Mistletoe Season by Michelle Major

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

GABELOCKEDTHEdoor to the florist shop the following evening and turned to survey Main Street. He’d stayed last to catch up on orders and update inventory. It was nearly nine so the storefronts around him were darkened, although the sidewalks still glowed with the twinkle lights that had been strewn across windows and wrapped around light posts for several blocks.

At first, he hadn’t appreciated the effort business owners and community leaders put into making the town a coastal holiday paradise. Not that he considered himself a grinch. He just didn’t see the point in going all out for only a few weeks of the year.

A lot had changed. The lights had become a sort of beacon, representing the hope and magic he hadn’t even realized he craved in his life. On nights when he couldn’t sleep, he’d drive around and look at the lights that people had forgotten to turn off for the night, imagining happy stories for the families behind the bright facades.

Angi had helped him see how important that magic was. As much as he missed his grandmother, he’d be eternally grateful that he’d had this precious time with her and that she’d seen her shop filled with people once again before she passed away.

Gabe might have lessened Angi’s struggle with her mom by agreeing to their pretend relationship, but he’d been the one to benefit the most. And this was despite the fact that she saw him as a temporary arrangement and nothing more.

He wasn’t going to be her more.

Even after he left Magnolia, he’d see Christmas lights each year and think of her warm brown eyes and the way she hummed off-key when she was focused on a task. The scent of citrus would evoke memories of her soft skin or the way she’d hold him more tightly when he slid into her in the quiet hours of the night.

A couple holding hands came out of Il Rigatone at that moment, laughing about some casual story or private joke. Gabe wished he’d taken Angi on some real dates while they’d been together. Maybe then she would have seen that they could be more than just pretend.

Maybe he’d have the guts to tell her how he felt.

Probably not.

Old habits died hard, as the saying went, and Gabe wasn’t good at talking about his feelings. Every time he’d opened up, it felt like he’d been hurt. His grandmother had been the only exception to that rule.

Even Angi had turned on him when they were younger. He’d trusted her when they were kids and told her she was his best friend.

A week later she’d humiliated him in front of her friends.

She wasn’t that person now. He understood that. He also wasn’t the awkward boy he’d been.

But that kid was still part of him, and his past prevented him from claiming the future he truly wanted.

All he could hope now was that Angi would find her happily-ever-after without him.

He knew she wasn’t at the restaurant still. She and Andrew had stopped by the shop earlier while they were taking Princess for a walk. The dog sported the most ridiculous holiday sweater, and Gabe had been shocked to hear that Angi’s mom had bought it for the animal.

Apparently, it had only taken Princess a day to win over Bianca, who’d been staunchly against an animal in her house.

Both Angi and Andrew had seemed happy and relaxed in a way Gabe envied, and he didn’t doubt that despite the troubles both of them had faced recently, mother and son would find their way through it. They had each other for support, after all.

While, with Gran gone, Gabe had no one.

He walked down the quiet street and stopped in front of Champions, the local bar around the corner from the hardware store. It felt pathetic to have a drink alone, but he couldn’t face returning to his grandmother’s house yet.

Angi hadn’t visited him since the dog’s arrival in their lives. She’d told him she didn’t feel comfortable leaving in case the dog was restless or woke overnight, and Gabe had no reason not to believe her. But the insecurity he couldn’t quite release reared its ugly head in the wee hours, whispering that the animal was an excuse. He was no longer necessary since Angi had stopped working at the inn. She didn’t need him, or perhaps she could sense that he needed her too much.

Either way, he was damn lonely. Normally being alone wouldn’t bother him, which was another thing that had changed since coming to Magnolia. He now craved interactions with people.

Even strangers, he thought as he entered the bar. The bartender, an older man with grizzled features and a full beard, called out a friendly greeting, and Gabe walked forward, wondering if he looked as pathetic as he felt on his own.

He ordered a draft beer, but before he could take a seat, a heavy hand landed on his shoulder. “This one’s on me, Mike,” the stranger said to the bartender.

Gabe blinked. “Appreciate the holiday spirit of giving, but do I know you?”

