Chapter 31
Christmas in Love was straight out of a holiday rom-com. And I loved it.
I spent the morning at The Warm Hug with Olivia.
She had given her bookstore the most amazing atmosphere by decorating it from top to bottom, bringing holiday novels to the display tables that were front and center.
The sitting areas had new candy cane themed blankets and pillows, and there were little nutcrackers and gnomes on every shelf you looked at.
She completed the look with three Christmas trees in the small space, all of which were from Hart and Heart Logging.
Which should really be called Hart and Heart Christmas Tree Farm for the months of November and December.
By the time Calvin picked me up from the post office, Olivia and I had read so many Christmas novellas that just the look of my burly lumberjack made me swoon.
And the fact that he asked if I wanted to go and try some of Melody’s new holiday drinks?
Yes, please. I would happily be a guinea pig for Mel’s coffee any day of the year, but you could especially count me in when things like peppermint or sugar cookie were included in the name.
Move over, pumpkin spice, it was now my time to shine.
Calvin pulled me across the street to stand under the awning of Love in Bloom with a big goofy smile on his face.
“What are you doing?” I couldn’t help but laugh at his playful expression.
He answered me by trailing his eyes upward to the mistletoe hanging above our heads.
“I thought you didn’t need an excuse to kiss me?” I eyed him, throwing his own words back at him.
“Oh, I don’t, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to let the opportunity pass by when it presents itself.”
I wrapped my arms around his neck, bringing myself up on to my toes to reach him and kiss him hard.
Slipping his arms around my waist he tightened his grip and then swung me around, only setting my back down when my giggles broke our kiss.
He grabbed my hand and guided me next door to Cami’s thrift store, Something Old, Something New.
“Oh look, more.” He nodded above our heads to another bustle of mistletoe before spinning me and kissing me in the same way he just had.
And then he repeated that in front of every storefront where Gloria had hung mistletoe.
It happened so often I was starting to wonder if Calvin had been in on it, but I also didn’t care in the slightest.
By the time we got back to the farm and bed and breakfast, it was bustling with people.
Even though it was cold and the prairies were officially covered in their layer of snow that would be here for months to come, everyone was bundled up and sipping from thermoses.
Trixie had set out large decanters full of coffee, tea, and hot chocolate, and her and Melody had done a ton of baking for the event.
It had seemed the whole town had truly come together for the holiday spirit.
The Stewarts had hitched up their horses and were taking families for sleigh rides, and the Watt family had brought over their cute little family of goats that were all dressed up like reindeer.
If those two were getting along, it truly was a Christmas miracle.
Teddy was indeed dressed up as the most perfect jolly Santa Claus, and there was a lineup of children waiting to sit on his lap to tell him what they wanted for Christmas.
Calvin said they had sold above and beyond what they projected to in terms of trees based on years past, but thankfully they had the ability to provide for the large demand. The smile that graced his face now was more than just happiness, but also relief.
Looking around the farm, I had found a sense of it as well.
This community had done so much to heal me in the months since I arrived.
Now that I was certain I wasn’t going back to work where there was any risk of crossing paths with Nick, I’d started wracking my brain for ideas on things I could do here.
To give back to this little community that had given me so much.
Between the walls of Teddy’s love-filled post office and Olivia’s cute and cozy bookstore, I had found sparks of inspiration.
From Cupid’s Cup to Love in Bloom, I had found breaths of fresh air.
Inside the four walls of the bed and breakfast, and outside every square inch of it, I had acquired safety.
I was determined to give back to this town with the same type of value they had given me.
We joined a group that was singing Christmas Carols and roasting marshmallows around the fire, and I swear, when I went to bed that night I heard bells flying high above my head.