Chapter 14
Left alone with Coco, Carol set about tidying up the kitchen. “I hope I didn’t disrupt your morning, dear, calling the two of you back to the house like this.”
“Oh, not at all, Ms. Bartlett. Honestly, it was probably for the best that things got cut short.”
A cloud of concern came over Carol’s face then. “Oh? What makes you say that, dear?” She rested a hand atop Coco’s on the counter. “And please, call me Carol, dear.”
Coco mustered a lopsided smile. “You’re very kind to ask, Ms. Bartlett—Carol, I mean—but I don’t want to be a bother.”
A you-don’t-honestly-think-you’re-getting-off-that-easy-do-you? look quirked on Carol’s face.
Coco released a sigh of defeat. “Well, I guess if you really want to know…” She paused to collect herself. “It’s about Graham.”
“Of course it is, dear,” Carol replied with a knowing smile.
Coco furrowed her brow in thought, as if trying to choose her words carefully. “Has he always been so…so…thick-headed?”
The chuckle that escaped Carol then told Coco she didn’t know the half of it. “Is Santa’s suit red, my dear?”
Coco cocked her head in confusion.
A warm smile appeared on Carol’s lips. “What’s got Graham all stubborn this time?”
Coco let her gaze wander out the window. “Sometimes, I just wish Graham could learn to accept the love in front of him. If only he could learn to look past the end of that nose of his, he’d see that love is out there.”
Behind her, Carol’s brow creased in confusion. “Whatever do you mean, my dear? Graham has you”—she arched an inquisitive eyebrow—“hasn’t he?”
Coco turned white as a sheet as she realized what she’d just in fact said. “Well…yes…umm…of course…”
“Coco…” The tone in Carol’s voice left no room for doubt that she was on to her. “What aren’t you telling me?”
“It’s nothing for you to worry about, Ms. Bartlett—Carol!” She gritted her teeth into her best attempt at a smile. “Forget I mentioned it.”
Carol narrowed her eyes at Coco then until they practically disappeared. “Coco, us girls gotta stick together. Now, tell me, dear. What ordeal has Graham got you wrapped up in that he wants you to keep from his mother?”
A tense silence followed as Coco waged an inner war with herself.
“Coco…” Carol’s voice had become increasingly commanding.
Finally, Coco cracked. “All right, I confess! Graham and I…we’re not really a couple. It’s all just a cover.”
The admission cast a blanket of bewilderment over Carol’s face. “A cover?” She furrowed her brow, computing. “A cover for what, dear?”
Coco heaved a sigh of relief at having come clean. “Well, if you ask me, I say it’s his way of avoiding opening up to real love. It’s so clear, Carol, they’re perfect for each other.” She shut her eyes and daydreamed. “I mean, if you just saw the way Graham looks at him…”
Her reverie, though, was quickly cut short by a loud choke sounding from Carol. “Him?”
A look of horror filled Coco’s eyes then as she realized, once again, her fat mouth had gotten the best of her. “Oh, crud.”
A beat of silence followed as Carol paused to let the revelation sink in.
“I suppose I’m not that surprised.” Her gaze seemed to drift miles away.
“I think, deep down, a part of me always wondered. There were definitely signs over the years.” She clutched Coco’s hand on the kitchen counter.
“When Graham was a little boy, every year when the Christmas catalog came in the mail, he’d circle the toys he hoped Santa would bring.
And every year without fail, what did I find myself filling my cart with but tiaras, Barbies, pretend makeup sets… ”
Coco bit back a bemused scoff. “Well, that doesn’t necessarily mean—”
“Posters of Enrique Iglesias shirtless.”
At that, the starlet released a snort. “Now, that, on the other hand…”
A heavy sigh followed from Carol. “I just wish he’d felt like he could have told me.” Her gaze returned to the room. “What kind of mother must I have been? That my little boy didn’t feel safe to show his true self to his mama?” Her eyes began to glisten as if about to shed a tear.