The man, who was tall and broad with a dark head of cropped hair, offered a slow smile. “Gray Atwell,” he said, extending a hand. “I think you know my wife.”

“Avery,” Gabe supplied. “Right.” He shook Gray’s hand. “You have a cute kid, too,” he told Gray, who he knew to be a firefighter for the local department.

“Violet is something special,” Gray agreed.

Mike placed two pint glasses on the scuffed oak bar. “I’ll put it on your tab,” he told Gray.

“It’s nice to meet you,” Gabe said as he lifted his beer. “But you don’t have to buy me a drink. Unless this is a first date and I don’t know it.”

“I’m spoken for,” Gray said with an easy laugh. “Although I’ve been meaning to stop by your grandma’s shop and thank you in person.”

The beer was cool on Gabe’s throat. “For what?”

He didn’t mean for the question to come out as rough as it sounded. He’d gotten a lot better at managing small talk with customers, but he still had a ways to go with being able to function socially in any sort of successful way.

Gray didn’t seem to notice or care, which could be a result of being married to Avery. She was a straight shooter as far as Gabe could tell.

“A couple of reasons.” Gray took a pull from his beer. “First, my wife is over-the-moon relieved at how well you and Angi are managing the holiday activities in town. The festival means a lot to her, but not as much as Carrie does. The fact that her sister is able to relax and take care of herself because everyone trusts the new dynamic Christmas on the Coast duo is huge.”

“Then you should be buying Ang a drink.” Gabe tried not to let any telltale emotion sneak into his voice. “She’s the brains and creativity behind everything.”

“She’s not here, otherwise I would.” Gray blew out a long breath. “I also owe you both a debt of thanks for encouraging her son to stand up to those little jack holes at the elementary school.”

Gabe arched a brow. “I’m not a parent, but pretty sure you’re not allowed to call other kids names.”

“Then those other kids shouldn’t mess with students who are younger than them. I don’t tolerate bullies.”

“We have that in common.”

“I heard as much. Violet is a big fan of Andrew, and he told her that you’re the one who taught him how to stand up for himself.”

“A lesson I learned the hard way at that age,” Gabe admitted. “In fact...” He glanced toward the back of the bar where several guys from Angi’s old group of friends surrounded one of the bar’s large pool tables. “There were a few little jack holes in this town when I was younger and came to visit my grandmother. Seems like it’s nothing new around here.”

“Unfortunately, yeah. I appreciate what Andrew did, and I’m sorry he got in trouble for it. I put a call in to the principal to report what Violet told me. I know a lot of kid problems go unnoticed, especially when bullies are sneaky little jerks.”

“Jerks,” Gabe echoed. “That might be an improvement over jack holes. Not that this makes the behavior okay, but I guess the main culprit’s father has left town and they don’t know whether he’s coming back. Went on a business trip and hasn’t returned.”

“That sucks for the kid,” Gray said, “but it’s not an excuse. Either way, thanks for your part in making both the women in my house a lot happier than they would have been otherwise. That makes me happy.”

Gabe tipped his beer toward Gray and they both drank. He liked the firefighter. He exuded a natural confidence, like he’d always been sure of who he was and where he fit in the world. Gabe envied that ease and wondered if he’d ever achieve it for himself.

“Do me a favor in return,” he told Gray. “Chances are good that I’m going to be heading out of Magnolia myself after the holidays. With my grandmother gone, there’s nothing keeping me here.”

Gray arched a thick brow but didn’t argue.

“Keep an eye on Andrew, would you?” Gabe’s chest tightened as he thought of the boy. “He needs all the support he can get and deserves a decent man to be a part of his life.”

“Aren’t you that man?”

“Not when I won’t be here.”

“You don’t like running the shop?”

“I was taking care of things for my grandma. I haven’t talked to the attorney yet, but now that she’s gone, I imagine my mom is going to inherit In Bloom. She and I don’t mix.”

