Snow Place Like Home (Home Sweet Holidays #1)

Chapter One Goldie

Chapter One

Goldie

Igroaned when I looked out the window to see the snow coming down even harder now. Winter in White Cap Mountain was no joke, which normally I was fine with, but today was a different story.

They were getting married tomorrow, on Christmas Day.

They were that couple—the one who goes to Disney at least four times a year and lives for sporting events, hosting Super Bowl parties that everyone in town wants to attend.

They loved the holidays, and they always wore matching sweaters that included batteries and lights, and they were, without a doubt, the most fun couple I’d ever met.

And since their names were Jack and Holly, which they felt was close enough to Jack Frost and Christmas Holly, it was even more obvious that they should marry on December 25.

I cannot make this shit up.

So, tonight, when I’d normally be drinking spiked hot chocolate by the fire at my parents’ house and stuffing my face with my mother’s homemade peanut brittle—I was dressing up for a holiday-themed rehearsal dinner.

And by “dressing up,” I don’t mean your typical LBD . . . little black dress.

We’d been asked to wear holiday-themed outfits tonight, and the directions were very specific.

Head-to-toe holiday attire required.

Dress the part, or you’ll break our heart.

The invitation literally said that.

Being a veterinarian, I’d decided to dress as Rudolph. A reindeer seemed fitting. My costume was also very warm and comfortable, which would come in handy when stepping outside in a blizzard to get in the car.

“I’m so glad we don’t have to go to the church first to practice,” Poppy, my lifelong bestie, said. “I love that we’re going straight to the party.”

“It’s very on brand for them, right? ‘No need to practice; let’s just all have a good time.

’” I stood in front of the full-length mirror and glanced at myself.

My furry suit had antlers sewn to the top of the hoodie.

I wore brown Chuck Taylors, because one can never go wrong with a pair of Chucks.

I had whiskers penciled on my cheeks, and my costume came with a red nose that I could pop on and off as needed.

Holly had approved the entire look and thanked me for ordering it early and for being prepared. I was the maid of honor, after all, and apparently the other three bridesmaids were not as excited about the required dress attire.

Go figure.

“Girl, Sarah Jessica Parker is totally throwing shade at you in that reindeer suit,” Poppy said as she patted the top of my judgmental three-year-old Bernedoodle’s head. I was convinced she was part human. My pup had made it very clear that she did not approve of the costume.

Get in line, SJP, you’re not alone in this.

“How about you, George Clooney?” I turned to look at my fourteen-year-old bulldog, who breathed so loudly that most people thought he was having an episode, and I could swear he gave me a nod.

Thank you, George.

My pups were named after my two favorite actors. They both lived up to the hype, and I loved them dearly.

“George is an easier sell. He’s a big fan of my Christmas tree costume. Did you see how excited he was when I walked in?”

“You mean when he tried to lift his leg and pee on you?” My head tipped back in laughter.

“Well, there was that, but then I bent down and explained to George that it was a costume, not a tree. And it doesn’t hurt that I always have beef treats in my pockets.” She pulled out two treats and tossed them to my dogs.

“They have the best auntie around,” I said as I dropped to sit beside Poppy on the bed. “Buckle up—my mom just sent a selfie.”

My parents were as festive as the bride and groom about this event, and they’d taken this whole themed dressing far too seriously.

Mom: What do you think?

Me: It’s definitely a statement.

Mom: I make the perfect Virgin Mary and your father is a dashing Joseph. I wish you would reconsider being baby Jesus. It would be so cute, seeing as you are our child after all. People would love it.

Me: Jack is also your child, and you aren’t forcing him to lie in an adult manger with wheels on it.

“I cannot believe your father built a manger and expected you to lie in it,” Poppy said over hysterical laughter as she and I both waited for my mom’s response.

Mom: It’s his wedding, my love. He and Holly already had a plan for their costumes.

Me: And I have a plan for mine, and it does not include wearing a loin cloth over a nude-colored bodysuit and lying in a weird, oversized wagon filled with hay.

Mom: It’s a swaddling cloth, not a loin cloth.

Me: Not happening. You two can rock your costumes all on your own. I’ll be rocking my Rudolph suit.

Mom: It’s probably a good thing because dad’s allergies have been out of control since he filled the manger with hay.

Me: Oh my. A sneezing Joseph is going to be very distracting. I’m grateful for my cozy costume at the moment.

