21. Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-One
N ot too bad.
In fact, it was kind of cute.
As they finished the gingerbread house, Parker was truly impressed with what they’d done. Belle’s idea about creating a yard for the house was a great one. And when he’d glanced around at the other tables, he found that no one was doing anything like their concept.
Belle had done such a good job with the house that he wouldn’t be surprised if it took first place. And then he recalled their bet. If their house took the blue ribbon, Belle would win their bet, and he would honor their wager. But the thought of not spending time with her ruined his good mood.
As they continued to work together, he found Belle relaxing, and he did his best to hide the fact that he was worried about losing the bet.
It wasn’t hard, because Belle was engrossed with decorating.
He was totally captivated by her artistic skill.
He could just sit back and enjoy watching her work her magic.
But he didn’t have time for that, because he’d been tasked with putting shingles on the house. He glanced around the table, trying to decide what to use for shingles. And then he had an idea.
He reached for a bowl of frosting and another bowl of red and white peppermint candies. After giving the frosting a stir, he smeared some on the roof panel. Then he reached for the candies. He unwrapped the first one.
“You could also use the red candy wafers.” Belle pointed to the full bowl.
His gaze moved between the wafers and the peppermint candies. He thought the peppermint ones were fancier. “Thanks, but I think I’ll stick with these.”
Instead of arguing her point, Belle merely nodded and went back to creating candy trees in the yard. “Maybe I’ll make a shrub with the red wafers.”
“That’s a great idea. You’re very creative.”
“Thanks. I have a stroke of genius every now and then.” And then she let out a little melodious laugh.
For a time, they worked in silence. Merry called out to let them know there were only fifteen minutes left. Time was quickly winding down. The rush to the finish was on. A hush had come over the entire community center.
He only had a few more candies to place on the roof when Mrs. Kringle headed toward the stage a final time. Oh, no. He had to finish this. He couldn’t let Belle down.
He rushed to open the remaining candies. When he went to place them on the roof, his hand bumped the other side of the roof that was completed. The roof slid off to the side. The breath hitched in the back of his throat.
Before it could collapse, Belle caught it. “That was a close one.”
“Sorry. I was in a hurry.”
In the background, Mrs. Kringle was speaking to one of the judges. And then as he was placing the last candy, he heard her say, “Time is up.”
He pulled his hand back and inspected his work. Not too bad.
“Congrats to everyone,” Mrs. Kringle said. “You created the cutest gingerbread houses.”
“I don’t know about that,” someone in the crowd shouted.
“Yeah,” said another, “mine collapsed.”
Mrs. Kringle sent them a reassuring look.
“In some cases, it is truly the effort that matters. Everyone, give yourselves a pat on the back.” She paused.
“Now it’s time for the judging to begin.
Please, move away from your houses and have some refreshments.
We have a huge cookie table. And if there aren’t any thin mint cookies left, you have my apologies. ”
After Mrs. Kringle stepped off the stage, Parker looked back at the gingerbread house, and he noticed the one roof panel wasn’t on straight.
If he remembered correctly, it was the one that he’d bumped with his hand.
If he could see it, he was certain the judges would see it too.
And what was even worse was the panel was sinking on one side.
He hated that he was letting down Belle.
She had fun.
She truly did.
Belle found herself smiling most of the evening. Parker had been good company, but then again, she already knew he could be a great guy—when he wasn’t writing her a ticket. Then again, maybe that contentious relationship was in their past. She could only hope.
After waiting in a long, slow line, she munched her way across the cookie table.
It was only after she grabbed another couple sugar cookies that she realized she had missed lunch because business was so busy at Frills & Heels.
And then Merry had called her over to the community center before she’d been able to get dinner.
But the melt-in-her-mouth cookies had taken the edge off her hunger.
Then again, she could go for a couple more cookies.
She got back in line. After she completed her second perusal of the cookie table, she stretched her neck and looked around for Parker. She noticed him talking to the Wallaces. When his gaze caught hers, he excused himself and made his way over to her.
He eyed up the cookies on her napkin. “Did you save some for anybody else?”
She gaped at him. “I can’t believe you said that.”
He sent her a teasing grin. “I’m just giving you a hard time.”
“I know. That’s what shocked me. So, you aren’t serious all of the time?”
He let out a laugh. “You still have things to learn about me.”
“Apparently I do.” She was looking forward to peeling back all of his layers and learning all about him.
Wait. Did that mean she wanted to continue seeing him? Her heart pounded a definite yes, but her mind cautioned her to be careful. Losing someone else she loved would be utterly devastating.
Parker’s gaze met hers. There was something in his eyes. Was it interest in her? And then his gaze dipped to her lips. Suddenly, she felt heat start in her chest and work its way up to her face.
She glanced away. “You know,” she said, ignoring the way her heart was beating double-time. “We did so well with our house that we might actually place in second.”
“Second? What’s wrong with first?”
She shook her head. “I saw a pink one with snow-covered trees. It’s going to take first.”
“I guess we’ll find out soon. I think they’re almost done judging.”
A little bit later, everyone was instructed to make their way back to their table. Belle smiled. This was it. They would find out where they placed.
However, when they reached their table, she found there was a partial roof collapse. Belle gasped. This wasn’t good. Not good at all.
When she looked over at Parker, he glanced back at her. And then the corners of his lips lifted. And the next thing she knew, he was laughing. How could he? This wasn’t funny. All of their hard work was for naught.