“Got it. The fire department has an opening,” Gray said, and gestured to a group of men and women at the back of the bar. “The reason I’m here on a weeknight is because our captain is retiring. They’re promoting me, so I’m going to be the one doing the hiring. There’s training and a long list of requirements, but if you change your mind about heading out of town, give me a call.”

“Thanks,” Gabe said, the thought of staying like a shiny gold object just out of reach. “But I doubt that’s going to happen.” And he wasn’t about to admit how much he wanted it to.

ANGI’SPHONEVIBRATEDon the kitchen table, and without looking at the home screen, she grabbed the device and shoved it into a drawer of the hutch that sat next to her chair.

“Do you think you should answer?” her mother asked, sipping her morning coffee.

“No.” Angi smoothed a hand over her hair, ignoring the trembling of her fingers. Trying her best not to think about how she was letting down her friends when they needed her most. “I’m going to make a smoothie for breakfast.” Maybe the noise of the blender would drown out the pounding in her head. “Would you like one?”

“Angela.”

She recognized the tone with which her mother said her name. The one that communicated clearly her disappointment and frustration. She’d heard it far too many times in her life.

“It’s fine, Mom.”

“Based on the way that drawer is vibrating, something is happening this morning that is not at all fine.” Her mother rose from the table. “Tell me.”

“I don’t know,” Angi said as she took the blender out of a cabinet under the island’s counter. “I haven’t answered any of the calls or read the texts.”

“If you had to guess...”

She closed her eyes and counted to ten in her head. Why was her mother doing this? Bianca had wanted her to end her partnership with Emma and Mariella. To walk away from her work at the Wildflower Inn. So Angi had done it. But the only way she could manage it in her mind was a clean break. The plan had been to end the partnership at the end of the year, but managing everything had proved to be too much.

“They’re hosting a wedding today, the final big event at the inn before Christmas.”

“How many guests?”

“Around a hundred and fifty,” she said, drawing in a painful breath. It was the biggest event Emma had hosted this season. “The bridal party is staying at the inn. Over a dozen people.”

“And you were supposed to handle the food?”

Of course she’d been expected to handle the food. That was her part. The kitchen at the inn, with its granite counters and clean white cabinets, belonged to her. She’d helped create the design, and Emma had chosen the upgrades to the stainless steel appliances based on Angi’s preferences. She loved working in that kitchen.

“They know I’m not coming back,” she told her mother now. “I prepped as much as I could, and I hired Sarah Beth Catering to take over for me.”

“Her chicken tastes like rubber,” Bianca said with a sniff. “If I’m going to something where she’s catering, I’m sure to eat before I arrive.”

“Thanks, Mom,” Angi muttered. “That makes me feel a lot better about my decision.”

“No need for the sarcasm and sass, young lady.”

Angi threw a bag of frozen berries onto the counter with a thwack. “I’m not a young lady,” she said through gritted teeth. “Or a girl. I’m a grown woman, and if I don’t try to deflect with humor or sarcasm, then I’m going to burst into tears because I’m letting down people I care about. I’m letting myself down.”

Her mother’s lips thinned. Without a word, she went to the hutch, pulled Angi’s phone out of the drawer and brought it to her. “Figure out what’s wrong at the inn,” she said resolutely, “and then we’ll go fix it together.”

Angi’s fingers felt numb as she took the device. “I already walked away.”

“But before that, you made a commitment.” Bianca smoothed a hand over the Christmas sweater she wore. Angi noticed that her mother’s nails had been painted in a sparkly red with a delicate silver ring on her right hand. Instantly she thought of Iris and how happy the woman had been to have Angi give her a manicure. How much it meant for Iris to have that connection.

Connection was what mattered. She thought about how scared she’d been when her mother suffered a heart attack so soon after they’d lost Angi’s father.

Everything else was insignificant.

“Emma and Mariella understand,” she said quietly, even as she glanced at her phone. To her surprise, the missed calls and texts weren’t from either of her friends. The number belonged to Sarah Beth. That did not bode well, but she still didn’t unlock the home screen.

“You committed to this,” her mother said again. “As a grown woman, I would have appreciated you not lying to me or sneaking around like some kind of rebellious teenager, but that’s in the past. The inn might not be your future...”

