Chapter 20
20
H is expression silenced my laughter immediately. As I gazed up into Connor’s eyes, I realized he wasn’t angry. No, from the look on his face, he was just as stunned as I was. Had Angus just shown he approved of me?
Connor cleared his throat as he reached up and scratched Angus under the chin. “Look, I have no excuse for my behavior the last few weeks. I’ve been adrift these past four years, trying to decide where I belong. Sarah and I had built our life in San Francisco, and even though my business was there, I no longer wanted to stay in the city after she died. There are just too many memories.” He smiled at me. “Sarah loved Christmas, and so when I discovered there was a town that embraced the holiday all year round, I felt like that was a sign. Like it was okay to move on with my life.” He let out a ragged sigh. “So, I put someone else in charge of my factory and took a leap of faith and moved here.”
I smiled, tears filling my eyes. “A leap of faith is the whole idea behind Jingle Junction.”
“Is it?” He seemed surprised by that, and a bit hopeful.
“You’ve never heard how the town got started?” I studied him while he shook his head before the cold—and my own pleasure —forced me to snuggle into his chest again. “It’s important to know why Jingle Junction got started, especially for newcomers, so you can understand why this isn’t just some sort of marketing scam or money-grubbing setup.” I took a deep breath, trying to ignore how the freezer’s cold was seeping through every bit of me that wasn’t touching Connor. “My ancestor started the town. His name was Alexander Bell.”
“The telephone guy?” Connor asked, a note of teasing his voice, and I snorted in response.
“No, not the telephone guy. Are you going to listen to me or not?”
He pulled me closer, and I didn’t mind that a bit. “I’m listening.”
“Well, Alexander’s young son, Timothy, was very sick, and the doctors knew his condition was not going to get any better. He loved Christmas so much that when the doctors told his parents Timothy was terminally ill, his father built a huge Christmas display to delight his youngest son. He and his wife tried to keep that spirit of Christmas alive, even after Timothy had passed away. Faith, charity, hope, love, joy… they wanted to share Timothy’s legacy with everyone. The town expanded from there.”
Connor sighed beneath my ear. “That’s a beautiful idea.”
“It’s a beautiful reality.”
Unfortunately, I’d lost sight of my family’s beautiful legacy in the last two weeks. Telling Connor about Jingle Junction’s origin reminded me why it was I loved our town and why Bell’s Bakery was so important to me. It wasn’t about proving myself, or fancy wedding cakes, or even the competition I had with Connor. It was about family and community and that simple happiness that came from loving each other.
“After a while,” I continued, “people were drawn to the town because it celebrated those values. People here try to support each other and look out for each other. When word got out it was a good place to live and raise families, the town grew, but the street names and such stayed the same.”
Connor looked down at me. “So, this place was founded on… Christmas spirit?”
“I think you could call it that, yes,” I told him. “That’s the real reason why there’s not a lot of competition. It’s not because we don’t think competition isn’t good, but because there are so many needs that need to be filled.” I’d failed to remember that, too. “For example, if Susan Vogel went to my dad with a proposed business plan to open a coffee and tea shop, and she had the funding, then my dad would ask me to step aside and let Susan try her hand at opening a shop. I’m only doing the fancy coffees because there was a need with all the tourists coming through. But that’s what Jingle Junction is really about. Building each other up.”
He grunted a little. “I can’t believe there isn’t a coffee and tea shop here.”
I shrugged. “I think most people are okay with getting their pastries and coffee in one place.”
Formerly my place.
“Ivy?”
“Yes?”
Connor brushed his cold hand across my cheek. “I thought it was a gimmick, to be honest.”
I sat up and stared into his beautiful brown eyes. “What?”
“This town. I thought everything about it was a gimmick. Like it couldn’t be true.” Angus burrowed his body between us, trying to find a warm spot. “That’s why I laughed you off when you told me you do the coffees in town. I thought you were trying to snow me. Make me look gullible.”
I rolled my eyes. “Yes, because that’s how I get my jollies. Picking on people who just moved here.”
He chuckled. “I’m sorry. For everything.”
“You said that before.”
“I wanted you to know I meant it.”
“I’m sorry, too.”
Connor frowned. “For what?”
“For being jealous.” I groaned and rested my forehead against his chest. “For screaming at you. For throwing ice cream at you.”
His laugh was loud and echoed off the cold walls. “Yeah, that was a first for me. Don’t worry about it. I deserved everything you dished out. And more.”
“Even for thinking about making a voodoo doll with your name on it?” I confessed that consideration, trying not to smile, but Connor laughed out loud again.
“Did you now?” He winked. “Just where exactly were you planning on sticking those pins?”
I let out a shaky laugh. “I’ll never tell.”
He lifted my chin, and we stared into each other’s eyes. There were golden flecks in his deep brown irises, and I suddenly felt like I was being pulled into their depths.
Just as I opened my mouth to say something, Angus let out a tiny snore on Connor’s lap, and I smiled. “Your dog is sleeping? We are about to freeze to death in here, and he’s happy as can be.”
“Seems to me,” Connor said, running his other hand over the side of my face, “that if we’re about to freeze to death, then maybe we should try a little harder to stay warm.”
“What do you have in mind?” I whispered while those silly little butterflies inside me did their own dance to keep warm.
“Well, body heat is a good start.” He pulled me closer, but gently, letting me decide if that was the way I wanted things to go or not.
“I’ve always heard that,” I whispered again, unable to tear my eyes from his lips.
He lowered his head slowly, again with the offer that left the choice up to me. “We should find out if—”
I didn’t get to hear his offer or follow through on it, though. Just as his warm breath brushed my lips, a heavy thud on the other side of the door had us both sitting upright, and Angus woofing out a small bark in surprise.
“Ivy!” Ella’s voice called out a heartbeat before she whipped open the freezer door. “Ivy! Oh, my gosh! There you are!”