Now it was Coco’s turn to take Carol’s hand in hers. “Oh, Carol. Give it time. This is Christmas, after all.”
A sniffle followed from Carol then as she worked to pull herself together. “Thank you, dear.” She let out a weary sigh. “I’m afraid that at this point, though, Graham finally opening up to me would take a miracle.”
Coco gave Carol’s hand a squeeze. “Well, lucky for you, I hear this is the season for those.”
Carol mustered a smile as she wiped a tear from her eye. “I hope you know I would have been proud to call you my daughter-in-law.”
A warm glow seemed to radiate off Coco then. “Thank you, Ms. Bartlett.”
The comment drew an expectant glance.
“I mean, thank you, Carol,” Coco corrected. She furrowed her brow in thought. “I think I would have quite liked being your daughter-in-law.”
The remark made Carol’s smile grow wider. “Well, there’s no reason why we can’t still be good friends.” She took a centering breath to reset. “So, tell me, who is this gentleman caller who’s got my Graham so smitten?”
Coco shrank back nervously at the question. “Oh, I don’t know if I should say. It’s really not my place.”
“Nonsense,” Carol contested. “I’m his mother, dear.”
Coco chewed at her lip, considering. “Well, I suppose you do have a point.” A conflicted look registered on her face. “But you have to promise me you won’t let on that you know.”
Carol traced the sign of the cross against herself.
A mischievous grin curled on Coco’s lips. “You’re trouble, Carol Bartlett.”
“I know. Ain’t it fun?”
Coco shook her head in spite of herself. “All right, so you didn’t hear this from me, but if there happened to be someone Graham had his eye on, and if that person also happened to be a man, then you might say that person just may or may not happen to run a certain local hot cocoa shop.”
The delight of someone who’d just scored the most deliciously juicy gossip lit up on Carol’s face. “No…Graham and…Brent?”
“Sitting in a tree,” Coco chimed, “K-I-S-S-I-N-G.”
It took Carol a moment to process the news. “Wow, I have to admit, that’s certainly a surprise.”
“I hope you’re not disappointed?”
“On the contrary, dear. Brent Danvers is a catch.” She paused as if to get herself back under control. “Don’t take this the wrong way, dear, but you mean to tell me that Mistletoe Grove’s most eligible bachelor has eyes for my Graham?”
“Like a dog drooling over a steak.” Coco shook her head to herself. “And frankly, his inability to see it is a bigger pain than I thought possible.”
“Graham never was the most observant child,” Carol offered by way of explanation. “I wonder why he’s so in denial.”
“I’ll tell you why,” Coco responded confidently. “It’s because he doesn’t want to get attached.”
“What?” The look on Carol’s face spelled utter bewilderment.
“He knows we’re only in town a few more days before we head back to LA. And it’s given him such tunnel vision that he isn’t even willing to give love a chance.”
Carol nodded her understanding. “He always was the practical type, Graham.” She turned her gaze out the window, wistful.
“I do miss him, though. Just think what it would be like having him back home—for good, I mean. It would do a mother’s heart good to finally see him find someone who makes him happy the way he deserves.
” A beat of silence passed as she heaved a heavy sigh.
The next moment, though, she snapped to attention. “Coco,” she said, her voice electric, “I have an idea.”
“Oh?” It was the tone of someone who feared what can of worms they may have just cracked open.
Seizing Coco by the shoulders, Carol looked her straight in the eyes. “You and I are going to get those boys together,” she said. “And what’s more, we’re going to do it by Christmas Day.”
Coco swallowed a lump that had suddenly lodged itself in her throat. “But how?”
“An excellent question, my dear,” Carol replied.
“But that’s precisely what you and I are about to figure out.
So, look alive, kiddo. It’s time to commence Operation: Mistletoe Matchmakers.
” She stroked her chin, scheming. “And I think I know exactly how we’ll get started.
Tell me, what would you say to a hot cocoa delivery? ”