Her mother paused when Angi winced at those words.

“...which doesn’t mean you have to relinquish a promise. I hope your father and I raised you better than that, Angela. We raised you to be a person of honor.”

Angi didn’t bother to argue even though sometimes it felt as though she’d been raised solely to dedicate herself to the family business and the family’s honor. Her mother was giving her a chance to make things right in this moment, and Angi was going to take it.

“Thank you, Mom,” she said as she hit the voice mail button and listened to the frantic voice mail from the stand-in caterer. Already she was moving toward the coatrack. She called Sarah Beth as she slipped into a pair of clogs.

“I’m on my way,” she said when the other woman answered. “Take all of the containers out that are on the top shelf of the freezer and start a pot of water boiling.”

“Can you salvage this?” Sarah Beth demanded, panic clear in her voice. “I haven’t even told Emma yet, and—”

“I’m going to make it right,” Angi promised, and disconnected the call.

“What’s wrong?” her mother asked.

“The power in Sarah Beth’s company kitchen went out last night, and all the food ended up at room temperature by the time she realized it.” Angi blew out a shaky breath. “Emma and Mariella don’t know they have an entire reception to feed and only crackers and uncooked pasta to serve them. Can you watch Andrew and Princess? I have to go.”

“Wait. What’s your plan?”

Plan. Right. Angi wished she had more time to come up with an acceptable alternative. “I’m going to turn the menu into a full-blown feast of my Italian favorites—and hope that the bride and groom are understanding if I give them a big discount.”

“How do you feel about my pierogies as an appetizer?” her mother asked. “I always have ingredients on hand.”

“You don’t have to do that, Mom. I can figure it out on my own.”

“I know you can, sweetheart. But I want to help.”

“Why?” Angi couldn’t help the bitterness that seeped into her tone. “This is perfect for you. Even though I asked Sarah Beth to cover for me, I’m still the name on the contract. If Emma ends up with an irate bride on her hands, that’s on me. A fitting end to my attempt to do something on my own.”

“You’ll find a way to make it right,” her mother answered. “And I don’t want you to fail, Angela. I never wanted that.”

Emotion made Angi’s throat raw. That’s how it felt. Or at least it felt that her mom only wanted her to succeed with the parameters she set. She could succeed if it was safe and small, but not if it meant she might really fail. She’d tried to go big with her life, a disaster by any standards. How could she ever take that kind of chance again?

Now wasn’t the time to take a moral stand or allow her pride to get in the way. Saving the food for the reception meant she’d be saving Emma, so Angi couldn’t afford to refuse help from anyone. “The pierogies would be a huge help,” she said with a nod. “I’ll swing by the res—”

“You go on to the inn and start working things on that end. I’ll wake up Andrew, and we’ll meet you there.” Bianca picked up the landline that still hung next to the refrigerator, harkening back to a simpler time in communication.

“You don’t have to come. Who are you calling?” Angi pulled on her jacket.

“The more people you have to help, the better it will go. At least if they’re people who aren’t incompetent.” Bianca rolled her eyes and muttered in Italian. Mostly complaints about the stand-in caterer. “Dominic? Hello, tesoro. I know it’s your off day, but can you meet me at the restaurant? We need to help Angela with an event at the inn.”

Angi felt her eyes widen as a blush crept into her mother’s cheeks as she smiled at the longtime cook’s reply. Had her mother just referred to Dom as “treasure” in Italian?

That was a quandary for another day.

“Thanks, Mom,” she whispered as she headed for the door. She drove to the inn, her heart hammering in her chest. She couldn’t let her friends down, but it was difficult to return knowing that it would only be to fix the mess she’d inadvertently created. Her mom had been right about Sarah Beth. The woman might own the only other catering business in Magnolia, but that didn’t mean she cooked innovative or even edible food.

But Angi had been desperate for a way out of this final event after her mother’s reaction. Another thing Bianca had been right about. She had no business getting on her high horse about being treated like a grown-up when she’d been sneaking around like a child.