Her gaze moved to the sad little house. And then she glanced back at him as he continued to laugh. The corners of her mouth lifted upward, and then she broke out in a laugh.
People gave them dirty looks for disrupting the award ceremony. Belle pressed her hand to her mouth to hold in her merriment. She felt good to be laughing. It felt as though she were expelling all of the negativity, and she was letting in the good. She felt lighter than she’d felt in a long time.
After they’d gathered themselves, she leaned over and whispered, “So, what happens to our bet when we come in last? Does it nullify it?”
He whispered back, “Doesn’t matter. I’ll treat you to a cocoa anyway.”
It wasn’t a good idea, but when she opened her mouth, she said, “Sounds like a plan.”
“Good. Are you ready to quietly slip out of here?”
“Yes.”
He reached out and took her hand in his. It felt good to have his fingers wrapped around hers. She told herself it was no big deal. It was something friends might do.
As she walked him out of the community center, Belle felt the protective walls around her heart coming down. She had missed him so much.
The Kringle Cup Café was just down the street. It wasn’t worth driving there, since it would be hard to find a parking spot with so many people in town for the contest. She didn’t mind walking, especially with their fingers laced together.
There was a light snow falling from the darkened sky.
She watched the flakes flutter and dance through the air.
She had a feeling she was going to remember this evening for a very long time.
But would she remember it as the evening she passed up a chance to be happy for the rest of her life because she was too afraid to take a chance with her heart?
Or would she remember this night as a time she was brave enough to go after her heart’s desire?
“Parker, wait.” She came to a stop.
He turned to her. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. I mean, I need to apologize. I…uh, I freaked out after Odie came home. Until that moment, I had refused to acknowledge how scared I’d been. It… It brought back bad memories about my parents’ accident. And I’m sorry I didn’t handle it any better.”
He reached out to her. The breath stilled in her lungs. As the snow continued to fall around them, it was like the world fell away. It was just the two of them in a snow globe.
And then his fingers lightly traced down her jaw as he stared into her eyes. “I’m sorry you had to go through that.”
She couldn’t look away from him. She felt as though she were drowning in his chocolate-brown gaze.
And then he lowered his head and claimed her lips with his own. His touch was gentle, as though he wasn’t sure if she wanted this. Her heart pounded. It was so loud it echoed in her ears.
As his mouth moved over hers, she kissed him back. At the same time that his kiss exhilarated her, it also scared her. Putting her heart on the line wasn’t something she’d allowed herself to do in the past.
And then Parker came into her life, and those protective barriers she’d kept firmly in her life were blown away.
Now she felt as though her heart was naked and exposed.
He had the power to love her or reject her.
It was a precarious place to be, but she wasn’t going to back away—even if it meant the pain of rejection.
The loud rumble of an approaching snow plow had them drawing apart. When he looked into her eyes this time, he was smiling. She smiled back at him.
“Still up for some hot cocoa?” he asked.
“I am.”
He took her hand in his like they’d done it a million times before, and they continued along the sidewalk that now had a trace of snow over it.
She lifted her gaze to notice the rooftops were also covered with snow.
The street lamps all had big red bows. And every storefront had their picture window decorated for the holidays.
That was one of the things she loved about her hometown—they were passionate about the holidays.
A block later they came to a familiar building with red-and-white-striped columns on either side of the front door. They looked a bit like candy canes. A wooden sign above the door was painted white with red lettering that read: Kringle Cup Café .
She peered through the large picture window next to the door, and the place didn’t appear to be busy at the moment, but she was certain once the contest was over that people would flood the place.
They both ordered hot cocoa with little marshmallows. Once they were seated at one of the tables by the window, she didn’t know what to say. She figured this must be what it was like to be tongue-tied. Still, she had to say something…
“I just…” she said.
“You know…” he said.
They’d both spoken at the same time. They both stopped at the same time and smiled at each other. She loved how his smile smoothed the frown lines on his face and how his brown eyes would twinkle.
Now that her panic over Odie’s dognapping had subsided, she felt stronger and willing to take a chance on love. She wanted to take that chance with him. And if she read that kiss correctly, he wanted the same thing.
She opened her mouth to try again.
Buzz.
Parker held up his finger for her to wait a moment. He pressed the phone to his ear. “Bishop.”
Interruptions were to be expected. After all, he was the sheriff. She was certain his life was interrupted on a regular basis. She would get used to it. But this time it was really, really bad timing.
By the little lines that once again bracketed his eyes and mouth, she knew the call was serious. As she picked up the bits and pieces of the conversation, she knew it was bad. People were hurt. Her words would wait for another time—a better time.
When he disconnected the call, he looked at her. “I have to go. There’s a big accident on the highway.”
She nodded. “Can you come over for dinner tomorrow?”
He sent her a brief smile. “I’m really sorry about leaving. And yes, I would love dinner.” He got to his feet. “Message me what you need me to bring.” He was already headed for the exit.
“Just bring yourself,” she called out.
Without a backward glance, he was out the door. She didn’t know if he’d heard her. As she settled back in the seat, her thoughts rewound to the snowflake kiss they’d shared. It was the most amazing kiss she’d ever experienced. She definitely wouldn’t forget it.
And now they were going to have a Christmas Eve date. It didn’t get much better than that. Maybe she should find herself some mistletoe. Oh, yes. That sounded like a really good idea.