality. Until today. Today he’s a reality. And a great distraction from Derek and his bullshit.

“I think you two would be good for each other,” she smirks. “And you know Donna is right. This is a good opportunity for you both. Remy needs help, and you need a job with a place to stay. Win-win.”

“I’m not like you and Rowan. I don’t have my shit together like you two. I’m a mess,” I say quietly. “What if I let him down?”

“I don’t know why you think that,” she says, glancing over with a look of concern. “You are totally smart, cool, and a knockout. So what if you haven’t found your passion yet? Maybe it’s Remy.” She cackles at the last part.