Total pages in book: 124
Estimated words: 121898 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 609(@200wpm)___ 488(@250wpm)___ 406(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 121898 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 609(@200wpm)___ 488(@250wpm)___ 406(@300wpm)
Especially after Gramps got his hands on it and made me thread some lights through.
A smile crept across my face, and I looked around at the street with an almost childlike wonder.
Castleton at Christmas really was something to behold, and it got even more intense as you explored. Almost every store had a full-size Christmas tree in their windows. Lights twinkled even though it was still light out, and for every store that had a life-size Santa, there was another with perfectly cut snowflake garlands.
The antique store had a beautiful Christmas village in their window that was more elaborate than the café’s; the clothing store next door had the perfect Christmas outfits on their mannequins; the old sweet shop that took pride in offering classic candies had a sugary display fit for a thousand sweet-toothed elves. The art store and gallery had dainty fairy lights over the art frames that drew your eyes to them, and their brushes and paint sets were tied with little festive bows.
And the toy store…
Well.
That was a… cacophony of colour. That was the nicest way to put it.
I had a headache just looking at it.
I carried on down the uneven path until I reached the little alleyway that housed Beth’s florist shop. It was the cutest thing, and I paused for a moment to enjoy the festive display outside on the flattened cobblestones.
There were tiny fir trees, no bigger than two feet tall, perfectly decorated with the tiniest baubles and a bit of fake snow. They were surrounded by small wreaths and a couple of Christmassy bouquets.
I pushed the door open, thrilling at the little ting-ting the bell above it did. Beth was behind the counter writing in her order book, and she looked up at me with a beaming smile when she was it was me.
“Sylvie! Is there a problem with the centrepieces?”
“Oh, gosh, no.” I laughed lightly. “Sorry if I worried you, but I’m here on personal business.”
“Not at all. Does Hazel need anything?”
I shook my head. “Actually, I brought you this.” I held out the takeaway cup of hot chocolate for her. “Hot chocolate.”
Her eyes lit up. “Oh, wow. Thank you!” She took it gratefully. “I haven’t stopped all day, so I can’t tell you how much I appreciate this.”
I smiled. “You’re welcome. Thank you for working so hard on Hazel’s wedding flowers. I know you’re really busy and I appreciate it so much, and so will she when she sees them.”
Beth grinned over the top of the cup. “Stop. You’ll make me fall in love with you.”
“Fall in love with who?” asked a familiar voice.
Any Christmas spirit I’d gained from my little walk through Castleton rapidly disappeared at the sight of His Grace, The Duke of Castleton.
Was there no escaping this man?
So what if I hadn’t seen him in ten years? That wasn’t a long enough break for me, clearly. Another seventy years would be about right.
Thomas’ gaze skittered over me. “Come on, Beth. You’ve got better taste than that.”
“Not if she’s spending time with you,” I shot back.
“She’s my sister-in-law. It’s one of those things.”
“At least she had the good taste to marry your sister over you.”
“And now I get it,” Beth said, breaking up our back-and-forth. “Emily did warn me.”
I eyed her. What was Thomas’ mother warning her about? “About what?”
“You two and your bickering if you were ever near one another. Something about a childhood feud?”
I glared at Thomas.
He glared right back at me.
“I don’t know about you two, but it just seems like a whole bunch of pent-up sexual tension to me.”
“Wash your mouth out with soap,” Thomas said sharply.
I snorted. “As if.” I met his gaze. “Although I am starting to wonder, given this is the second time in three days you’ve been where I needed to be. Three if you count the tree farm.”
“I own it. I don’t count it. And this is simply unfortunate,” he replied, turning his attention to Beth. “Is that all you needed?”
Beth drew her shoulders up to her ears and smiled the sweetest smile a woman could.
Thomas sighed. “What else do you need me to do?”
“There are some boxes that are pretty heavy that I don’t want to lift. Could you move them from the storage area at the back to the storeroom for me, please?”
“Why can’t you move them? Are you pregnant or something?” he chuckled.
Beth froze.
Uh-oh.
I knew that look.
I, too, froze.
What else was I supposed to do? Start singing a Christmas jingle?
Thomas looked at us both. “What? What did I say?”
Slowly, I shook my head. “You are so stupid.”
Beth swallowed and cleared her throat. “Don’t worry about it, Thomas. I’ll move them later.”
I stared at him. “If you don’t move those boxes, I will. And if I chip a nail doing it, I’m going to send you the bill when I get them fixed.”