Heck, even Andrew was brave enough to face his troubles. It was simple, if not easy, to blame her family—and her mother, in particular—for what was going on in her life and the things she’d missed out on. What if that wasn’t true? What if Angi’s fear of failure or unwillingness to risk herself again had caused her to blame her mom? A simple excuse for a complicated tumble of emotions.

Good thing the new year was coming, because Angi was piling up resolutions like snow on a sledding hill.

There were cars parked along the street and in the inn’s lot. Emma had done an amazing job of transforming the old mansion to a gorgeous boutique hotel, and Angi had no doubt its business would continue to grow and thrive, as well. There was no question that she’d always miss being a part of it.

She quickly walked around the house to the kitchen entrance. The ceremony was scheduled for just before sunset, when the golden light of the setting sun would infuse the whole backyard in a warm glow. The benefit of being in a temperate climate in North Carolina was that if the weather cooperated, Emma could hold outdoor events all year-round. She’d also invested in a large tent to use for those times when it was too cold to be outside.

The whole setup was perfect—exactly what Angi saw for her future, and also not an option when her mother needed her.

Emma and Mariella faced Sarah Beth across the kitchen island as Angi entered the space.

“You can’t be here,” Emma said, pointing at Angi.

“We need her,” Mariella jabbed an elbow into Emma’s rib cage.

“It’s fine,” Emma said tightly. She gave Angi a smile that looked slightly feral around the edges. “We’re fine.”

“It’s a disaster.” Sarah Beth threw up her hands. “You were the one who just called it a disaster.”

“Not Angi’s disaster.” Emma’s eyes narrowed. “What are you even doing here?”

“Sarah Beth called me. I’m here to help.”

Mariella nodded. “We need all the help we can get. At least she realized it had gone bad before we served it. Bad reviews are one thing. Headlines for giving the entire event food poisoning are quite another.”

“We’re going to fix this,” Angi promised.

“You quit,” Emma reminded her.

Angi turned. “I thought you said we were still friends.”

“Of course we’re still friends.” Emma sniffed. “This has nothing to do with friendship. It’s the fact that serving a wedding reception whatever food we can pull together from the grocery freezer section might not help our reviews.”

The tightness around Angi’s chest loosened ever so slightly. It had been so long since she’d had friends like Emma and Mariella—women who mattered to her. Growing up, her insecurity had caused her to put more emphasis on superficial relationships, and she’d picked friends who weren’t kind. Who made her unkind.

The idea that even if things continued to go horribly wrong today that Emma would still be her friend... Well, it made her want to fix the mess even more.

“We’re not going to rely on the grocery,” she promised. “My mom is picking up food from Il Rigatone,” she told Emma and Mariella. “We’re going to have to change the menu around a bit, but I promise it will still be amazing. I’m not sure when to tell the bri—”

The air rushed from her lungs in a whoosh when Emma grabbed her and hugged her close. “Thank you,” her friend whispered. “I don’t know what you did to convince your mom to help or why you answered the distress call in the first place.”

“She misses us, obviously,” Mariella said, leaning in to join the hug. “Also has some superhero complex where she wants to save the day.”

“I wish I could offer more,” Angi said honestly. “I still feel horrible for walking away. I’m letting you down and myself.” She pulled in a shaky breath. “But not today. Today we’re going to avert a catering catastrophe.”

“I’ll go talk to the bride,” Emma said, pulling back.

“Put me to work,” Mariella told Angi. “I have no skills and I hate being told what to do, but I’m making an exception for you.”

All three women turned as the kitchen door opened again. Angi’s mom, along with Dom and Andrew, entered.

Dom carried a large box of various Italian staples, and Angi breathed a sigh of relief.

“It’s going to be fine,” her mother said when their gazes met.

“Thank you, Mrs. Guilardi.” Emma came forward and took the cooler from her mother’s hand. “Thank you for your help today.”

Tears lodged in Angi’s throat as her mother offered Emma a small smile. “I will do anything to help my daughter.”

Mariella leaned into Angi and said quietly, “Do you know how lucky you are?”

“Yes,” Angi answered. “Right now, I do.”