Mom: Did you even bother coordinating with Ace?

Ace Bonetti.

My brother’s lifelong best friend and the best man at the wedding.

Ace was basically the biggest thing to ever happen to our small town. Back in the day, he was the biggest football star of our high school, prom king of his senior class, and voted most likely to become famous, which of course he’d managed to do.

He’d gone on to play college football, and then he’d decided to become an actor, which meant he’d somehow scored the lead role in a Netflix series that ended up being the number one streaming show in the world last year.

He was that guy.

“She has no idea that you crushed on your brother’s bestie your entire adolescence, does she?”

“Don’t be dramatic. It didn’t last that long,” I said with a chuckle, because we both knew that I was lying through my reindeer teeth.

“Please. I know you better than you know yourself most of the time. And I feel for you, because he’s the worst crush you could have chosen. He doesn’t follow the typical pattern that dudes you crush on in high school follow.”

“Right?” I pushed to my feet and moved to the makeup vanity before applying some last-minute lip gloss. “The guy you pine over during your hormonal teen years is supposed to peak in high school. Not age like a fine wine.”

She reared back with a laugh. “Exactly. Take my high school crush, Bobby Flacker. He put on thirty pounds, and he has an impressive beer belly and a receding hairline. He laughed in my face when I asked him to the turnaround dance our sophomore year in high school, but who’s laughing now?”

I chuckled. “The badass light-up Christmas tree is laughing, that’s who. And that guy was always such a pompous ass. So it’s very fitting that karma would serve him a big shit sandwich.”

“Correct, Rudolph. Because your childhood crush is supposed to grow up and make you realize how much better you are that they rejected you. I certainly dodged a bullet with that guy.”

“You did.”

“Of course, you had to go and have a secret crush on the heartthrob of White Cap Mountain. It’s very on brand for you to aim high. I prefer to shoot low.” She shrugged.

“Ace and I are great friends, and I’m glad I never told him how I felt, so I didn’t have to live through the actual rejection.” I knew that he thought of me like a little sister, and we’d always been close.

He just didn’t know that I’d never looked at him like a big brother.

He was the boy I’d compared all other boys to when I was a teenager, and also the guy who’d starred in every single one of my teenage fantasies.

Luckily, he’d gone away to school, and I eventually started dating my boyfriend Joshua in college and got over said crush.

I replied to my mother as Poppy moved to the vanity to add a few more curls to her long red hair.

Me: Ace is going as the Grinch and he wanted me to go as Cindy Lou Who, but I’d already committed to my Rudolph costume.

Mom: This is a mess. You’re walking down the aisle together and you don’t match.

Me: That’s a bit dramatic, even for you, Virgin Mary. It’s a rehearsal dinner, not the actual wedding. We don’t need to coordinate.

Mom: There will be photos tonight. Dad and I match. Holly and Jack match. Holly’s parents match. And you and Ace will look like the odd men out.

Me: Because we aren’t a couple, we don’t need to match. I’ll see you soon, Mom.

“Let me guess. Suz still wants you to hop in the manger?” Poppy said as she pulled her hair over one shoulder and shellacked it in hair spray.

“Yes. But that’s the least of my worries. I’m going to be grilled by all the out-of-towners about my breakup,” I groaned at the reminder of what tonight would bring.

I’d dated Joshua for six years, so he’d attended more family events than I could count.

But shortly after I’d graduated from veterinary school a few months back, I’d come home early to find him in bed with his coworker, Tabitha.

It had literally turned my world upside down, and I’d been forced to pivot.

I’d moved back home and decided to open my veterinary practice here in the small town where I’d grown up.

But everyone who was coming from out of town to the wedding would want to know what had happened with Joshua.

“I think you should throw that twatwaffle’s ass under the bus.” She shrugged as we both walked out to the front room and slipped into our coats.

Poppy never minced words.

“And say what? ‘I came home early and found him in bed with his hot coworker?’ In our bed, for that matter. It’s slightly humiliating.” I zipped my coat all the way up.

“It’s humiliating for him. You just say, ‘I found that loser balls deep in a woman who happens to be married—and I’m finally free.

’ I mean, for God’s sake, the man asked you to shave his balls.

It’s a relief that you’re done with that cheating, hairy-balled bastard.

I never liked him.” She slipped her mittens on.

“Come on, Rudolph. Let’s get this party started. ”

I blew out a breath and nodded. “Let’s do this.”