They inched forward in line, and she refocused on the clue. “Ice… I’m stuck on ice. Is it literal ice? There’s the temporary ice sculpture installation in the Old Mill District, but that seems too obvious, don’t you think?”
William thought it over for a minute. “I don’t know. I mean, kids and families participate in the hunt, so maybe we shouldn’t overthink it.” He paused, moving out of the way for a couple in matching ski suits to pass by. “I like it. It’s a solid guess. Let’s get our coffee and start there.”
“We should probably have some backup ideas in mind if that’s not it.” Marissa wanted to cover all their bases.
“What about ice cream?” William suggested. “There’s the ice cream shop a couple of blocks away.”
“It’s a possibility.” Marissa nodded. They were next in line. The chocolate cherry marshmallow coffee did sound tempting, but she opted for a cinnamon-spiced latte instead. There was no way she was going to give William the satisfaction of being right about what she wanted to order.
As they waited for their coffees, Marissa spotted her younger cousin Olivia waiting with her friends for their drink orders on the other side of the crowded coffee shop.
“Olivia, over here,” Marissa called, waving with her fingers.
Olivia’s bright blue doe-like eyes grew wide with recognition. She whispered something to her friends, which made them all giggle, and then came over to say hi.
“Oh hey!” Olivia hugged Marissa and then greeted William with surprise. “Hi, Mr. Graff. What are you doing here?”
Mr. Graff?
Marissa stared from her young cousin to William. How did Olivia know him, and why so formal?
“Order for William,” a barista announced. “Cardamom latte.”
“Nice sweater. I approve.” He smiled at Olivia and went to pick up his drink.
“How do you know William?” Marissa asked.
“Mr. Graff? From school. He’s chill. Everyone likes him.” She stood back to let Marissa take in her appearance. “What do you think of the fit and the makeup?” Olivia’s eyes were dusted with green, sparkly glitter. Matching gold sparkly stars dotted her cheeks. “Too many sequins?” she teased.
“You look adorable as always,” Marissa assured her. “And there’s no such thing as too many sequins.”
Olivia grinned with perfectly straight teeth, thanks to years of braces. “I don’t think Malik’s into it, though. It’s kind of cheesy, isn’t it?”
“Cheesy—you’re speaking my language.” Marissa winked, raising her eyebrows as she glanced in the direction of Olivia’sfriends. “Malik? Say more.” She suspected Malik was the tall, brooding one and, notably, the only member of Olivia’s team not wearing a Christmas sweater.
“Don’t be so obvious,” Olivia hushed in a whisper, yanking Marissa’s arm.
“Sorry.” Marissa wanted to ask her more about William, but Olivia was distracted. One of her teammates, a cute young guy wearing a light-up Rudolph sweater, waved wildly, signaling for Olivia to come back.
“We got it, Liv! We got it.” He lifted their clue sheet in the air.
“I have to go.” Olivia blew her a kiss. “See you soon. Wish me luck with Malik.”
Marissa smiled as her cousin practically skipped over to her friends. But if Olivia’s team had figured out the clue, that meant she and William were already behind.
“You ready?” she asked, strumming her fingers together, anxious to get moving. William needed to stop stalling and start taking this hunt seriously.
He handed her a coffee. “Easy. Easy. I just got our drinks.”
“My cousin’s team has a head start. We need to go—now.” She clutched the coffee and hurried for the door. “By the way, how do you know Olivia?”
William looked sheepish but then tried to appear nonchalant, giving her a half shrug. “I subbed in her class a couple of times.”
Marissa stopped in mid-stride. “You’re ateacher?”
“You don’t need to say it like it’s a bad thing.” He pulled away from her.
“What kind of teacher?”
